Charlie Morton gave up some early runs and the Braves could not overcome the deficit, losing 8-3. Both Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud went deep so the power surge continues.
Braves Lineup
Max Fried vs. Nestor Cortes, game time 12:35 CT/1:35 ET
Charlie Morton Disappoints and Sunday Game Thread
We’re getting Maximum Max so far today. It’s a joy to watch him on top of his game.
Kelenic looking like a worthwhile investment lately…good thing they had patience with him like with Ozuna early last year
Great game, great win. No walks from either side. Kelenic, who would have thought?!
AA thought. How many trades/roster moves were there to get this guy?
It would’ve only taken 1 roster move. The multiple moves were to make the trade a cash dump for Seattle. Taking a chance on a 23 yo outfielder, former top 10 prospect, who had just posted a 2 WAR season was a no-brainer IMO, and so far he is hitting his projections with a chance to do much better if he matches his June pace for the rest of the season.
That was a very satisfying win, both the game and the series
Yup, Max was superb. Today was a real endurance test with the heat, but always great to leave that stadium w/ a series win.
And there was a huge number of Braves fans there all three games. Smiles all around.
All of a sudden, the Braves are one of the hottest teams in MLB and have given up the third fewest runs. The pitching staff is still carrying us.
These past 10 games have been much better. Nice for Ozuna to finally have some help in the line-up.
https://x.com/Brooks_Gate/status/1805039568846201003
He gone.
It would be nuts to let Max Fried walk for roughly what we offered Nola. And then what–sign a different starter as a free agent for 2 million less?
Yep
If Charlie retires, that’s $20 million more in the payroll to resign him.
Though they may be philosophically against signing a pitcher older than 30 to a long term contract for obvious reasons.
Alright, cool cats and kittens, where are we at on Nacho Alvarez? Do we think we’d see him this year? Is he a trade piece? Do you play him around the field until Arcia’s contract expires? What’s the plan for the Nacho man?
Was talking about this last week with Alex. While I agree with him that the Braves should be patient with such a young prospect that needs seasoning, I believe the Braves will do no such thing based on their history, Arcia’s tepid performance, and Nacho’s 1.000 OPS and power numbers so far at AAA. In any case, I don’t think giving a guy a cup of coffee causes irreparable damage, and if he clearly isn’t ready, we can always send him back down.
We will not see Nacho this year. His Rule 5 eligibility pretty much coincides with Arcia’s contract. I think we’ll see a bit of him next year when it becomes clear he has to hit the 40-man anyway to avoid the Rule 5 draft. Next year is when the Braves will be potentially looking for an Arcia replacement. We need to focus on the outfield unless someone thinks some combo of Anderson/Duvall/Laureano/Wall/White/Liberato is “it”.
We should be searching for a shortstop replacement IN ADDITION to outfield help.
https://www.batterypower.com/2024/6/24/24184909/should-the-braves-be-shortstop-shopping
https://x.com/b_outliers/status/1802497463917436988?s=46&t=_A5dHSx668X2WtFbjIu8dw
Yikes! Bo Bichette anyone?
FWIW (and it’s just my uninformed opinion, so not much), I don’t see them moving on from Arcia during this season, either by trade for Bichette or calling up Nacho. Not saying they shouldn’t, just that they are highly unlikely to. As to in season trade, the trade chips (such as they are) need to be used on a corner outfielder. And Alvarez, no matter how strong the bat, is not ready defensively to take over as the everyday shortstop (much like Grissom last year).
I expect that the Braves will be as patient with Arcia as they were with Ozuna, Harris, Kelenic, Riley, etc.
You are probably right. I don’t expect any change until at least July 31. I guess that gives Arcia some time to try and get it together
Ray Kerr is going to have TJ surgery.