FanPost

Off-Season Questions


With the League Championship Series getting underway this weekend and Brian Snitkers fate as mananger to be determined by the end of the week- He, along with most sensible Braves fans believe that he’ll return and steer the ship for the 2019 campaign.- The Braves and their new eager front office will begin their off-season in earnest before a champion is crowned on either league. With several retrospective meetings amongst both the coaching and front office staffs having already taken place, here’s a look at some of the questions the upstart Braves will face in the 2018 off-season.

The first thing you have to take stock of when asking all the familiar off-season questions is that for the first time in what feels like ages, this Braves team doesn’t have a slew of positions up for contention. The core of this team, anchored by all-star Freddie Freeman and the barrage of young talent will be returning and looking to improve upon a surprising 90 win season which culminated with a division championship. What might this front office do and what might their thought process be to take this team to the next level? Let’s take a look position by position.

Let’s get started by looking at the positions that are more than likely are locked in for next year. I’ve already mentioned Freddie Freeman. Along with him the double play combination of Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson will more than likely be back in the fold after an all-star campaign for Albies and a much improved year for Swanson. Dansby improved by leaps and bounds on the defensive side and I have read that many people inside the Braves organization believe that Dansby has a high offense ceiling to go along with his stellar glove at shortstop. Defense has been something that Anthopolous and Co. have placed a premium on,so it should be no surprise to see Ender Inciarte in centerfield giving the Braves as strong a middle defense as any team in the league. He will of course be flanked on one side or the other by power hitting phenom Ronald Acuña Jr. You can never be sure what opportunities may arise in the off-season, but, these things seem academic.

Speaking of middle defense, Alex Anthopolous, made the first move of the winter way back in the dog days of August when he signed catcher Tyler Flowers to a one year $4 million extension for next season. To some, it is clear that this move signals the end of the Suzuki/Flowers tandem. Though Kurt may return to Atlanta, I for one, think that signing the excellent pitch framer in Flowers means that Anthopolous and Co. may be thinking of moving the club into a more conventionally defensive minded catching situation. If Suzuki does not resign in Atlanta, there is a chance that, with defense is mind, that the Braves would make a run at signing Yasmani Grandal who is currently the backstop for a Dodgers team gunning for their second straight trip to The World Series. The switch hitting sure handed Grandal could provide just the kind of experience and leadership that Alex and Co. would be looking for to help bolster the Braves young line up.

The biggest question marks facing the team from a position player standpoint are 3rd base and left field. Will Markakis be back? Is Johan Camargo the Braves long term answer at third base? Could Super prospect Austin Riley transition from 3rd base to left field? I don’t know the answers to these questions but, here’s what I believe might happen.

The real prize the Braves have is still their wealth of pitching prospects. Max Fried, Touki Toussaint, Sean Newcomb, Kyle Wright and the list goes on. I think it’s a sure bet that Alex and Co. use Austin Riley and some package of their young pitching to acquire some top flight starting pitching. Leaving the biggest question marks LF and supplementing a young bullpen. With money to spend and a wealth among prospects to deal from, the Braves seemed poised to make at least one if not a couple big splashes this off season. What are your thoughts?

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