Why the Braves Should Finish The Rebuild In 2019
The NL-East leading Atlanta Braves have shocked a lot of people early on this season with their play, posting a 21-14 record through Wednesday night’s game against Tampa Bay. The Braves have had excellent performances from most players on the team.
Even in the perceived rebuild, including the resurgence of Nick Markakis, who has nearly equaled his 2017 home run total of 8 with 7 already (through Wednesday), as well as the contributions from young prospects Mike Soroka, Ozzie Albies, Johan Camargo, and #1 prospect in baseball Ronald Acuña Jr.
With this early success, there have been pundits calling for the Braves to trade some of the farm prospects away to pick up help at both third base and in the starting rotation in order to potentially compete for a playoff spot this season and accelerating the rebuild. However, given the potential upsides and downsides, the Braves should not pursue this acceleration of the rebuild, and here’s why.
Firstly, the Braves have the top farm system in baseball for a reason. The rebuild that John Schuerholz and John Coppolella started in 2014 had a vision for 2019 and 2020 from its inception, and with talented, promising prospects in LHP Kolby Allard, RHP Luiz Gohara, and 3B Austin Riley all in Triple-A Gwinnett, as well as RHP Kyle Wright and RHP Ian Anderson, who are both still in double-A Mississippi. T
The Braves have plenty to build toward, especially because of the long-term sustainability of the young players already in Atlanta and the veterans that are in place long term, such as Freddie Freeman and Ender Inciarte.
Secondly, the Braves have salary to spend in the 2018 free agency period that includes Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Craig Kimbrel as the headliners.
Nick Markakis has his long-term deal will be coming off the books after this season, which will leave the Braves with anywhere from $30-$50 million to spend in the offseason. They could wait to fully commit to competing in the NL pennant race with a player like Machado or Harper in the lineup every day without having to sacrifice the farm system in a trade, which would necessitate waiting out the 2018 season and commit to the recruitment of those top-flight free agents in the winter.
Third, the Braves have a ton of fan support for the current roster, with SunTrust Park selling out over the weekend for the Giants series. This series also served as Ronald Acuña’s home series debut.
With all of the youth in the organization, excitement about the Braves is at a height not seen for years in the organization, and suddenly ending the rebuild for a rental trade piece wouldn’t necessarily be the best idea if the Braves ended up falling short this season. Even though the excitement for the new acquisition would be high at the time of the transaction, if the Braves were to fall short, the disappointment from the fan base would be hard to handle for GM Alex Anthopoulos.
The Atlanta Braves are in one of the most exciting times in the organization’s history. They have some of the top young talents in baseball and a group of veterans to fit around that talent.
If the Braves decide that they want to go all in this season, it could prove to be one of the most devastating decisions of any franchise in MLB history if they don’t win it all in 2018. But, if they play this right, the Braves and Anthopoulos could look like geniuses while they hoist the 2020 or 2021 World Series trophy.