DannyW
Senior Member
With spring training less than 4 weeks away, and college football in the rear-view mirror, it's about time to talk baseball. Here is some random stuff from the last few weeks about the Braves and around the league.
With most major free agent signings complete, E-Spins initial 2023 power rankings are out. Houston is 1st. Braves are 2nd, Yankees/Mets/Dodgers are 3-4-5.
Adam Duval is no longer a LF option for the Braves, at least not to start the season. Duval signed a $7M contract with Boston. That leaves us with Eddie Rosario as our LF, unless they try to convert Grissom into an outfielder, which there was some talk about doing late last season. Ozuna would be the back-up, Lord help us, barring a trade or FA signing.
Andruw Jones is making some noise, finally, in the 2023 HOF voting. According to the HOF Tracker, with 42% of the public votes in, he is sitting at 68% (need 75% to get in). He may not make it this year but he has 4 more years of eligibility, and he trending in the right direction. So far, he has picked up 24 new votes, people who did not vote for him last year but are naming him this time around.
MLB has released the initial Luxury Tax due figures, but they can change due to Arbitration and trades. I spent a good bit of time in the off-season researching the Luxury Tax and thought I had at least a fair understanding of the basics, but apparently, I don't. Not surprisingly the Mets have the highest 2023 Total Payroll at $329 million, but only owe $30 million in Luxury Tax. On the other hand, the LAD have a 2023 Total Payroll of $206 million, but owe $32 million in Luxury Tax. I give up trying to understand it.
The Mets have two players, Scherzer and Velander, who will make a total of $86.7 million this season. Being starting pitchers, ideally and barring injury, they will play about 7 innings in 40% of the games. To put this into perspective, the 8 Braves starting fielding positions (including Rosario in LF and Arcia at SS) will make $79.6 million this season. And will play in 95+ innings this season, again barring injury. Think about that.
What to do with Marcell Ozuna? Last season he proved not only be a liability in the field, he also was a liability at the plate. Does AA just concede he is a lost cause, cut him loose and take the ~$32 hit? Surely AA has shopped him around trying to move him and obviously no team is interested.
Finally, the Mets have MLB oldest roster with an average player age of 30.7 years old. They have 21 players age 30 or older. The Braves roster averages 29.4 years old with only 10 players age 30 or older.
Spring training camp opens February 16. Can't wait.
With most major free agent signings complete, E-Spins initial 2023 power rankings are out. Houston is 1st. Braves are 2nd, Yankees/Mets/Dodgers are 3-4-5.
Adam Duval is no longer a LF option for the Braves, at least not to start the season. Duval signed a $7M contract with Boston. That leaves us with Eddie Rosario as our LF, unless they try to convert Grissom into an outfielder, which there was some talk about doing late last season. Ozuna would be the back-up, Lord help us, barring a trade or FA signing.
Andruw Jones is making some noise, finally, in the 2023 HOF voting. According to the HOF Tracker, with 42% of the public votes in, he is sitting at 68% (need 75% to get in). He may not make it this year but he has 4 more years of eligibility, and he trending in the right direction. So far, he has picked up 24 new votes, people who did not vote for him last year but are naming him this time around.
MLB has released the initial Luxury Tax due figures, but they can change due to Arbitration and trades. I spent a good bit of time in the off-season researching the Luxury Tax and thought I had at least a fair understanding of the basics, but apparently, I don't. Not surprisingly the Mets have the highest 2023 Total Payroll at $329 million, but only owe $30 million in Luxury Tax. On the other hand, the LAD have a 2023 Total Payroll of $206 million, but owe $32 million in Luxury Tax. I give up trying to understand it.
The Mets have two players, Scherzer and Velander, who will make a total of $86.7 million this season. Being starting pitchers, ideally and barring injury, they will play about 7 innings in 40% of the games. To put this into perspective, the 8 Braves starting fielding positions (including Rosario in LF and Arcia at SS) will make $79.6 million this season. And will play in 95+ innings this season, again barring injury. Think about that.
What to do with Marcell Ozuna? Last season he proved not only be a liability in the field, he also was a liability at the plate. Does AA just concede he is a lost cause, cut him loose and take the ~$32 hit? Surely AA has shopped him around trying to move him and obviously no team is interested.
Finally, the Mets have MLB oldest roster with an average player age of 30.7 years old. They have 21 players age 30 or older. The Braves roster averages 29.4 years old with only 10 players age 30 or older.
Spring training camp opens February 16. Can't wait.