Well, Christmas Day came and went and while many gifts and good tidings were exchanged, what did not happen was anything of note on the Braves’ offseason rumor mill. This isn’t that surprising with AA in charge as we no longer have Coppy sending 1000 word texts to other GMs during holiday dinners. It is pretty par for the course for the big holidays to be quiet league-wide and other than the Nationals acquiring Josh Bell from the Pirates, which could end up looking like a steal if he can find the form he had in the first half of the 2019 season, the last few days have been calm.
So while we wait for news about the fate of the designated hitter in the National League which seems to be one of the biggest dominoes that needs to fall this offseason, it is a good time to reflect on what we have and what we have lost. Earlier this week, we reflected on many of the Braves’ luminaries that we lost this past year. They are sorely missed, especially this time of year.
This is also a good time to be thankful for the good things that have befallen the Braves in the past. While he has yet to be the star many had hoped, MLB wrote up a prospect gift of recent years that has impacted each franchise which reminded all of us of the absurdity of the Shelby Miller deal that brought Dansby Swanson and more to Atlanta. We should all be blessed to have lunch with Dave Stewart and reap the benefits of it.
As for what we have been working on, you are welcome to reference yesterday’s Chop to get caught up on that including a sweet article from Ivan about Drew Smyly’s curveball. We truly hope all of you had a safe and happy holiday season. The TC prospect rankings will be coming at the beginning of the new year and until then, we will keep you posted on all of the goings-on with the Braves. Thanks again for another year of following along.