This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat publication. To learn the total publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it recurrently in your inbox.
ATLANTA — Had the Braves erased at the very least one among their huge wants earlier than signing outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract on Sunday, the signing won’t have been obtained as unfavorably as latest Kirk Cousins highlights.
What’s the perfect factor that may very well be stated about De La Cruz? He has choices. In different phrases, if he doesn’t win a roster spot in Spring Coaching, you may drive up I-85 and watch him play for Triple-A Gwinnett. This does not change a lot for a fan base that has been anxiously awaiting a transfer.
We will debate whether or not including a beginning pitcher, outfielder or reduction pitcher is the Braves’ best want. However even after the signing of De La Cruz, who produced a unfavourable WAR every of the previous two years, we must always all agree that including an outfielder is the group’s most vital precedence.
This has been a quiet offseason highlighted by cost-cutting strikes. Clubhouse chief Travis d’Arnaud was bid adieu when the Braves didn’t train his $8 million possibility. You don’t wish to pay this a lot for a 35-year-old backup catcher, particularly when Sean Murphy is about to make $15 million this yr? OK, that checks.
The Braves additionally reworked the contracts of Reynaldo López and Aaron Bummer in a method that gives each of them a lower-than-anticipated wage for 2025 and a higher-than-anticipated wage for future seasons. Ramón Laureano was additionally non-tendered when the group needed to determine whether or not he’d be value no matter he’d have obtained in arbitration.
Each one among these 2025 cost-cutting strikes made sense. However it’s “present me the cash” time.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos stated he wouldn’t be deterred by the potential of the penalties (larger taxes) that may include exceeding the Aggressive Steadiness Tax threshold for a 3rd straight yr. The Braves stay roughly $24 million beneath that threshold. That will sound like lots provided that you haven’t seen present salaries, particularly in the case of free-agent pitchers.
Anthopoulos has loads of time to show he’s prepared to spend this offseason. That being stated, it’s by no means smart to spend simply to spend. However for now, his message of not being financially restricted contradicts the latest paper path.
This might change over the subsequent few weeks and months. As an alternative of specializing in phrases, it’s all the time smart to comply with the cash. The present path may understandably create some pessimism concerning the group’s willingness to spend. Or perhaps, it truly reveals the Braves are saving as much as make at the very least one huge transfer.
Had some huge strikes been made beforehand, the signing of De La Cruz would have been acknowledged for what it’s: the addition of organizational depth. However for now, it stands as an uninspiring interruption for what presently stands as an anxious Braves fan base.
