SunTrust Park! The name wouldn’t last long (Hello, Truist), but the Braves had new digs (and I got to be there)! While the Cobb County location didn’t immediately lead to winning ways (3rd place, 72-90), the team was starting to come together to finally turn things around. In today’s 10 for 10’s, it’s the 2017 Atlanta Braves!
2017 Atlanta Braves Offseason
The Braves said goodbye to longtime pitching coach Roger McDowell and removed the interim tag from Brian Snitker.
They made early splashes in free agency, signing old guys R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon. A few weeks later, they added Jaime Garcia in a trade with the Cardinals (bye John Gant). Sean Rodriguez was signed and embarked on an interesting Braves career.
They ended the offseason by making a slew of transactions. Mallex Smith and Shea Simmons were sent to Seattle for Luiz Gohara and Thomas Burrows. Alex Jackson, Anthony Recker, and Jacob Lindgren were all brought on board as well. Finally, as Spring Training was starting, they acquired Brandon Phillips from the Reds.
2017 Atlanta Braves Opening Day Lineup & Roster
- Ender Inciarte (CF)
- Dansby Swanson (SS)
- Freddie Freeman (1B)
- Matt Kemp (LF)
- Nick Markakis (RF)
- Brandon Phillips (2B)
- Adonis Garcia (3B)
- Tyler Flowers (C)
- Julio Teheran (SP)
Pitchers: Josh Collmenter, R.A. Dickey, Bartolo Colon, Mike Foltynewicz, Jaime Garcia, Jim Johnson, Ian Krol, Eric O’Flaherty, Jose Ramirez, Chaz Roe, Arodys Vizcaino
Catchers: Kurt Suzuki, Anthony Recker
Infielders: Chase d’Arnaud, Jace Peterson
Outfielders: Emilio Bonifacio
That bench is…ouch.
In Season Updates
Still rebuilding, the Braves didn’t shy away from tinkering with the roster. Guys like Ryan Howard, Danny Santana, James Loney, and Matt Adams were brought in with varying amounts of success.
Bonifacio, d’Arnaud, O’Flaherty, Phillips, Rodriguez, Garcia, Recker, Roe, Colon, Loney, and Howard were all released, DFA’d, or traded.
The Braves were hardly contenders, but began to show hope for the future. Every starting pitcher who made 14 or more starts had an ERA ranging from 4.26 (Dickey) to 4.79 (Folty).
Jaime is Grand
Before being traded away, Jaime Garcia has an incredible moment (especially for a pitcher).
Freddie Moves to 3rd
While some assumed it was a move to increase the potential trade value of Matt Adams, Freddie Freeman unselfishly agreed to move to 3rd. While he didn’t embarrass himself at the hot corner, it was a short lived experiment.
Ender Gets 200
Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Ender was good in 2017. Excellent defense and 200 hits are hard to overlook.
Ozzie Gets the Call
While some called for him to be traded, Ozzie was just being Ozzie in the minors. He earned his call up and took hold of second base, moving Philips to the 3rd base carousel and eventually to the Angels.
The End
| Team | W | L | W-L% | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Nationals | 97 | 65 | .599 | — |
| Miami Marlins | 77 | 85 | .475 | 20.0 |
| Atlanta Braves | 72 | 90 | .444 | 25.0 |
| New York Mets | 70 | 92 | .432 | 27.0 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 66 | 96 | .407 | 31.0 |
At the end of the day, the Braves ended up 3rd in the NL East. While not a great season, the foundation had been laid. The rebuild was coming to an end. Everything was pointing up!
Wait, what!!‽
Coppy and Hart
Seemingly out of nowhere, the Braves were the main October story despite not being in the playoffs. John Coppolella and John Hart had gotten much too bold and aggressive in the international market.
While it appears impropriety wasn’t exclusive to the Braves front office, the high level may have been. An investigation was launched, Coppy resigned, and reports began to swirl that the hammer was about to be dropped on the Braves.
JC’d
blazonsays:
January 25, 2020 at 6:46 am Edit
X 12
Shall i compare thee to a ball in play
you’ll surely study in the aggregate?
accumulate detritus as you may
ignoring subtle factors i must contemplate.
sometime too hot the ball will reach a glove
quite frozen by the fear of retribute
which I will analyze with tender love
thou cruelly notch another miss to contribute.
Thus my eternal summer shall not fade
the empathy outpours, the love of Dansby shrill
whilst thou, cocooned in urban garret fully paid
bewildered yet to whom to send the bill.
so long as men can play this lovely game
you add them up and i’ll apportion blame.
Continuation of Mark Bradley’s interview with AA.
A Braves fan hopes to see 29 teams surpassed,
With pitching and defense and runs by the score,
Securing their victory in each game to the last,
A Braves fan hopes.
‘Mid winter unceasing, he wishes for more:
To see cheating cheaters whipped at the mast —
Luhnow, La Russa, rotten to the core!
We do not seek justice. We’ve won in the past,
And October justice (Brewers win?) would be such a bore.
We but seek our heart’s dream: all Nats fans aghast.
A Braves fan hopes.
Thanks Matt. I think the Garcia grand slam was the highlight of the whole rebuild.
Ah, the offseason, where we transition from the Bringer of Rain to the Reign of Parodic Verse. Well done….
I like how Ozzies homer just cleared the wall, making it easy to retrieve without worrying about bargaining with a fan.
I always wonder why the Freddie-at-3B experiment was so short-lived.
I love blog posts with embedded highlights. Thanks Matt.
Triple post. Is it just me or does it look like Ozzie has put on some muscle mass since that 2017 callup?
@7 – I have some memory that his arm was getting sore.
@Rob
It was 100% injury risk.
And yes, Albies is much larger. Really ramped up training after broken elbow.
Rusty – Shows how miserable a rebuild is when a partial season pitcher can provide one of the biggest highlights…as a hitter!
Rob – I like videos too! And yeah, I believe Ozzie has gotten some man strength.
Rusty, part 2 – I don’t remember them saying it at the time, but considering what he said today about his arm/elbow, that would make sense.
How could we have a post about 2017 without mentioning “the wrist”? Everyone should go back and look at what Freddie was doing in April/May and wonder what he would have done over a full year. It could have been a historic season. One has to winder if coming back from the hamate and then trying to play 3B all had something to do with the later elbow issues. Even after his dreadful 2nd half in 2017, he has been no better than the combined output of 2017 since then. Looking at the statistics makes you wonder if Freddie is past his prime. If this elbow procedure really turns back the clock, this season could really be something to behold for Freddie.
At the end of the 1st half in 2017, the Braves were a nearly .500 team and had a decision to make to try to compete or continue the rebuild for one last year. Trading Jaime Garcia was the straw that broke the camels back on 2017. Matt Kemp’s decline in the 2nd half didn’t help either. Keeping Garcia while adding Ozzie, Camargo, Minter, and Winkler could have turned that year very positive. They could have used an OF bat in place of Kemp (I always thought that Lane Adams should have been given more of a chance). I thought they could have competed for a wild card.
Mike Fiers might be in big trouble.
@12 – Pitchers hitting is just about my favorite thing.
New thread.
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2020/01/26/10-for-10s-the-atlanta-braves-2018-season/