Tag: MLB Lockout

My Thoughts On The Braves Post-Lockout Acquisitions

This offseason was anything but normal. With the lockout, any and all deals with players and clubs got put on pause. This made things challenging. But now with the lockout over, and Spring Training in full swing, the Atlanta Braves have made some deals, trades, and significant changes.

The most significant of these deals came on March 14th, when the Braves traded four of their top prospects for first baseman, Matt Olson. This deal with the Oakland Athletics brought a close to the Freddie Freeman era with Atlanta. It came with a pretty cost, too. The four minor league prospects that the Braves organization traded were: Christian Pache, outfielder and the Braves number one prospect; Shea Langeliers, catcher and Braves number two prospect; Joey Estes, pitcher and Braves number thirteen prospect; and Ryan Cusick, pitcher and 24th pick out of the 2021 draft. All in all, it was a costly deal for the Braves, but they got their first baseman.

And, the very next day, March 15th, the Braves signed Matt Olson to an eight-year $168 million contract through the 2029 season, with a $20 million option for 2030. Like it or not Braves country, Matt Olson is going to be our first baseman for the foreseeable future. He has very good career stats and had an impressive 2021 season. Last year, his average was .271, he hit 39 home runs, and had 111 RBI’s with Oakland. He also made just six errors. Let’s hope he will have the same kind of season with the Braves.

The Braves also signed right-handed pitcher Collin McHugh to a two-year $10 million deal on March 15th. This signing will help bolster the already impressive Atlanta bullpen.

On March 16th, the Braves signed Eddie Rosario to a two-year $18 million deal with a 2024 option. Rosario played a huge role for Atlanta last postseason. He was NLCS MVP and had some huge hits. Not to mention, he made some crazy impressive plays…wether he meant to or not! Eddie will most likely play left-field for Atlanta, and with more practice, I think he could be a really good outfielder. It will just take time for him to get more comfortable out there. It will also be nice to have Rosario’s bat back in the lineup. It is safe to say that last season the baseball was FLYING off his bat. The teams that the Braves were facing couldn’t seem to get him out! This deal brings added depth and energy to the Atlanta Braves’ lineup, and makes them even stronger.

Also on March 16th, the Braves signed relief pitcher Tyler Thornburg to a one-year, $900,000 deal. Thornburg did not play in 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. With this deal from the Braves, it is safe to say he will try and prove that he can still be a good pitcher like he once was before surgery. His best season came six years ago in 2016 with the Milwaukee Brewers. He is 33 years old, and has a lot to prove this season with Atlanta.

And finally, On March 18th, the Braves signed relief pitcher Kenley Jansen to a one-year $16 million deal. In all honesty, this deal surprised me. Don’t get me wrong – Kenley Jansen is a very good closer. He came through time and time again for the L.A. Dodgers. But, before the Braves came to this deal with him, they were in talks with World Series MVP, Jorge Soler. That is what made the Jansen deal more surprising. Instead of signing Kenley Jansen, they could’ve signed Soler and made him their DH. But now Soler is now a Miami Marlin. All this to say, the signing of Kenley Jansen makes the Atlanta bullpen even deeper and more powerful than before.

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It is safe to say that there are quite a few new faces for the Atlanta Braves this year. But the crazy thing is that Matt Olson, Collin McHugh, and Tyler Thornburg all grew up in Georgia. They were also all Braves fans growing up, so this is most likely a treat for them to be able to play for their hometown team. Eddie Rosario quickly became a fan-favorite last season, so I’m sure he is happy to be back. And for Kenley Jansen, he is joining an amazing team with an amazing fan-base. Let’s just hope all these men will be as good as their careers say they can be, and that we know they are!

GO BRAVES!!

My Thoughts on the MLB Lockout and CBA Negotiations

Photo by Rachel Xiao on Pexels.com

Let’s face it: this stinks. It really, really stinks. The thought of having no baseball is devastating. This is the first lockout since the 1995 season. The League and the Union (managers and players) thus far, have been unable to come to an agreement regarding the CBA. Both sides have certain areas/propositions that they seem necessary in order to make a deal.

What exactly is the CBA?

The CBA stands for Collective Bargaining Agreement, and it is the agreement between an employer and the union. In this case, it is between the League and the Players Union. Neither the Players nor the League wanted this to happen. It is a very sad thing for the sport. Now that the CBA has expired, MLB placed the players under lockout. This means that no deals can be made between clubs regarding the signing of players. You cannot show interest in a Free Agent or talk to them, because they are essentially “locked out” of the sport.

