Welp, the Braves season ended yesterday at the hands of the Phillies in Game 4 of the NLDS. We won the NL East in a great pennant race with the Mets, and won over 100 games too. That said, the Phillies clearly exposed some of our team’s biggest weaknesses in the postseason. Not only do we need to make upgrades (i.e. sign players) to rise above these weaknesses, but we also need to take care of several of our own players by signing them to some contract extensions. The offseason begins now for our favorite team, and there’s plenty of time until baseball returns. Let’s take a look at some of the Braves biggest offseason priorities as we approach the new year.
Re-sign Dansby Swanson
Braves fans have been clamoring for the team to re-sign Dansby over the past several months. That’s because he finally turned into the elite player that we all envisioned he could become when we acquired him from the Diamondbacks way back in 2015. He’s always been an elite defender, but being an inconsistent hitter at the plate previously limited his immense upside. Now that he’s finally figured out how to hit consistently, there’s no way we’ll let him go, right? Wrong, as I believe he will test free agency after betting on himself (and winning) last offseason. We all saw the situation with Freddie Freeman go south once he tested free agency last year, and I’m hoping history doesn’t repeat itself here. We need to sign Dansby before free agency begins.
Get Ronald Acuna Jr. healthy
This is absolutely paramount to our success in 2023, as Acuna wasn’t healthy this year. When healthy, he’s an elite five-tool player who can carry the offense for stretches at a time. Several of his tools (defense, hitting for power, & sprint speed) were clearly affected in 2022. My guess is that he will have a cleanup procedure on his troublesome knee later this offseason. Hopefully that will be enough to get him back into form, but we must remain cautious with him. Having a whole offseason to fully recover is an absolute must for the health of Ronald Acuna Jr.
Make upgrades in the outfield, DH
Speaking of outfielders, it’s my belief that we need to sign a new left fielder for next year. Eddie Rosario, Robbie Grossman, and Adam Duvall all profile as platoon or backup outfielders capable of contributing in spurts, but without much consistency during the year. Grossman’s a free agent and Duvall’s an arbitration eligible player, so upgrades are needed. Personally, I wouldn’t mind bringing back Joc Pederson & letting him & Rosario split time. Designated hitter is another position we could look to upgrade, as Ozuna has struggled there. Contreras is okay as a DH option, but he really started to slow down as the season progressed. I’m of the opinion that he needs a running mate, someone like old friend Jorge Soler perhaps? Soler has the option to opt out of his contract with the Marlins, which I believe that he will do. Why not re-sign the 2021 World Series MVP and give him some starts in LF & DH next year?
Trade or release Marcell Ozuna
My plan to “bring the band back together” in re-signing Pederson & Soler could work, but this would likely be at the cost of trading or releasing Marcell Ozuna, which I’m fine with. Ozuna just hasn’t been the same player since leading the league in several hitting stats in 2020. He’s been arrested twice, hasn’t hit well, and everyone knows about his awful outfield defense. Simply put, it’s time for the Braves to move on from him, although that’s easier said than done. A designated hitter who can’t hit & an outfielder who can’t field carries no value to the Braves. The problem is that these worrisome characteristics also carry no value to any other MLB team. That’s why we may have to accept an exchange of bad contracts in order to get rid of Ozuna.
Re-sign free agents, arb. players
Finally, the Braves simply need to take care of their own via free agency & arbitration. Max Fried, AJ Minter, and Mike Soroka are a few players who are arbitration eligible this year. Adam Duvall, Robbie Grossman, and Kenley Jansen are free agents heading into the offseason. We need to decide on which of these guys we will attempt to keep and which ones we can let go. Fried and Minter will surely be retained, but it’s anyone’s guess as to what happens to the others. Anyone that we let go will need to be replaced somehow, so we must proceed with caution here. That said, the Braves certainly have their work cut out for them during the 2023 MLB offseason.
The Sports Beacon 