These are the decisions that don’t have easy answers IMO
Do we trade Jorge Soler?
Do we let TDA Walk and save $8M?
Do we ride with Arcia and his $2M as the starter again?
Do we pay $6M for Ramon in arbitration?
Do we trade Baldwin in the right deal?
Looking towards 2025
- Thread starter Slippyjms
- Start date
These are the decisions that don’t have easy answers IMO
Do we trade Jorge Soler?
Do we let TDA Walk and save $8M?
Do we ride with Arcia and his $2M as the starter again?
Do we pay $6M for Ramon in arbitration?
Do we trade Baldwin in the right deal?
I think I might agree, but would like to see how Baldwin fares against MLB pitching before going too far down that road.
SS targets:
JP Crawford - He should be our primary target. Seattle will need to shed some payroll if they want to make any additions in FA. Crawford would be one of the easiest ways to do that. I doubt he would cost a substantial amount to acquire. And perhaps if we took Castillo and his contract as well, we could get Crawford for essentially free. Castillo is still a good pitcher, but overpaid and has 3 years guaranteed remaining and a potential 4th year.
Willy Adames - I doubt we're gonna hand out 150 million to Adames, but he is the top FA option by a mile.
Ha-Seong Kim - Injury concern here with a labrum tear. But he's a fantastic defender. Will likely sign at a large discount wherever he goes.
Carlos Correa - I doubt Minny will trade their star, but they don't have much financial flexibility currently to make any upgrades to a sub-par roster, so guys will have to be traded if they want to improve. Trading Correa creates the most room.
Geraldo Perdomo - Easiest for us to acquire from this list, imo. DBacks have uber prospect Lawler ready to take over and don't really have a spot for Perdomo. They need pitching pretty badly and we have that in droves.
JP Crawford - He should be our primary target. Seattle will need to shed some payroll if they want to make any additions in FA. Crawford would be one of the easiest ways to do that. I doubt he would cost a substantial amount to acquire. And perhaps if we took Castillo and his contract as well, we could get Crawford for essentially free. Castillo is still a good pitcher, but overpaid and has 3 years guaranteed remaining and a potential 4th year.
Willy Adames - I doubt we're gonna hand out 150 million to Adames, but he is the top FA option by a mile.
Ha-Seong Kim - Injury concern here with a labrum tear. But he's a fantastic defender. Will likely sign at a large discount wherever he goes.
Carlos Correa - I doubt Minny will trade their star, but they don't have much financial flexibility currently to make any upgrades to a sub-par roster, so guys will have to be traded if they want to improve. Trading Correa creates the most room.
Geraldo Perdomo - Easiest for us to acquire from this list, imo. DBacks have uber prospect Lawler ready to take over and don't really have a spot for Perdomo. They need pitching pretty badly and we have that in droves.
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bravesfanMatt
Steve Harvey'd
Elder and Waldrep for Perdomo... who says no.
I mean I would like to shoot higher before settling on a defensive specialist like Perdomo. But I suppose that isn't the worst trade I've heard of. At 24 years old he does have some upside remaining.
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Dunit24
Awaiting a Promotion
Decide something on Fried early. I think if we commit to him, our rotation looks like one of the best with Sale, Fried, Strider, SS, and Lopez.
We do that, we probably stick with Arcia at SS and I’m okay with that. I’m okay with the offense period. Adding Acuna and Riley back to go along with the injuries/down years of the guys, I’d bet we rebound quite well.
Just don’t get too fancy. Make a decision on Fried early, keep your catchers, hold onto what we have.
I think this team is still legit, and this year was just a fluke. We are closer to our 2023 team and how great we were then, so don’t get too fancy.
We are already adding 2 MVP candidates back to offense, a Cy Young candidate back to rotation, and didn’t have our Cy Young winner for postseason but he will be back. That’s a pretty good start to the offseason.
We do that, we probably stick with Arcia at SS and I’m okay with that. I’m okay with the offense period. Adding Acuna and Riley back to go along with the injuries/down years of the guys, I’d bet we rebound quite well.
Just don’t get too fancy. Make a decision on Fried early, keep your catchers, hold onto what we have.
I think this team is still legit, and this year was just a fluke. We are closer to our 2023 team and how great we were then, so don’t get too fancy.
We are already adding 2 MVP candidates back to offense, a Cy Young candidate back to rotation, and didn’t have our Cy Young winner for postseason but he will be back. That’s a pretty good start to the offseason.
Yup. I mentioned that a couple months back. Of course our SS situation at the time looked a bit better than it does now, with Arcia coming off a solid 2022 and Shewmake and Grissom being potential (though not great) options.