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Last week the MLB requested assistance from a Federal Mediator to help communication flow between the MLB and the MLBPA. 24 hours later, the MLBPA refused the request for a mediator, so both sides are right back where they started. The ONLY way that we are going to get a 2022 baseball season is by these two sides sitting down at the negotiations table and sorting things out. That means communicating with each other! I’m not quite sure why the Players Union denied the request for a mediator, other than the fact they think they can work things out for themselves…but if both the League and the Players are going to be stubborn about the whole situation, we aren’t going to get anywhere and would most likely end up saying “goodbye” to a 2022 season.

It is my understanding that the two main wants from either side are what is holding back an agreement. The MLB wants an expanded postseason. This would mean 14 teams get to compete in the playoffs, rather than the normal 8. In all honesty, I do not like the idea of a 14-team postseason. Yes, I understand that it would give more teams a chance and for their players to get to experience the magic of the postseason, but it takes away a lot of the competitiveness.

14 teams. That is one team away from half of the MLB! There is one goal on every team and every players mind at the start of the season, “make it to the World Series and bring home the trophy and title of World Series Champions.” That is what drives a team through the entire season – one goal. However, if you have 14 spots that guarantees 14 teams to make it to the postseason, it takes away all the chase between each division and the competitiveness from each side of the field. With 14 teams in the postseason, that would mean that not only the team that finishes first in their division would make it to the postseason, but so would the team that finishes second. That’s basically giving out trophies to the second place team. Baseball is not a sport of “we are all winners.” Yes, each team wins their fair share of games within the season, but in the end, only one team comes out on top.

So, with all that being said, I personally do not like the idea of a 14-team postseason. I think that the MLB should stick with what has been working for the past 40+ years: an 8-team postseason. That keeps the competitiveness in the sport, and the momentum of striving to be the best between each club.

The MLBPA key want/issue is: Super Two Eligibility. This means that the Union wants all players with two years of playing time to be eligible for arbitration. This would mean younger players would get paid more without having been signed to a long-term contract. It also means that MLB would have to invest more money into the arbitration pool.

To me, it seems like the MLB doesn’t want to spend any more money than necessary, which is why they don’t want to agree to this. Per sources, the MLBPA offered to reduce their proposal figure for a pre-arbitration pool from $105 million to $100 million. The League and owners still did not agree to this proposition, but came up with a counterproposal- they proposed a $10 million pool which would reward the top players of pre-arbitration with extended pay. It is my understanding that the Union did not like this idea because it didn’t mean extended pay for all younger players.

In the end, for us to have a 2022 season, it is going to take communication and negotiations between the two sides. Both need to realize they aren’t both going to get exactly what they want and come up with a compromise.

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What does the lockout mean for the Braves?

The reigning 2021 World Series Champions had a lot of unanswered questions. The Braves had a great team in 2021, but now a lot of their key players face Free Agency. The most significant of those being Freddie Freeman, Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario. I speak for all Braves fans – we cannot imagine an Atlanta Braves team without Freddie Freeman. He has played his ENTIRE career in Atlanta, and he doesn’t want to play anywhere else. The team and the Atlanta fans don’t want him to go anywhere else either! Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario played HUGE parts for the Braves coming down the stretch and easily became fan-favorites.

Re-signing Freddie is obviously the top priority for the Braves, but they will also have to look at how they are going to structure their outfield. With Ronald Acuña Jr. set to return in 2022, that automatically fills right field. Adam Duvall stayed with the Braves so he would most likely fill center field. That leaves left field up for question. Eddie Rosario played left field for the Braves. He did a decent job considering he had never played left field before. Although he did make a couple jaw-dropping plays, they were more luck than skill. With more training he could fill that position for the Braves. Marcell Ozuna will most likely not play another game for the Atlanta Braves, so we can almost completely rule him out as a contender for left field.

That leaves us with Jorge Soler. He is a gigantic man with gigantic power and came through clutch for the Braves on several occasions. He did play right field for the Braves and did a decent job, but even he admitted he wasn’t too to comfortable. Soler came from the Kansas City Royals as their Designated Hitter. If the DH were to come to the National League in 2022, that would give the Braves a perfect reason to resign him – he would be a perfect Designated Hitter. After all, that’s the position he is the most used to playing.

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There are still SO many questions to be answered. With Spring Training scheduled to start next week, negotiations and deals are going to be made quickly so that there can be a 2022 season. Time is needed for teams to sign players and make the moves needed before the start of the season in April.

Only time will tell what’s going to happen. All we can do now is hope and pray for a 2022 season.