Ummmm….. Yikes.
Yikes
19 Comments
Advertisement
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Ummmm….. Yikes.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
So, uh, Kimbrel’s back.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/06/braves-to-select-craig-kimbrel.html
Fire AA and Snit and Fredi
Snitker should have been fired before, of course, but he committed yet another fireable offense for not getting somebody up and warming immediately when Carroll doubled off Iglesias, knowing Raisel’s recent troubles. I will die on the hill that the 2018-24 success was in spite of Snitker and that when Wash and Young left, the brains of the operation departed. AA and Liberty/Braves Holdings should both go, too. But that’s not happening.
I’d sell the high priced pieces. I was going to argue to give Blewitt more chances before today…… If you dump Iglesias, Ozuna, Montero, and maybe Verdugo, the team might get better not worse. I’d call up Kimbrel (to replace Montero), swap off C/DH between Baldwin and Murphy, and see if one of the relievers in the minors is ready (Harris? Burkhalter? Cox? Suero? ). Depending on what we can get in return for the others. Let Profar come back and do his thing or see if we can pick up a real hitter for LF. I’d hang on to Sale and Strider and hope that Lopez can come back. Holmes needs to be in middle relief. We do not need Fairchild, Williams, or Azocar.
This was ridiculous today.
That one hurt…
Blewett DFA’d, Daysbell to IL, Kimbrel, Dodd up
Imagine going into this season thinking we were set at pitcher.
AA did.
Overrated GM. But I do have some empathy considering that it seems Liberty/Braves holdings kneecapped him.
But hey, six new buildings!
Ok, I’m as pissed as everybody, but let’s be honest. AA was close to signing Tanner Scott, Justin Verlander, and/or Jeff Hoffman. Yes, it’s on him that he didn’t sign any of them, but it’s not like he didn’t think this pitching staff needed to be upgraded.
Rob, I acknowledge AA thought we needed another high-leverage bullpen arm, but he didn’t seem to think it was essential to add bullpen arms in general, or he would’ve signed someone, even if not an elite backend guy. The D-backs signed Shelby Miller for $1 million. And after Fried just walked, we think we don’t really need a reliable arm in the rotation, despite injuries to Strider, Lopez, and Sale? Flaherty could’ve been had for reasonable. Verlander is 42 and was coming off a terrible season–not exactly a reliable starter.
Snitker might be looking at an early retirement, and that’s fair. But the only other thing that I think that could make a material change in the direction of not just this season but future seasons is some massive roster shakeup. It might have to be something like AA did in 2012 when he was Toronto’s GM:
November 19, 2012: Traded by the Miami Marlins with Emilio Bonifácio, John Buck, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and cash to the Toronto Blue Jays for Henderson Alvarez III, Anthony DeSclafani, Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarría, Jake Marisnick, Jeff Mathis and Justin Nicolino.
It would be a fun mental exercise to try to imagine what the modern day version of this trade would look like, but I’m not smart enough for such an endeavor.
Also, looking at what the Marlins got back, good gosh, that was a horrible trade for them. They got almost nothing back. Henderson Alarez had a couple of good seasons, but that was it. Marisnick never did anything for them, Mathis obviously never did anything for anyone, Hechavarria obviously was no starting SS, etc. Yunel Escobar was flipped for Derek Dietrich, who did nothing for the Marlins and blossomed in Cincinnati.
They got a net… 8 WAR or something out of that trade.
It was a strong move that didn’t work out for the Jays. Josh Johnson was every bit of an ace but with some injury history. Can’t fault the effort.
Rosenthal with the voice of reason, somewhat. Basically: yes, this could be rock bottom, and maybe they could right the ship. But it’s starting to look like this is who they are. And no matter what, this year looks like Snit’s swan song.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6407214/2025/06/06/atlanta-braves-rock-bottom-season/
What a frustrating read. Ken intimates that Liberty lowered the payroll, but why won’t someone just come out and say it?
I get really irritated by the constant citing of our record in one-run games, as if the organization is held captive at a roulette table, with bad luck and no agency at all. Bad teams lose close games; our bullpen is bad, and our offense is bad.
I wish someone like Ken would start asking: why do former Braves pitchers like Fried and Gausman get better after leaving the Braves? Was the payroll lowered specifically to avoid the luxury tax?
In total, Alex has done a pretty good job. He took a great farm system and improved the team enough to win a World Series. The team should have been more aggressive earlier in the run, particularly in 2019, when Ronald and Riley were still relatively inexpensive, but he’s done more good than bad. Unless you are the Dodgers, it’s pretty impossible to have a good team every single year.
It’s not unheard of to have a bad season and then rebound quickly; the Yankees had a mediocre 2023 and were in the World Series the next year because they spent real money to fix their pitching staff. They also added a generational hitter for one year. My concern is the Braves aren’t willing, or able, to do that.
Do good teams win the close ones?
https://www.espn.com/mlb/columns/cs/896032.html
We lost our first 7 in a row against two pretty good teams on the road- Padres and Dodgers. That was concerning but not devastating. We’ve won 1 of our last 6 games at home against the Red Sox who just lost 5 in a row, and the Dbacks, who were 2 and 9 before coming to Atlanta. This has been devastating
A new game thread, TD, feel free to repost.