Right now, we have no one capable of playing SS except for Arcia, who was statistically the worst qualified hitter in all of baseball.
Hell no. Swanson's contract is beyond awful. Murphy likely isn't this bad. Murphy doesn't have to hit very much to be worth his contract of 4/60. Swanson has 5/137 guaranteed remaining.
There was a report at the deadline that the Cubs were interested in Murphy.
chop2chip
Well-known member
I don’t hate it. It probably doesn’t work straight up.
Tapate50
Well-known member
50PoundHead
Hessmania Forever
Interesting off-season ahead. My hope is that Anthopoulos doesn't try to get too creative and simply addresses needs without taking on bad contracts. If Soler is moved, dollars will be going along with him, which is why I thought that trade was a bit odd when it happened. One option would be picking up Ozuna's option and then trading him, but at his age, there would likely be dollars heading with him to his next destination. I wouldn't call that a lose/lose, but it would depend on what would be coming back.
I agree with Crimson that the rotation is the biggest question mark. I love Fried, but someone will overpay for him both in terms of years and AAV. Maybe it's just me, but I don't want to see another go-round with Morton, but he may return if the price is right. People talk about Snitker having "his guys," but Anthopoulos is the same way in that regard and Morton is clearly one of Anthopoulos' guys. The Sale and Lopez bets paid off big and if the season had unfolded differently, Sale throws less innings and maybe avoids his late-season back problem. Schwellenbach was developed the right way and looks to be a fixture going forward. Question mark on Strider as to how much the surgery will affect his game. He has been a power pitcher, but he's also a cerebral guy and if anyone can re-invent himself to some extent, it's probably him. Waldrep, Smith-Shawver, Elder, and Hackenberg may all figure into the equation, but it would be nice to find at least one mid-level veteran to provide some insurance.
Bullpen should be okay. Iglesias will be 35, but he certainly didn't show his age this year. Johnson and Jimenez are good RHP set-up guys and Lee and Bummer also pitched well as LHP. Chavez is retiring. Holmes, like Lee, looks to be another reclamation project that has worked out (Braves seem to be good at this with pitchers). Daysbel Hernandez may also grow into a bigger role (unless his girth grows too much). Questions on Minter and Matzek. Front office has shown itself to do very well in bullpen assemblage, so fans should be confident about that.
At risk of glaring understatement, the Braves clearly missed Acuna (and not just on the field). He's a chaser of inconsequential stats, but he's clearly the straw that stirs the drink and the team lost a ton of swagger with him sidelined. The core of the team remains for the next few seasons for good or ill. Some of us were skeptics of the long-term contracts that were handed out to just about everyone. We'll have to see how it plays out, but there's no denying that the extensions have limited payroll flexibility. As for individual players, Harris has growth potential, but he looks like his offensive value is going to be BA-driven. Olson may be in slow decline, but he can still have a stretch when he looks like an MVP. Hard to tell on Albies. There are days when I think he and Acuna play rock-paper-scissors in the dugout to determine which one can do something stupid during the game. Riley should bounce back. Catching situation will be interesting to watch going forward and shortstop needs to be addressed. Arcia is fine if he's batting 9th, but the problem this year with all the injuries is that the Braves had half a line-up that should have been batting 9th. My guess is Kelenic returns because Anthopoulos isn't going to wave the white flag on him given all the machinations required to acquire him. Quality depth will be needed there and I wouldn't be surprised if Soler was retained instead of Ozuna because he can shuffle between COF and DH to give Acuna some time at DH.
Something has to be done about the bench. Snitker doesn't use the bench, but I think it can be argued (probably not effectively) that you can't use what you don't have. If nothing changes with the starting IF, Alvarez probably starts 2025 in Gwinnett as a finishing school and plays around the IF a bit in an attempt to make him a viable depth option. Even with that, I hope they can find a veteran who can play SS on an extended basis (Kevin Newman is someone to consider as a FA but he could be pricey). Whatever the case (Snitker or bench construction), they have to do something and if Snitker's overall strategy is largely going to consist of his handwriting and spelling, the front office is going to have to sit him down and really demand that he govern his bench policy differently.
Lost season due to the injuries. I can't remember a team that was so decimated by major injuries. Only 7 players played more than 100 games and two of those (Kelenic and Duvall) were platoon guys whose roles diminished as the season wore on. Should be an interesting off-season. Shopping list is focused on a couple of key areas and a lot will depend (as it did at the deadline) on payroll flexibility. The front office will need to be creative, but as I said above, I hope they don't get so creative that they set up a row of dominos that tumble when things don't go as expected. There's still a ton of talent on this team and outside of the Phillies, the teams below the Braves remain so-so. So I go into 2025 cautiously optimistic.
