2018 Offseason And Targets

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Donaldson was a great signing. Even if the Braves miss the playoffs, he was a great signing.
I had hoped AA would find a moderate OF upgrade available by trade that used some of the spare cash and some of the prospect capital.
Maybe that guy wasn't out there, maybe he thinks he can do that midseason, or maybe he thinks that's a stupid plan. I am still stunned that the answer to the weakest spot on the team is to fill it with the same guy.

I'm glad the Braves didn't make any of the other notable FA deals. Those who are mad about that now need to think back to how much people loathed the Upton, Lowe, Kawakami, Chris Johnson, Dan Uggla, and Mike Hampton deals. The post Ted Turner Braves can't afford long term dead money.

I mostly agree with whoever it was that said the disappointment stems from the words of the front office. None of us would've expected big things if the front office had restrained from telling us to expect big things. Donaldson is a pretty big addition though.
 
bravesfanMatt said:
So we did enough to make it to the series. Without all the what ifs? If not then signing JD to a one year deal is just like saying we are still seeing what we got. Why not add more marginal upgrades in the outfield too. We apparently have money.

Yeah and the stupid comment about we said we have more money not that we would spend more money is a slap in our faces. Like saying we have a cup a sugar but you can’t have it. **** off DD. You just keep building your underdogs
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I don't think there are any moves they realistically could have made within a 140m payroll target (which is likely more than they have to spend) that would have made them the World Series favorite.
 
Reading between the lines from the AA / McGuirk comments . . .

- Last year the budgeted payroll was $120m and they were authorized to dial it up to $126m in the Summer.
- The budget for 2020 will be "$140m or above".
- So I'd speculate that the 2019 budgeted payroll is $130m with the ability to flex it up to $135m this Summer. That leaves $15m - $20m to spend.

Those that wanted the money to be spent on signing Brantley over Markakis or Grandal over McCann have a very reasonable point. We'll have to see how the $15m - $20m will be deployed this year before we're able to judge which approach will lead to the better outcome.
 
Southcack77 said:
I don't think there are any moves they realistically could have made within a 140m payroll target (which is likely more than they have to spend) that would have made them the World Series favorite.
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So you are saying by adding a 1.5 win upgrade in RF and another 1.5 wins in the pen wouldn’t make this team better. And maybe make this team only have to hit on 3 what if’s versus 5 now. Really. And that is your thought then why even sign JD.
 
Have we ever discussed Jorge Soler as a trade candidate? that's a breakout play that really might make some sense.

He's down to two years of control and the Royals have not gotten much out of him. The Royals aren't going anywhere.

He's not a good defender, but not necessarily a butcher. His RH bat fits the need and he's owed less than 5m in 2019 and 2020. His bat looks pretty good from the right side. Had some injury trouble, but still young.

Would a mid-tier pitching prospect get this done?
 
And they glorious thing about the neck signing is that there is about a 85% chance that option is picked up and we get to watch him in 2020. All with the promise of spending more in 2121
 
Southcack77 said:
Have we ever discussed Jorge Soler as a trade candidate? that's a breakout play that really might make some sense.

He's down to two years of control and the Royals have not gotten much out of him. The Royals aren't going anywhere.

He's not a good defender, but not necessarily a butcher. His RH bat fits the need and he's owed less than 5m in 2019 and 2020. His bat looks pretty good from the right side. Had some injury trouble, but still young.

Would a mid-tier pitching prospect get this done?
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I thought about him earlier this offseason. He could be a good platoon partner. But I would imagine the royals would still try to extract more value from him given age and potential to dream on
 
bravesfanMatt said:
So you are saying by adding a 1.5 win upgrade in RF and another 1.5 wins in the pen wouldn’t make this team better. And maybe make this team only have to hit on 3 what if’s versus 5 now. Really. And that is your thought then why even sign JD.
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I said nothing they could do within their realistic payroll limits would have made them the World Series favorite, in response to someone asking me if I thought Donaldson made them WS favorites.

You sign Donaldson because he's an MVP candidate to whom you don't have to make any long term commitment.
 
