If I Were the GM: Atlanta Braves
Well if you haven't heard the name John Coppolella yet, you simply haven't been paying attention to any transaction tracker pages over the last few years. Coppy took over a Braves team with lots of well paid big names, no foundation of talent on the farm, and a team trending in the wrong direction in the W-L columns. Entering the 2017 season, and the new Suntrust park, The Braves brass, clubhouse, and fanbase have tempered optimism and renewed excitement for the future of this franchise. Let's take a look at their projected roster and look at some key moves that still need to be made before heading to Florida, at least moves I would make if I were the GM.
Roster
Incarte CF
Swanson SS
Freeman 1B
Kemp LF
Markakis RF
Garcia 3B
Rodriquez 2B
Flowers C
Rotation: Teheran, Colon, Dickey, Garcia, Foltynewicz
Closer: Johnson Setup: Vizcaino/Cabrera RH Krol/Rodriquez LH
The lineup came in to shape the second half of the season and hit a new gear with Swanson playing everyday and the addition of Matt Kemp. The offensive surge has been well documented this offseason so there is no need to hammer out the stats here, but the Kemp-era offense was second in runs scored during the last few months of the season. The 2017 lineup will feature great lefty-righty balance all the way down with some solid lefty options for platoon spots at 2B and 3B. But the key cogs are everyday players so there won't be many different variations to the order day in and day out. The likely strength will be in the pen, where are the top 2016 contributors are set to return with the addition of a finally healthy Paco Rodriquez, more young arms knocking on the door, and some intriguing vets being invited to camp. I don't expect any further big splash type of transactions to take place with the relief corp.
The rotation was the biggest weakness, especially as the season progressed late in to the summer. Teheran will once again lead the way, and be the likely opening day starter. Adding Colon and Dickey gave much needed veteran stability and innings to the rotation. Colon has pitched the last three years in the NL East with the Mets so should be well acclimated to the teams, rosters, and mounds that he will spend the majority of the season facing. He is coming off of 3 straight 30+ start seasons with his ERA being around 4 over that span. He has also thrown at least 190 innings each of those years. Dickey fell one out shy of his 7th straight 170+ inning season and topped 200 IP 5 of the previous 6 seasons. His last three seasons were spent in offensively generousToronto and the high powered AL East where he continued to put up solid, consistent numbers. These two additions will be instrumental to the 2017 Braves.
Let's look at three key moves that still need to be made.
Healthy First Half from Jaime
Ok so this really isn't a "move", but the addition of Jaime was yet another short term commitment on a veteran arm. The difference between him and Colon/Dickey is durability. Jaime is entering his 8th straight season (disregarding his 16 inning cup of coffee in 2008.) In his previous 7 seasons he has only made 28+ starts 3 times, has 2 other 20 start seasons, and also has 2 seasons in which he failed to crack double digits in games started. To top off the durability concerns, he has never reached 200 IP. Big contrast to the other, older vets.
The silver lining is, when healthy, he is a solid mid-rotation arm with a career ERA of 3.57. If he can stay healthy for the first 2 months while pitching like he normally does, the Braves will surely be looking to flip him early on for some more prospects. After two months, the Braves will be hoping that one of Matt Wisler, Aaron Blair, Sean Newcomb, or Lucas Sims will be ready to take his spot in the Atlanta rotation. Jaime is simply there to buy time for at least one of those young guns to develop. A healthy two months will be key for Atlanta. Plus, if Jaime puts up a healthy few months alongside normal seasons from the rest of the staff, the Braves might just find themselves in the early playoff picture.
Add a Bat
The second key move to be made is to add a bat. Right now the weakest spot on the projected 25 man roster is the bench. The bulk of the talk around the Braves is that they are planning to start the season with a 4 man bench and 13 man bullpen. They have plenty of versatile utility type defenders to choose from for two of their bench spots. These types of players are crucial for a short bench to make sure every spot is covered defensively. Those two bench spots will come from a group of LHH Micah Johnson and Jace Peterson, RHH Chase d'Arnaud, or switch-hitting Emilio Bonafacio. A third bench player will be Kurt Suzuki, the backup backstop. Non of these guys should be counted on to be a clutch pinch hit threat on a playoff hopeful team. Adding a 4th bench player that is more known for his bat should be a top priority. With six, if not seven, of the regulars expected to play on a regular basis, the Braves can really look for any position to add such a bat as this person won't be receiving many starts if everyone stays healthy anyway. Maybe Coppy hasn't added one yet because there are so many sluggers still out there. Maybe the Braves will have a bigger name fall to them on a cheap one year contract. Maybe. My guess is a reunion with Jeff Francouer is the most likely outcome. Frenchy is still well loved in Atlanta, is still a great teammate, can spell a corner OFer, and has even been rumored to be learning 1B this year. He wouldn't start very often, but is still a very dangerous pinch hitter, and has always handled lefties well throughout his career.
Continued Power from Markakis
Nick Markakis is a professional hitter. The man puts together quality at bats just about every time out. He also got back in to the Gold Glove chatter last season. The one thing lacking from his game for the first year and a half he wore the Braves uni was his power. The second half last year, he started driving the ball like Nick Markakis of old. Never a huge power threat, he was always good for around 15 home runs a year while in Baltimore. In two years as a Bravo, he has hit 16, 13 coming last year. If his swing is finally back to normal after two years post-neck surgery, then having his solid presence in the field and once again at the plate will be a key factor for the Braves success this year. With a 3-4-5 of Freeman-Kemp-Markakis, the Braves are on track to have a very good middle of the order. It is not out of the question to expect a combined 80 home runs and 300+ RBIs from those guys with the on base skills of Inciarte and Swanson at the top of the order. Atlanta as a team hit only 122 homeruns and accounted for only 615 RBIs last year even with the outstanding year Freddie put together. A full year of Kemp and a full-back-to-normal year for Markakis could see the Braves in the playoff picture in 2017.