This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat e-newsletter. To learn the total e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it often in your inbox.
ATLANTA — In the event you’re itching for the Braves to make a major acquisition, you could be comforted to be reminded that president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has made a few of his most important acquisitions through the month of November.
Notable November acquisitions2018: C Brian McCann and 3B Josh Donaldson each signal one-year deals2019: C Travis d’Arnaud indicators a two-year deal; LHP Will Smith indicators a three-year deal2020: RHP Charlie Morton indicators a one-year contract2023: RHP Reynaldo López indicators a three-year contract
Annual offseason roster reconstruction may be likened to constructing a puzzle. You may’t deal with a few of your items (roster wants) till you might have positioned different items (different wants). So, with the necessity to add a beginning pitcher, two relievers, an outfielder and probably a utility infielder, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Anthopoulos add to his checklist of key November additions.
As an alternative of getting right into a bidding struggle for a free agent, the Braves may go the commerce route like they did once they landed Chris Sale final winter. The Braves received Sale and $17 million in alternate for Vaughn Grissom. Fairly certain that type of larceny would get you 15-20 years in most states.
Which beginning pitchers could be accessible through commerce this winter? How a few Sale clone?
As a hard-throwing, lanky southpaw who has give you the White Sox, Garrett Crochet has drawn comparisons to Sale. The 25-year-old hurler with two arbitration-eligible seasons remaining would be the most desired pitcher on the commerce market this 12 months.
Feinsand additionally listed the Angels’ Taylor Ward as one of many outfielders who might be moved. Ward will surely match the Braves. And no, I’m not saying that simply because he’s with the Angels, who’ve turn out to be what the Royals have been to the Braves after Dayton Moore went to Kansas Metropolis almost 20 years in the past.
The story included this paragraph about Ward:
Ward isn’t the kind of participant who will change a franchise’s fortunes, however he could make a professional influence on an already strong lineup. The Angels may capitalize on the membership contractual management to import extra younger expertise into the group.
That is primarily what the Braves want as they put together to seemingly spend the season’s first six to eight weeks with out Ronald Acuña Jr. If the season began right this moment, Atlanta’s outfield would encompass Michael Harris II, Ramón Laureano and Jarred Kelenic. Eli White can be the backup outfielder.
Ward may stabilize the outfield combine for a few months after which staff with Acuña and Harris to type a strong outfield trio over the rest of the season.
The Braves additionally should determine whether or not they wish to pay Laureano the approximate $6 million he may obtain through arbitration. A call might be made by the Nov. 22 non-tender deadline.
