Official 2022 Offseason Moves Thread

JxnMissFan said:
AA needs to stick with the blueprint he has used the last 4 years. Short term high AAV contracts, trading for and signing players with peripherals that indicate they will have positive regression, having depth in the minors and the bench to help weather injuries, having payroll flexibility at the trade deadline and not making high cost win now moves has resulted in 4 division titles and a world series win. So if AA sticks to his model Freddie probably wont be back. I think 5/135 offer is the max the Braves can offer and still remain competitive. As people on here have pointed out, historically 1st basemen don't age well. I love Freddie but I really don't want to watch him struggle the last 3 years of a 6 year contract.

My dream would be for the Braves to get Olson from the A's but I doubt that will happen.

Assuming not signing Freddie allows for 30 million in spending, I would look at signing both Rizzo and Chris Taylor on 3 year deals with a 4th year option. The pair wouldn't cost much more than 30 to 35 million a year.

Brandon Belt is an interesting option too if he would sign a one year deal.

Kris Bryant will probably get less money than projections despite being a Boras client. His defense would age better at 1st. Bryant is 2 years younger than Freddie, so a 5 year contact to him would probably work out better on the back end.
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I agree. It's no coincidence the worst contracts currently on the books are the 3 and 4 year FA deals AA gave out the last 2 off-seasons.

Committing long term dollars to declining players is precisely how contention windows slam shut.
 
If the 6th year really is the sticking point then I doubt we give it to him bc we would have already. FF knows this is his last contract so he’s trying to milk it for all he can. If that’s the case he can go elsewhere.
 
Enscheff said:
The only thing we could check is his spin rates before and after he went to the Astros. If the spin rate increased by 100+, then we can probably assume he did something. If it stayed flat, and we assume he didn't cheat in Detroit, that may mean he never cheated.
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Baseball Savant says...

As an Astro (3 seasons plus 2020): 2524 - 2618 rpm on the FA

As a Tiger (3 seasons): 2491 - 2558

So there was some increase, but not in the 200 rpm range we see with the obvious offenders. For example, RiRod went from like 2500+ down to 2312 with the Braves, which is almost exactly what his spin rate was in 2018...2375. It is blatantly obvious he started cheating in 2019, and as soon as he stopped his spin rates went back to normal. He should simply be nontendered.
 
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David O'Brien
@DOBrienATL
Also heard #Braves at least discussed possibility of bringing back Mark Melancon, though I don't know if they're willing to offer the kind of contract he might be seeking after he declined $5M mutual option with Padres. He'll be 37 in March, had 2.23 ERA, 1.222 WHIP, 39/45 saves.
 
ixiXSolidXixi said:
David O'Brien
@DOBrienATL
Also heard #Braves at least discussed possibility of bringing back Mark Melancon, though I don't know if they're willing to offer the kind of contract he might be seeking after he declined $5M mutual option with Padres. He'll be 37 in March, had 2.23 ERA, 1.222 WHIP, 39/45 saves.
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I’d go 1 year 8 million on MM.
 
bravesfanforlife88 said:
Heyman reporting that Verlander has multi year and 1 year offers in hand, expected to make a decision this week.
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I could see us offering both but especially the 1 year offer. Verlander sees we just won the WS and that was without Acuna. Atlanta is a top destination now and it’s awesome. We check off every box he’s wanting.
 
Enscheff said:
I can't even fathom the Braves having enough payroll to give Verlander $20M, Freeman close to $30M, and still have enough cash for LF and CF.

I mean...wow. That would require something like a $190M+ payroll in 2022, and possibly $200M+.
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Don't see all that happening either - of course there was the mention that the "plan" was for the team to return to being a Top 10 payroll when the stadium and battery opened. If you use last season's Sportrac numbers, moving into the Top 10 would mean a $15-$27 million increase depending on whether you're using the 26-Man Payroll or Total Payroll. (https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/2021/)

If the original plan was that $15 million plus increase to begin with AND Alex was going to splurge the extra playoff revenue on Freeman, I suppose bringing Freddie back and signing someone like Verlander is "feasible", but it sure as *ell seems unlikely IMO. Even if it were legitimate, you'd have to assume that means none of the OFs would back (even Duvall) and that Pache or Waters would be in one (if not both) of the CF and LF spots and that they're planning for Acuna to be ready for Opening Day. Maybe they know that Ozuna's suspension is going to be at least X number of games already and that means they'll have enough money so that Duvall can be kept to play LF.
 
Enscheff said:
I agree. It's no coincidence the worst contracts currently on the books are the 3 and 4 year FA deals AA gave out the last 2 off-seasons.

Committing long term dollars to declining players is precisely how contention windows slam shut.
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It's funny that the deal that looked very solid at the time, as far as "3 and 4 year FA deals" go, is now the big albatross (for reasons entirely outside the diamond), while the one that looked terrible at the outset at least netted the Braves one of the best postseason performances all-time by a closer. Just shows why those types of deal, usually for very good but sub-star level players, are so sketchy: there's simply so much room for extreme variance.
 
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