The Braves have been silent since before Thanksgiving, when they signed a one-year contract with Charlie Morton. Which, as you might expect, has fans up in arms and clamoring for Alex Anthopoulos as they do in the off-season. However, this little nugget by David O’Brien on The Athletic it should calm some of those nerves.
Interesting part of @DOBrienATL:
“I was surprised to learn that the Braves were really in front of Springer until the end. I don’t know how serious they were, but that’s what someone in the organization told me that there were several who wanted him very much. ”Https://t.co/wZTACNNQXP– Dallas Britt (@DallasBBritt) January 21, 2021
As we now know, the Blue Jays ended up closing Springer with a $ 150 million contract for six years, much more than people expected him to receive. It was reported that the Mets were the pioneers, but were willing to rise to $ 125 million.
By source, the Mets main offer for George Springer came in about six years, $ 120-125 million. The Blue Jays took this to the next level and got their man at age six, $ 150 million. Great acquisition for Toronto.
– Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 20, 2021
Credit to Blue Jays; they took aim at the guy and raised the bet by a healthy margin – a number that Mets and Braves were obviously not willing to match.
However, this is still promising news for Braves Country because it means that Atlanta has money to spend and there are still many fantastic free agents available. More recently, the Braves were associated with the All-Star catcher JT Realmuto. I’m not sure how he will fit into the Atlanta squad with Travis d’Arnaud, but adding the best catcher in the game is never a bad thing. Remember, the Braves were linked to Realmuto when it was being negotiated in Miami, but the asking price of the Marlins was considered too high.
Atlanta is also heavily involved in the Marcell Ozuna giveaway and I am sure we will see them active in the relief market soon. Everything seems to be on the table right now; it’s just a matter of finding the right value, in which Alex Anthopoulos has been a master since he became the general manager of Braves.