At last, the long winter without Braves baseball is finally coming to an end. It was a winter, not without controversy, that most Braves fans would wish to soon forget. Lots of changes were made within the organization as the club really had to reorganize their priorities and try to restore some integrity after former general manager John Coppolella and others within the front office were forced out with scandals coming to light.
The Braves had long held the mantra of being one of the “clean clubs” in baseball meaning that, for the most part, the team had operated within Major League Baseball’s good graces. Now that the team has lost that moniker, at least for now, the organization will attempt to start anew with a different culture being introduced and with the up and coming crop of young talent on the farm still ready to contribute.
Among the wreckage left behind in Coppolella’s wake was a broken front office that had most of a comfortable fanbase feeling bewildered. The Braves will also now be forced to deal with big time penalties in the coming years that the MLB commissioner had to hand down for the controversy of dirty dealings within International Free Agency by the club.
However, due to some swift and masterful damage control in the upper levels of the organization, the team has not jumped completely off track in what was being heralded as a successful rebuild before these penalties were imposed. By hiring Alex Anthopoulos and “draining the swamp” figuratively by removing any employee that might have been associated with that dark time of scandal the team can now find ways to move forward.
Anthopoulos brings with him the credibility of bringing the Blue Jays back into contention and helping the Dodgers run to the World Series just last season. He introduces a new culture and systematic approach to the Braves ranks that includes updated innovations in baseball like the use of advanced analytics departments. He also brings a trait that the Braves have needed badly since John Schuerholz stepped away from the Braves GM role in 2007 which is experience. Now that Anthopoulos has his staff in place he can begin to shape up the Braves for a run in the near future without having to make major changes to the path that Atlanta has already begun.
Before Coppolella was forced to step down the team had arguably already jumped through the toughest two phases of the rebuild for the most part. Phase one consisted of breaking down the team that had gone to the playoffs but was going to be unable to re-sign the big-time players that got them there. In turn, by trading these marquee players the likes of Jason Heyward and Justin Upton, the team was able to establish a new crop of future Braves in return for losing the fan favorites. Not always the easiest thing to do but a necessary evil for small market teams nowadays.
Phase two consisted of stumbling through multiple losing seasons to get an upper hand in the draft where the Braves absolutely nailed some first round talent. This was also the time where prospects acquired in the deals for the Braves former top players began to get their first shots in the Major Leagues in an extensive “learning on the job” type of deal. Not always the best prospects but there were some big names for Atlanta to get their start during this period like Mike Foltynewicz, Dansby Swanson, and Ozzie Albies just to name a few.
The team during these first two phases was also able to get a chance to test out players who could benefit from a change of scenery. In doing this due diligence the team was able to come away with Tyler Flowers, and Kurt Suzuki among other veterans that now hold value and contribute for the team after struggling in their last stops.
Let’s not kid ourselves though, the Braves are not going to have an easy time overcoming the repercussions of this cheating scandal. The team basically cannot spend big in International Free Agency over the next three seasons and the club loses a third-round pick in this season’s MLB Draft which does hurt them down the road but not immediately.
So, for now the Braves will be focused on controlling what they can which is the large amount of impact prospects on the MLB doorstep. With uber-toolsy super prospect Ronald Acuna set to make his debut in mid-April the team’s next phase will be ready to begin. The third phase of the rebuild will need to involve some heavy evaluation of the pitching prospects in Atlanta’s system as well as the pitchers already at the Major League level to determine which players are expendable as trade currency and which ones are next level talent.
Once the rotation is secured the Braves will be able to begin the final phase to contention. This final phase will include finding the remaining holes in the team and filling them with a free agent. Ideally, if the Braves crop of talent rounds into the form that everyone is hoping for, there will only be one or two positions that will need to be addressed. The final phase also includes the possibility of improving the club by using the talent left in the pipeline as currency to nab players from other teams, which Anthopoulos has grown a reputation for doing, that can get the Braves back to the next level.
Luckily for Atlanta this rough winter doesn’t automatically spell doom for the Braves. As they enter the penultimate phase to a possible playoff return things are still looking up for a team that has needed some positive news of late. Alex Anthopoulos is already making fans in Atlanta for the way he’s handled this whole situation and it looks as though the Braves have made the most out of this tough situation. Who knows, maybe it was all a blessing in disguise for the long haul.