Braves News
Braves' bold rebuilding plan moves into next phase
General Manager John Coppolella recently spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's David O'Brien and discussed the Braves' rebuild and gave his thoughts on free agency and the draft.
"Really, the plan for us is to build with young, homegrown players," Coppolella said, "and to try to avoid signing free agents unless they can really finish off your team. For us to go out and spend $200 million on a player, it's probably not going to end well. I don't think it ever has, and I can't think of many nine-figure contracts that ended really well. So we're going to try to grow with our own players. Look, if it's the right player and it's a special contract - we were in on Justin Upton, we were in on (Yoenis) Cespedes. It just didn't work out for us, whether it was the rate or the years. That's why we didn't end up going that way.
"We want to make smart choices to where we can be good every year. We want to be a team where when you get to spring training each year, you feel like you have a shot at the World Series. I didn't really feel that way since I've been here. I still really don't feel that way. I feel we'll be better, I feel we could, it's possible. But the way the Braves felt under John Schuerholz in 1991 through 2005, that's what we want to get back to. They went to five World Series in nine years. That's what we want to get back to."
How the teams were built
Since we are talking about team building, FanGraphs put together a neat chart on how each team's 40-man roster was assembled. Currently, only four Braves players on the 40-man were drafted by Atlanta while 10 were acquired in free agency. If Coppolella's statement above is correct, then we are going to see that reverse itself over the next few seasons.
Mike Minor Update
Those hoping for a reunion between Atlanta and Mike Minor are going to be disappointed according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
It's nice to see that many Braves fans have remained interested in Minor, who remains the only Braves starting pitcher to win a postseason game within the past 10 years. But his days of pitching for Atlanta appear to be over, at least for now. As Minor recovers from the shoulder injury he suffered in May, he has drawn interest from a handful of clubs. That interest level will likely increase once he returns to the mound and gives teams a better idea of just how healthy his shoulder might be. It sounds like there's a good chance Minor will sign with a club within the next month.
MLB News
Jonny Gomes signs to play in Japan
Former Atlanta Braves outfielder Jonny Gomes has agreed to a deal with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Ken Rosenthal reports that his deal includes a guarantee of $2 million and a mutual option for the 2017 season. Gomes began last season with the Braves who later dealt him to the Kansas City Royals.
Here's how you stop MLB teams from tanking and rebuilding
Everyone is trying to come up with a solution to tanking in Major League Baseball which may not even be a problem in the first place. SB Nation's Grant Brisbee throws his idea into the discussion and attacks the heart of why teams tank in the first place.
Change the collective bargaining agreement to make young players more expensive than they are now. Make them free agents sooner. Pay them market rates after their first full season, and continue paying them market rates for each season after that. Give them two years from the minors to free agency.
Problem solved. Now you won't have teams hoarding prospects. You won't have the Astros stocking up on young players, trying to build their next contending roster. You won't have teams trading away their veterans at the deadline, looking to get younger and more sustainable. What's the point of acquiring young players if they're immediately going to be as expensive as the veterans? Teams wouldn't tank at all. Everyone would scramble for the best players, young or old.