Braves Regular Season

stinger78

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I can see that. On another note, I grew to like Laureano but wonder if he's odd man out when Acuna returns. He's good enough to play somewhere, no need to sit on the bench here unless he just likes it here.

And have we seen the last of Duvall? I think yes.
I think Duvy retires. Hope the Braves keep him in the organization somewhere.

Top shelf FA SA is in the $30M range now, even for a DS who is not much better than Arcia, IMPO. That’s plus $20M. Just not sure.
 

kg01

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Who are we supposed to want to end up winning it all this year?

Personally, I'm rooting for everybody to lose.

Eh, maybe I'll go for Freddie to get another one ... I guess.
 

Golden Tornadoes

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I think Duvy retires. Hope the Braves keep him in the organization somewhere.

Top shelf FA SA is in the $30M range now, even for a DS who is not much better than Arcia, IMPO. That’s plus $20M. Just not sure.
Could we try to sign Adames? Would the Brewers be willing to give him $20M?
 

Golden Tornadoes

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Would we?
Not for $20M but sign me up for $15M. We need production from the SS position, and I feel like Arcia regressed to the point he became a liability with the glove and bat. However, he doesn't have an option until '26 but is only making $2M a year.

It sounds like AA wants to keep increasing payroll and is willing to re-sign Laureano through arbitration. I doubt Fried comes back which clears up his $15M from last year and possibly north of $20M going forward. Morton could very well be retiring which is $20M freed up. Chavez is retiring. Minter could get a one-year "prove it" deal. Outside of that, every other position is pretty well locked up. If payroll is going to keep increasing, AA has got to sign some dudes or make trades with an immediate extension.
 

stinger78

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Not for $20M but sign me up for $15M. We need production from the SS position, and I feel like Arcia regressed to the point he became a liability with the glove and bat. However, he doesn't have an option until '26 but is only making $2M a year.

It sounds like AA wants to keep increasing payroll and is willing to re-sign Laureano through arbitration. I doubt Fried comes back which clears up his $15M from last year and possibly north of $20M going forward. Morton could very well be retiring which is $20M freed up. Chavez is retiring. Minter could get a one-year "prove it" deal. Outside of that, every other position is pretty well locked up. If payroll is going to keep increasing, AA has got to sign some dudes or make trades with an immediate extension.
Granted the Braves could do better than Arcia, but is the delta is payroll worth the delta in production? And… can they really use 2024 as a benchmark? The Braves top to bottom batted 20-30 points lower in 2024 than 2023. Arcia was not alone.

Dansby Swanson is making $26M/year and hit .242 with 16 HR last year, making 5 E and posting a .990 fielding percentage.

Orlando Arcia is making $2M/year and hit .218 with 17 HR last year, making 11 E and posting a .981 fielding percentage.

Is the difference between those two worth $24m per year?

Certainly the Braves could do better, but Arcia was an NL All Star in 2023. Is that the place to put money first and foremost? I’m a bit skittish of that.
 

Golden Tornadoes

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Granted the Braves could do better than Arcia, but is the delta is payroll worth the delta in production? And… can they really use 2024 as a benchmark? The Braves top to bottom batted 20-30 points lower in 2024 than 2023. Arcia was not alone.

Dansby Swanson is making $26M/year and hit .242 with 16 HR last year, making 5 E and posting a .990 fielding percentage.

Orlando Arcia is making $2M/year and hit .218 with 17 HR last year, making 11 E and posting a .981 fielding percentage.

Is the difference between those two worth $24m per year?

Certainly the Braves could do better, but Arcia was an NL All Star in 2023. Is that the place to put money first and foremost? I’m a bit skittish of that.
While last season was certainly bad, his career numbers align closer to last year than '23. His defensive stats this year were actually better than last years' All-Star campaign. That .981 fielding percentage this year marks an increase from .977 last year. He has a career .975 fielding percentage at SS. If he was a defensive savant but didn't have a great bat like an Andrelton Simmons, then I'd be fine with it. Conversely, if he had a great bat but subpar defense, I'd be okay with it. The problem I'm seeing is that he isn't great at either or really even good at either. Now maybe he is a stopgap until Nacho is ready which I would agree with and get on board with. AA hasn't nor isn't going to come right out and say something like that which leads us to speculate.

