Official Offseason Thread

The Chosen One said:
I hope Webb is healthy in 2020. I really missed seeing him pitch the second half. Also hoping Sobotka can finally figure his **** out. That arm is too talented to be wasted.
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Saw on rotoworld, Webb is expected to be ready for spring training.

Some intriguing arms Braves have for the last 2-3 spots like Sobotka, Webb, Dayton, Minter, Walker, and even guys like Newk/Touki if they dont win a rotation spot. Throw in Smith, MM, Greene, O'Day as well as Luke, that's a deep, deep pen.
 
Heyward said:
Saw on rotoworld, Webb is expected to be ready for spring training.

Some intriguing arms Braves have for the last 2-3 spots like Sobotka, Webb, Dayton, Minter, Walker, and even guys like Newk/Touki if they dont win a rotation spot. Throw in Smith, MM, Greene, O'Day as well as Luke, that's a deep, deep pen.
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We still need some breaks to happen. It'd be great if Melancon can remain solid, Greene can continue to overperform to a certain degree, Luke can stay consistent, Newk can continue his growth, and guys like Sobotka can figure things out. If we can catch a few of those breaks then the pen could end up being one of the strengths of the team next year.
 
Our pen generated 1.1 fWAR this past season. It is the area we are most likely to improve upon in 2020. The top 5 pens generated 6-8 WAR. So there is the potential to add some wins there.

I'm guessing the pitching staff shakes out like this when team breaks spring training:

Rotation: Fried, Soroka, Folty, Newk, one of Wilson/Wright/Touki

Lefty Relievers: Smith, Minter, Dayton

Right Relievers: Melancon, Greene, O'Day, Jackson, one of Wilson/Wright/Touki/Webb/Sobotka

Lefties in AAA: Muller, Davidson, Clouse, Pfeiffer, Burrows

Righties in AAA: Aside from the guys already listed above, Anderson, Ynoa, Weigel, Walker

I'm ok giving Newk one last shot as a starter, but it shouldn't be a long leash. He either does the job out of the gate or gets replaced.
 
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I would be as shocked as I was when AA gave Smith 3 years if the Braves don't acquire a #3-#4 SP (or better via trade).

Seems like a terrible idea for a contender to leave 40% of the rotation in the hands of guys who have proven nothing. If Newk earns another shot in the rotation he will need to beat out Wilson/Wright/Touki/etc to do it.
 
Enscheff said:
I would be as shocked as I was when AA gave Smith 3 years if the Braves don't acquire a #3-#4 SP (or better via trade).

Seems like a terrible idea for a contender to leave 40% of the rotation in the hands of guys who have proven nothing. If Newk earns another shot in the rotation he will need to beat out Wilson/Wright/Touki/etc to do it.
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It could be the Smith signing indicates that the budget will be significantly bigger, in which case I could see us adding a proven starter.

Or the $$ spent on Smith were the $$ that might have gone to a starting pitcher.

There is a third possibility which is we cash in some chips from the prospect pool to get a "proven" starter who is still low salary such as Matt Boyd.

Another fourth possibility is to do some dumpster shopping in hopes of finding another Anibal.
 
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I'm hoping AA gets good value via trade on this year's Paxton, but I'm afraid he will end up signing someone like Porcello.

I thought he would get someone like Hamels on a 1 year deal, but the cash may not be available anymore to make that happen.

Truthfully, it's hard/impossible to predict what AA will do after the Smith contract.
 
Enscheff said:
I'm hoping AA gets good value via trade on this year's Paxton, but I'm afraid he will end up signing someone like Porcello.

I thought he would get someone like Hamels on a 1 year deal, but the cash may not be available anymore to make that happen.

Truthfully, it's hard/impossible to predict what AA will do after the Smith contract.
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I keep forgetting about Hamels. He is a logical fit in terms $$, years and his stated interest to pitch for a contending team.
 
Carp said:
I absolutely trust Melancon and Greene both way more than I ever trusted Viz. Minty was bad luck, but I'd have put him on par with them coming off his 2018, though I give an extra nod to Greene and Melancon for their closing experience.
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The point was that last year the only trustworthy guys were Vizcaino and Minter. This year the only 2 were Melancon and Greene. Two guys then, two guys now, until the Will Smith signing.

