Does this mean we all should be outraged? No because their is still 3 months before opening day and a lot of time left, but I don't think we are fully stating how "under payroll" we are at this point: Atlanta finished 2018 with a team payroll of $136 million according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. That total was a franchise record but ranked just 19th highest in baseball. With $25 million already added to the payroll with the signings of Donaldson and McCann, Spotrac shows the Braves currently have roughly $77 million invested in eight players. Another seven are projected to total just over $27 million through arbitration by MLB Trade Rumors ($104 million), which brings the total to roughly 25-30 million below even 2018 payroll as of this writing. So yes AA should be given the benefit of the doubt until opening day. If the payroll is still 10's of millions below 2018 then something is seriously wrong. However, not time to panic yet
Instead we'll just cherrypick some stats and ignore that Robertson's been consistently very good for almost a decade now.
Assuming that this means his grievance was shot down, this should lock in Atlanta getting the 9th overall pick as compensation.
If Atlanta doesn't sign a free agent outfielder or trade for one, is there a chance they may give Austin Riley a crash course thus spring to see if he is even a feasible option in right? He surely has the arm for the position, I would just be worried about his speed and mobility. Jeff Sullivan There was already preexisting talk about him getting some OF reps in spring training. I expect them to address the outfield eventually, but I also think we'll see Riley start to move around if he isn't traded What should the Braves do about their RF hole at this point? Jeff Sullivan I think someone like Derek Fisher would make for an interesting buy-low, but they could conceivably do that *and* reunite with Nick Markakis since I can't imagine his market is all that strong The Padres also have an outfielder or two to move, if you feel like trading a young hard-throwing pitcher
2:45 Eric: I know you don’t want to comment on other teams rankings or reporting, but Baseball America’s JJ Cooper said on the Braves podcast today that among their Top 10 prospects, Atlanta is pushing Cristian Pache in trade talks with other teams. Have you heard the same thing? 2:46 Kiley McDaniel: I’ve heard a different name as the one they’d like to move if they have to move one
I'm OK with moving Riley, one of Waters/Pache (prefer to keep Waters), and an arm. That should be good enough for Trout
3:00 v2micca: Of the six pitchers that made your top ten in the Braves prospect list, how many of them to you expect to still be in the Braves organization this time next year? 3:00 Kiley McDaniel: over/under of 4.5
That feels like trade negotiating/leveraging more than anything else. “No, no, we’re *totally* fine rolling with Duvall. We definitely don’t need to give our right arm for your guy.”
Also, I don't see anything leaking out of this FO unless it's absolutely a message that AA wants out there to push a narrative.
I think the worry for Kimbrel might be that is his AAV ceiling isn't much higher than $14-15M either.
One thing I will say about CK is that he’s been healthy pretty consistently. At least if you pay more you feel like he’ll be there to play.
As we're constructed now, I think 84 is a fair number. Hopefully we make 1 or 2 moves to make that number seem low
Seems like Ian Anderson’s spin rates are super low on the board. Is a 91-94 FB with a spin rate of 2175 RPM really above average? Or a curveball at 1700 RPM? I know the write up acknowledged he wasn’t a spin rate maven, but wow those are low. Kiley McDaniel: Yes, they are. His feel for pitching will be key going forward How do you compare FV by age and position? Is a 55 FV pitcher who is 19 really as valuable as a 55 FV catcher who is 22 and on the brink of the majors? Kiley McDaniel: Yes, that’s folded in the rankings. Generally speaking, that 19-year-old 55 FV would have some real chance to be a frontline arm (think Mackenzie Gore), while the 22-year-old one would be a less risk, less upside version like Kyle Wright and they also went 2 picks apart in the draft. Is Freddy Tarnok the real deal? Kiley McDaniel: I’d wait until this year, but the markers are there for a breakout Not including international signings, 11 of the Braves’ top 12 prospects were drafted in 1st or 2nd rounds and have 45+ FV. Is this fairly common or does this highlight the skill (or luck?) of their scouting department? Kiley McDaniel: There’s lots of lists where the top is all top 50 overall picks and top 15 July 2 bonuses