While the Atlanta Braves and their fans await news on other fronts, today is one of the more action packed news days on the MLB calendar. Each MLB team will be exchanging salary numbers with each of their arbitration eligible players, with the possible outcome being multi-year extensions, avoiding arbitration via one year contracts, or having the case settled by arbitration. The Braves began the day with seven players whom they needed to find a resolution. The first two, and perhaps most important players, are off the board.
Atlanta #Braves settle with Foltynewicz at $6.425 million and Swanson at $3.15 million
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 10, 2020
Via Bob Nightengale, the Braves have settled on one year deals with both Mike Foltynewicz and Dansby Swanson. Foltynewicz will earn $6.425M in his second trip through arbitration, while Swanson will earn $3.15M in his first year of eligibility. Arriving at agreements with Swanson and Foltynewicz early in the day is certainly an encouraging sign, as of the seven players having talks with the Braves today, these two arguably are the most significant for the 2020 season.
MLBTR had Folty projected at $7.5M and Dansby at $3.3M so a slight savings with Foltynewicz there https://t.co/N8Jvt1uEGZ
— Scott Coleman (@scottcoleman55) January 10, 2020
As Talking Chop’s own Scott Coleman points out, the Braves may have gotten a bit of a discount on both players, including more than $1M on Foltynewicz’s contract, compared to their estimated figures via MLBTraderumors.com. While it may seem to be a small amount of money, the $1M saved allows for the Braves to have more money to work with, especially when it comes to making additions during the season.
Both Foltynewicz and Swanson could logically have been viewed as the most likely extension candidates for Atlanta if the franchise decided to go that route. However, settling in arbitration likely makes more sense for both the players and the team. Over the past two years, both Swanson and Foltynewicz have had extended stretches of flashing their significant potential. However, both players have also endured extended periods of dealing with injuries and ineffectiveness. It is reasonable to suggest that the 2020 season is critical for both players, as another year will help further validate their true value and earnings potential as players. Obviously, any extension talks can always happen in the future, with future earnings and years added on to this year’s numbers
With Swanson and Foltynewicz resolved, the remaining Braves are Shane Greene, Luke Jackson, Adam Duvall, Grant Dayton, and Johan Camargo. Each player’s case was discussed in detail earlier this week. Hopefully, the Braves will be able to settle with each of the five remaining players, and continue their full focus on other anticipated moves to make the 2020 team as good as possible.