That's why zb said the pens were setup much the same, each had two quality pieces and nothing but questions behind them.
 
Jaw said:
The point was that last year the only trustworthy guys were Vizcaino and Minter. This year the only 2 were Melancon and Greene. Two guys then, two guys now, until the Will Smith signing.

That's why zb said the pens were setup much the same, each had two quality pieces and nothing but questions behind them.
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To be fair going into last season it wasn’t about who closes. It was about the depth. Even before fresh prince I felt better about our pen than I did this time last year. A lot better to be honest. Of course I hate the term closer anyway. Pitch the best guy for the right situation. Saving your best pitcher for the ninth because of a title is archaic and dumb.

Like others when I separate the loss of draft pick and thoughts that we just spent our budget. I love the signing. Smith is a great arm. I just hope we don’t skimp else where because of it.
 
Things wouldn't have been so bad if Minter wasn't horrendous.

Minter being awful really hurt. So did Sobo. I actually felt good about our pen was more worried about starters since Soroka was coming back from injury.
 
Wow, I liked Clvclv's idea that maybe AA is trying to build a deeper pen to help cut down innings for our somewhat inning restricted young starters. They seemed to play that down this year but I still think it's a concern.

I also was thinking Kimbrel was needed more last offseason, but then Enscheff fixed that idea with the whole thing that we do Kimbrel overpriced himself in the offseason and only took less after sitting half a season. Plus Smith is a left and we were very weak there if Newcomb (and Fried) are not in the pen.

I'm still leading the group that thinks AA will either sign a scrapheap starter for a few $mil unless he somehow get a #1/2 (like he did with Keuchel), and he'll use the money elsewhere.
 
bravesfanMatt said:
To be fair going into last season it wasn’t about who closes. It was about the depth. Even before fresh prince I felt better about our pen than I did this time last year. A lot better to be honest. Of course I hate the term closer anyway. Pitch the best guy for the right situation. Saving your best pitcher for the ninth because of a title is archaic and dumb.

Like others when I separate the loss of draft pick and thoughts that we just spent our budget. I love the signing. Smith is a great arm. I just hope we don’t skimp else where because of it.
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"The interest in Ozuna gained some clarity for his agent Melvin Roman this week as he met with teams. At least six teams have expressed initial interest in Ozuna and according to multiple sources that group includes the Reds and the White Sox. Atlanta and Texas also have some interest. The Cardinals and Ozuna’s agent both say they remain in contact. Ozuna has expressed an interest in remaining with the Cardinals. The Cardinals are reluctant to commit the amount of years Ozuna seeks."

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/bas...cle_867454c1-9df8-593b-831c-33fe5ea9a2be.html
 
nsacpi said:
Our pen generated 1.1 fWAR this past season. It is the area we are most likely to improve upon in 2020. The top 5 pens generated 6-8 WAR. So there is the potential to add some wins there.

I'm guessing the pitching staff shakes out like this when team breaks spring training:

Rotation: Fried, Soroka, Folty, Newk, one of Wilson/Wright/Touki

Lefty Relievers: Smith, Minter, Dayton

Right Relievers: Melancon, Greene, O'Day, Jackson, one of Wilson/Wright/Touki/Webb/Sobotka

Lefties in AAA: Muller, Davidson, Clouse, Pfeiffer, Burrows

Righties in AAA: Aside from the guys already listed above, Anderson, Ynoa, Weigel, Walker

I'm ok giving Newk one last shot as a starter, but it shouldn't be a long leash. He either does the job out of the gate or gets replaced.
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Maybe, maybe not - all three are Rule V eligible.
 
Enscheff said:
I would be as shocked as I was when AA gave Smith 3 years if the Braves don't acquire a #3-#4 SP (or better via trade).

Seems like a terrible idea for a contender to leave 40% of the rotation in the hands of guys who have proven nothing. If Newk earns another shot in the rotation he will need to beat out Wilson/Wright/Touki/etc to do it.
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It's funny, but not surprising, that we are almost in the same exact position this off season as we were last season.
 
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