Key additions: Ryan Doumit, Gavin Floyd
Key Losses: Brian McCann, Tim Hudson, Elliot Johnson
There were a lot of upset Braves fans during the first part
of the offseason. Their biggest acquisition was the signing of Gavin Floyd who
will be coming off Tommy John surgery and won’t be ready for the start of the
season. The mood all changed when the Braves opened up their checkbook and
extended many of their key young players. Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran,
Andrelton Simmons, and Craig Kimbrel were all signed to deals of 4 years or
longer. These signing will give the Braves a chance to win for years to come
and allow them to build off of a great regular season last year.
The Braves finished in first place in the NL East last
season. You would think that this year will be even better because there is no
way BJ Upton and Dan Uggla can be any worse than they were last year. The
Braves did lose a big part of their offense in Brain McCann and a mentor to all
young pitchers in Tim Hudson. These losses shouldn’t hurt them too bad as they
still have a very good young team.
Evan Gattis will get the first crack at taking over as
catcher for Brian McCann but if prospect Christian Bethancourt can show he can
hit than his plus-plus defense will allow him to take over the starting job
half way through the season. This will actually be good for the Braves because
it will give them power off the bench and a very good backup
catcher/outfielder.
The Braves should have about the same record as last year
and should make the playoffs but I think this year it will be as a Wildcard
team.
Predicted Finish: 2nd NL East, Loss in NLDS vs
Dodgers
No comments:
Post a Comment