The Braves Of The Future

Written by Dan on July 8, 2008 – 8:49 am

One of my favorite things to do as a baseball person is to think about what is next for teams. Coming up for the Braves regardless to whether or not they are buyers or sellers at the trading deadline are a ton of free agent departures at the end of the year that will clean out the books. Mike Hampton (15M), Chipper Jones (15M), John Smoltz (14M), Mark Teixeira (12.5M), Tom Glavine (8M) and Mark Kotsay (7M) are all either free agents or in their option years. The options belong to Chipper Jones and John Smoltz and each give the players less money in 2009 than what they currently earn (Jones - 8M to 11M; Smoltz - 12M). Glavine, Kotsay and Hampton are unlikely to return, all of which will clear around 36 million for all intensive purposes. With this money, I expect the Braves to be one of the most entertaining clubs to watch this winter.

First, there has been a lot of talk as to whether or not Mark Teixeira will be returning to the Braves in 2009. Assuming that he makes it to August, with the extra money that would be freed up, the Braves will absolutely be able to make a competitive offer on Teixeira. I’d guess Teixeira will command 15-18 million dollars over 4 or 5 seasons. Roughly, around 30 million dollars will be available after that contact and as much as 60 could be available if Smoltz and Teixeira will not return. That is a lot of money to piece the team back together with and here are some of the new names to think about:

The needs that the Braves will be looking to address are offensive depth, starting pitching and potentially an arm for the bullpen. I think that the player that every Braves fan should be pulling for is new Brewers lefty, CC Sabathia. While I worry about how ell an overweight pitcher can hold up for the duration of a long-term contract (ex. - Bartolo Colon), I find this to be too perfect of an opportunity. The Braves have long been known for their dominant starting pitching and a 1-2, lefty-righty punch of CC Sabathia and Tim Hudson would quickly become one of the leagues top end of the rotation. From a marketing perspective, bringing in Sabathia, an African American, would be great for the Braves, the city of Atlanta and Major League Baseball. This because Atlanta is very proud of its African American heritage, yet the Braves do not have a player that identifies as African American besides prospect Brandon Jones. In a city with such a great history for African Americans, Sabathia would be a huge addition for the Braves in more ways than one. The rotation would shape up to be Sabathia/Hudson/Jurrjens/Morton/Reyes/Campillo. With the amount of injuries that have befallen the Braves this season, it would be smart to have another pitcher to be versatile. These types of cheap options can be available even through March and the the list of free agents that fit this mold are Paul Byrd, Josh Fogg, Mark Hendrickson, Jason Jennings, Esteban Loaiza, Carl Pavano, Brett Tomko and Kip Wells.

With the deluge of outfield prospects that will be raining into Atlanta over the next few seasons with Gorkys Hernandez, Jordan Schaffer and Brandon Jones on the way, it would be a good move for the Braves to have a veteran outfielder around to ease their growing pains. Earlier this season, Raul Ibanez’s name was thrown around as a trade option. I loved that idea then, and I’d love to see the Braves pick him up in the offseason. Ibanez, 37, is an aging player, but is still very productive. Since 2002, his lowest RBI total was 62 in 2004, a season in which he missed 39 games. He has eclipsed the 100 RBI total three times in his career as well. Having him around will push Matt Diaz into the super sub role once again, where he is best suited. Gregor Blanco and the rookies can share time in center-field. He would be an excellent player to have around to increase the depth and fluid nature of the team.

The additions of Sabathia and Ibanez as well as the signing of Teixeira would put the Braves in excellent position to be favorites in the NL east in 2009. Most important to me is that these are three durable players that can be counted on to be on the roster for most of the season. The direction that Frank Wren takes this offseason could very well define his career as Braves GM.

- Dan

Tags: C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira
Posted in Speculation |