Who will replace Ron Washington on the base paths?
Ron Washington is headed from third base in Atlanta to the dugout in Anaheim. Washington was announced as the newly hired Angels manager, signing a two-year deal with the team that moved off of Phil Nevin after the 2023 season.
It leaves a gaping hole at third base coach for the Braves. Washington is so much more than just a stoplight coach. He brought over 1,200 games of managerial experience to Atlanta plus over 500 games as a player. He was a professional for the locker room, and as big of a loss as a team can experience in the assistant head coach category.
So, who will step in?
My colleague Mark Powell named Chipper Jones, who makes sense, but may not be practical. Jones has worked with the Braves in spring training and received rave reviews from manager Brian Snitker.
Another name I think may be more realistic: David Ross. Recently fired by the Braves, Ross played for the Braves from 2009-12. While Ross may draw interest from teams that still have managerial openings after he was shockingly fired by the Cubs just days ago, Ross could look to learn under the tutelage of a proven playoff winner like Snitker before getting back into managing. Ross has managed just two postseason games, both of them losses.
Vaughn Grissom might change positions
Let's just be honest, there is no easy path for Vaughn Grissom to get playing time at shortstop anytime soon. Orlando Arcia has filled the role well and is under a team-friendly contract the next several seasons. Grissom's defense at short has been detrimental, and even in minor leagues, he has been error-prone.
For a bit, and perhaps even still, Grissom has looked like a possible trade piece since the Braves have someone occupying the position and even more prospects in the pipeline like Braden Shewmake who are cause for excitement.
Or, perhaps the Braves look at moving him to a new defensive position? According to general manager Alex Anthopoulos, the team has discussed moving him to left field.
It's actually not a bad idea. One of the pain points of the team's late postseason was left field. Eddie Rosario was ineffective defensively during the NLDS against the Phils, and Kevin Pillar brought little to the plate. Both were poor options, and the team needs to find some solution at left field. Free agency appears to be the most opportune place to look to do that.
Perhaps, if the Braves can retread Grissom as a left fielder, they don't need to overspend in free agency, instead using those payroll dollars on more impact-for-dollar positions like starting pitching.
There's emotional capital invested in Grissom, too. Fans and people in the organization would surely like to see him succeed in Atlanta vs be shipped out. Maybe this is the best way forward for him to stay in the A.
Braves would be wise to figure out a Sonny Gray backup plan
The Braves signing free agent starting pitcher Sonny Gray feels like it's almost too obvious. Gray is a solid starting pitcher, one of the best available in free agency this year, yet he's been forthright in suggesting money is not the most important thing to him when deciding where to sign this winter.
The Braves, who have been economical with their spending since Alex Anthopoulos has started with the team in 2017, need starting pitching. It's a good match.
With the Twins last year, Gray put forth a sub-3.00 ERA and only gave up eight home runs the entire year. He had a league-leading 2.83 FIP and pitched his second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio season of his career.
But, the Braves will be up against a number of teams hopeful to engage Gray for his services. Among them is the Philadelphia Phillies, according to Jon Morosi:
It's unwise to put your eggs in one basket, and Gray will be in high demand. If they can't sign him, who should they look to instead?
Other key pitchers on the free agent market include Aaron Nola, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Marcus Stroman, and Luis Severino, among others.
Most economical may be Montgomery, if they can interest him. He's been a journeyman the last few years from the Yankees to the Cardinals to the Rangers, but not for a lack of talent. His skills are in demand, and he just helped the Rangers win their first title in franchise history.
Alex Anthopoulos hints at moves, but how big?
The Atlanta Braves have been in the mix competing for the World Series the last several seasons, hoisting the trophy at the end of the year in 2021. 2022 and 2023 featured disappointing, early-season exits both at the hands of the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies.
Clearly, something has to change for the Braves to get back to the penultimate series. General manager Alex Anthopoulos seems to know that, looking to change what has been one of the marquee features of the team's makeup the last several seasons: Cost-effective player contracts.
At the GM Meetings this week, Anthopoulos hinted that the team is read to do some increasing to its payroll:
David O'Brien of The Athletic notes here that Anthopoulos said the payroll would increase again compared to where it ended in 2023.
Here's where the payroll ended the last several seasons, with a percent increase to the year before:
While the Braves World Series-winning year came in a year with payroll depletion, that may have been lightning in a bottle to some degree for Atlanta. It's important to keep in mind the team also made savvy trades (which impacted the payroll) mid-year that season that helped them achieve the ultimate goal.
It's tough to win without spending, even if you can make smart extensions with in-house young players like Atlanta has. That said, payroll management is a balancing act of raw spending and impact per dollar spent. The Mets did an all-out spend last offseason, which worked out terribly.
You have to spend to win, but spending just to spend isn't good, either.
Interestingly, the Braves have hovered right around the top-third mark in the MLB the last three seasons. It'll be interesting to see if they elevate above that this year with an increased spend, or if they merely pace with average cap inflation.
Furthermore, it'll be interesting to see how motivated the team is to make a big splash in free agency to finally get themselves over the hump in the postseason.
