Atlanta Braves: Five Moves to Make Before Next Season
By Kit Anderson
- Add a Home-run Hitter
The Atlanta Braves have shied away from adding strike-out prone big home-run hitters because of the disappointment that the fan-base had in Dan Uggla and the Upton brothers. It is time to look at the League and realize that the Braves while suffering some bad luck in recent years the Braves need to realize that to build a contender you need to have at least one homerun hitter in your lineup.
Freddie Freeman is upping his power game going deep with more regularity adding in J.D. Martinez would give the Braves a middle of the order of 3. Freddie Freeman 4. J.D. Martinez 5. Matt Kemp. That is a solid contending lineup when you consider the rest of the young talent that the Braves will add in next season.
The problem for Martinez is the fact that he will be looking to cash in on a long term deal and the bidding war will likely result in him being over-paid. Even if that is the case the Braves should get involved regardless and add Martinez. In the current MLB free-agent market it is not a question of if you will have to overpay for players but which players should you overpay for? For the Braves the answer should be J.D. Martinez.