I would be okay with spending money elsewhere or even saving it for the coming contracts of Acuna and Albies. If we have leftovers or if our initial SP plans fall through, I'd like to address SS. After looking at the stats though, even Adames wouldn't necessarily be an upgrade over Arcia. I doubt SS gets addressed this year and like I said, that's okay as long as we have a plan with the money.
 

stinger78

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While last season was certainly bad, his career numbers align closer to last year than '23. His defensive stats this year were actually better than last years' All-Star campaign. That .981 fielding percentage this year marks an increase from .977 last year. He has a career .975 fielding percentage at SS. If he was a defensive savant but didn't have a great bat like an Andrelton Simmons, then I'd be fine with it. Conversely, if he had a great bat but subpar defense, I'd be okay with it. The problem I'm seeing is that he isn't great at either or really even good at either. Now maybe he is a stopgap until Nacho is ready which I would agree with and get on board with. AA hasn't nor isn't going to come right out and say something like that which leads us to speculate.

I would be okay with spending money elsewhere or even saving it for the coming contracts of Acuna and Albies. If we have leftovers or if our initial SP plans fall through, I'd like to address SS. After looking at the stats though, even Adames wouldn't necessarily be an upgrade over Arcia. I doubt SS gets addressed this year and like I said, that's okay as long as we have a plan with the money.
Agree we can do better, but AA will absolutely evaluate the deltas. Who knows who might become available and when. Alvarez might explode this season. For sure, Arcia is not the long-term solution.
 

awbuzz

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...

Dansby Swanson is making $26M/year and hit .242 with 16 HR last year, making 5 E and posting a .990 fielding percentage.

Orlando Arcia is making $2M/year and hit .218 with 17 HR last year, making 11 E and posting a .981 fielding percentage.

Is the difference between those two worth $24m per year?

Certainly the Braves could do better, but Arcia was an NL All Star in 2023. Is that the place to put money first and foremost? I’m a bit skittish of that.
"Is the difference between those two worth $24m per year?"
No!
Put the $ in a starting pitcher.
 

stinger78

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Braves fire Seitzer. He was a hero last season. I wonder whose idea their hitting approach was and if he’s just a scapegoat.
 

Thwg777

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Going back to last season, wild card teams are now 4-1 in the divisional series. It’ll be interesting to see how the other three shake out.

But I believe a “bye” series is a disadvantage and the results will continue to prove it. The new playoff format is a joke, hurts the good teams, and sells out to manufacture more games in a sport with too many games already.
 

stinger78

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Going back to last season, wild card teams are now 4-1 in the divisional series. It’ll be interesting to see how the other three shake out.

But I believe a “bye” series is a disadvantage and the results will continue to prove it. The new playoff format is a joke, hurts the good teams, and sells out to manufacture more games in a sport with too many games already.
… but… money is the driver of the bus these days in sports. They’ll go to 8 teams per league before they go back. The top teams won’t want a 3-game series. So then, you get an extra week to the season. I think then they would start the season the last week of March and cut ST by a week.
 

stinger78

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I've said it all year. There was a clear plan executed against the bats in the playoffs and they failed to adjust. Sure he's a scapegoat but he has culpability.
Chipper alluded to a corporate philosophy or approach to hitting. Apparently he didn’t like the obsession with launch angle. The Braves have so many guys who make good contact, it’s a crime they don’t teach level swing, good contact, drive the ball, drive in runs. My dad used to say the Hank Aaron was the both the best and worst thing to happen to Braves baseball. Along with soaring with all his personal success, the franchise became obsessed with the home run.
 

kg01

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Chipper alluded to a corporate philosophy or approach to hitting. Apparently he didn’t like the obsession with launch angle. The Braves have so many guys who make good contact, it’s a crime they don’t teach level swing, good contact, drive the ball, drive in runs. My dad used to say the Hank Aaron was the both the best and worst thing to happen to Braves baseball. Along with soaring
with all his personal success, the franchise became obsessed with the home run.

Interesting take. I'd imagine most folks consider the franchise to be more pitching-obsessed. But that's based on the most recent 30-or so years. Maybe your pops was more referring to the 70's-80's?
 
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