Are we postive that markakis will regress? I mean he was a good player last year. Maybe that improvement is tied to the new focus on analytics... maybe it was pure luck.
 
bravesfanMatt said:
I thought about him earlier this offseason. He could be a good platoon partner. But I would imagine the royals would still try to extract more value from him given age and potential to dream on
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Half season last year, he crushed LHP and was average vs RHP. That's not a bad platoon profile and at 26 there is some real upside to the bat.

Unlike the Twins, the Royals don't have a huge amount of reason to hold on to cheap pieces that are nearing the end of control. Maybe they don't really have much motivation to sell low on him. A Breakout would help his value if nothing else. But if you dangled someone like Muller/Wilson might they bite?
 
Kinda crazy the transition this board has made on AA. Last season, we were all happy with the new analytics and having a smart GM. Fast forward to the offseason coming off a playoff appearance and AA is a chump
 
Southcack77 said:
Half season last year, he crushed LHP and was average vs RHP. That's not a bad platoon profile and at 26 there is some real upside to the bat.

Unlike the Twins, the Royals don't have a huge amount of reason to hold on to cheap pieces that are nearing the end of control. Maybe they don't really have much motivation to sell low on him. A Breakout would help his value if nothing else. But if you dangled someone like Muller/Wilson might they bite?
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I think they would be dumb not to.
 
msstate7 said:
Are we postive that markakis will regress? I mean he was a good player last year. Maybe that improvement is tied to the new focus on analytics... maybe it was pure luck.
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We're not positive that he will regress though we would certainly expect him to.

The question is whether his expected regression is to uselessness and whether some degree of that regression could be avoided by sitting him more often to preserve his legs and also to play matchups better.

The number the Braves signed him to is evidence they are not completely stupid about this. They got him for dollars that would be just fine for a fourth of/bench bat. Or simply releasing him if he's awful.

I think they'll continue trying to upgrade without overpaying.
 
msstate7 said:
Are we postive that markakis will regress? I mean he was a good player last year. Maybe that improvement is tied to the new focus on analytics... maybe it was pure luck.
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He will regress to his what he did offensively for the Braves prior to last year.
 
Jaw said:
Donaldson was a great signing. Even if the Braves miss the playoffs, he was a great signing.
I had hoped AA would find a moderate OF upgrade available by trade that used some of the spare cash and some of the prospect capital.
Maybe that guy wasn't out there, maybe he thinks he can do that midseason, or maybe he thinks that's a stupid plan. I am still stunned that the answer to the weakest spot on the team is to fill it with the same guy.

I'm glad the Braves didn't make any of the other notable FA deals. Those who are mad about that now need to think back to how much people loathed the Upton, Lowe, Kawakami, Chris Johnson, Dan Uggla, and Mike Hampton deals. The post Ted Turner Braves can't afford long term dead money.

I mostly agree with whoever it was that said the disappointment stems from the words of the front office. None of us would've expected big things if the front office had restrained from telling us to expect big things. Donaldson is a pretty big addition though.
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that's right...dead money kills
 
thewupk said:
He will regress to his what he did offensively for the Braves prior to last year.
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I think what happens in right is one of the keys this season. Between Muk/Duvall/Camargo/Riley we should get some decent production. But it might require Snit to make some unsentimental choices about playing time. The biggest thing to watch in spring training is how well Camargo and Riley handle the outfield.
 
msstate7 said:
Kinda crazy the transition this board has made on AA. Last season, we were all happy with the new analytics and having a smart GM. Fast forward to the offseason coming off a playoff appearance and AA is a chump
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A guy can both be smarter than he predecessors and too conservative at the same time. In fact, it's quite possible that analytical nature coupled with being burned by some big off seasons in Toronto (he references those mistakes often) combined to result in this exact off season.

Don't pay $1.10 for something that's only worth $1 because that's not good value, even if you need that $1.10 item to compete. Don't add Wentz to the package for JTR even though he's a massive upgrade. Don't add an option year to the offer for Brantley even though he'd fit perfect at the top of the lineup.

I agree with building for the long run overall, but not to extent AA is currently doing so. The resources were there to be more aggressive for 2019 without mortgaging the future too much. By this time, AA should have been able to identify the true players among the prospects, and aggressively traded away the rest to improve the team now. If he can't determine who's who by now, what was the last year spent doing, and why would giving him another 4-5 months make any difference?
 
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