I agree with Crimson that the rotation is the biggest question mark. I love Fried, but someone will overpay for him both in terms of years and AAV. Maybe it's just me, but I don't want to see another go-round with Morton, but he may return if the price is right. People talk about Snitker having "his guys," but Anthopoulos is the same way in that regard and Morton is clearly one of Anthopoulos' guys. The Sale and Lopez bets paid off big and if the season had unfolded differently, Sale throws less innings and maybe avoids his late-season back problem. Schwellenbach was developed the right way and looks to be a fixture going forward. Question mark on Strider as to how much the surgery will affect his game. He has been a power pitcher, but he's also a cerebral guy and if anyone can re-invent himself to some extent, it's probably him. Waldrep, Smith-Shawver, Elder, and Hackenberg may all figure into the equation, but it would be nice to find at least one mid-level veteran to provide some insurance.
Bullpen should be okay. Iglesias will be 35, but he certainly didn't show his age this year. Johnson and Jimenez are good RHP set-up guys and Lee and Bummer also pitched well as LHP. Chavez is retiring. Holmes, like Lee, looks to be another reclamation project that has worked out (Braves seem to be good at this with pitchers). Daysbel Hernandez may also grow into a bigger role (unless his girth grows too much). Questions on Minter and Matzek. Front office has shown itself to do very well in bullpen assemblage, so fans should be confident about that.
At risk of glaring understatement, the Braves clearly missed Acuna (and not just on the field). He's a chaser of inconsequential stats, but he's clearly the straw that stirs the drink and the team lost a ton of swagger with him sidelined. The core of the team remains for the next few seasons for good or ill. Some of us were skeptics of the long-term contracts that were handed out to just about everyone. We'll have to see how it plays out, but there's no denying that the extensions have limited payroll flexibility. As for individual players, Harris has growth potential, but he looks like his offensive value is going to be BA-driven. Olson may be in slow decline, but he can still have a stretch when he looks like an MVP. Hard to tell on Albies. There are days when I think he and Acuna play rock-paper-scissors in the dugout to determine which one can do something stupid during the game. Riley should bounce back. Catching situation will be interesting to watch going forward and shortstop needs to be addressed. Arcia is fine if he's batting 9th, but the problem this year with all the injuries is that the Braves had half a line-up that should have been batting 9th. My guess is Kelenic returns because Anthopoulos isn't going to wave the white flag on him given all the machinations required to acquire him. Quality depth will be needed there and I wouldn't be surprised if Soler was retained instead of Ozuna because he can shuffle between COF and DH to give Acuna some time at DH.
Something has to be done about the bench. Snitker doesn't use the bench, but I think it can be argued (probably not effectively) that you can't use what you don't have. If nothing changes with the starting IF, Alvarez probably starts 2025 in Gwinnett as a finishing school and plays around the IF a bit in an attempt to make him a viable depth option. Even with that, I hope they can find a veteran who can play SS on an extended basis (Kevin Newman is someone to consider as a FA but he could be pricey). Whatever the case (Snitker or bench construction), they have to do something and if Snitker's overall strategy is largely going to consist of his handwriting and spelling, the front office is going to have to sit him down and really demand that he govern his bench policy differently.
Lost season due to the injuries. I can't remember a team that was so decimated by major injuries. Only 7 players played more than 100 games and two of those (Kelenic and Duvall) were platoon guys whose roles diminished as the season wore on. Should be an interesting off-season. Shopping list is focused on a couple of key areas and a lot will depend (as it did at the deadline) on payroll flexibility. The front office will need to be creative, but as I said above, I hope they don't get so creative that they set up a row of dominos that tumble when things don't go as expected. There's still a ton of talent on this team and outside of the Phillies, the teams below the Braves remain so-so. So I go into 2025 cautiously optimistic.
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msstate7
Well-known member
Maybe. Swanson has put up 4.9 and 4.3 fWAR the last 2 seasons.
jsebe10
Well-known member
I'm not ok with any scenario that keeps Arcia as our SS...we have got to move on from because we desperately need some production from that position in lineup.
bravesfanMatt
Steve Harvey'd
yeah, but Swanson is owed 5 more years of 26-28 million per. He needs to be putting up 5 plus every year for that to payoff...
I always liked swanson.. but that contract is super risky.
Again, 5 years and 137 million. We weren't willing to go anywhere near that 2 years ago. There is no reason to do it now when he's 2 years older.
Murphy likely isn't as bad as he showed this year. He was super unlucky on BABIP. And he was returning from an oblique strain. And he still managed 1.3 bWAR.