Extending Young Nucleus Keeps Atlanta Braves Competitive In Difficult National League East

In an obvious clash of business models, the Atlanta Braves seek to defend their domination of the National League East by spending wisely rather than wildly.

Atlanta is seeking its sixth straight divisional crown – the longest active streak in the majors – but has embraced the winter like the baseball version of The Little Engine That Could.

After winning 101 games in their best performance since 2003, the Braves spent just $3 million on free agents – a pittance when compared to $807 million by the New York Mets and $397 million by the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta’s two main rivals.

In addition, the Braves watched a key position player leave for greener pastures after refusing to meet his contract demands, sparked by a runaway salary spiral that resulted in numerous bidding wars.

Shortstop Dansby Swanson, an Atlanta native who blossomed into an All-Star and Gold Glove winner last year, followed first baseman Freddie Freeman, arguably the former Face of the Franchise, into free agency.

Swanson signed with the Chicago Cubs for seven years and $177 million, considerably more than the Braves had offered. But baseball operations president Alex Anthopoulos, dealing within financial boundaries set by the club-owning Liberty Media, kept one eye on his budget and the other on what his rivals were doing.

He also had the foresight to sign eight players, all 30 or younger, to long-term contracts that erased or postponed such salary-inflating roadblocks as arbitration and free agency.

Anthopoulos remembers vividly how his hometown team, the Montreal Expos, fell from contender to pretender because they couldn’t afford to keep their stars. He also remembers how the Cleveland Indians, under GM John Hart, avoided the same fate by locking up young players early by offering long-term extensions the players couldn’t refuse.

“I saw a lot of players leave (the Expos),” Anthopoulos told Atlanta reporters soon after the calendar switched to January. “I know what it was like that our good young players were being traded away or that they couldn’t keep them. So, I think there’s a small part of me that feels from a fan base, you can buy this guy’s jersey because he’s going to be here a while.”

Including catcher Sean Murphy, obtained from the Oakland A’s in a three-way December trade that also involved the Milwaukee Brewers, the Braves have a solid seven-man nucleus signed for years.

The Magnificent Seven includes catcher Sean Murphy, first baseman Matt Olson, second baseman Ozzie Albies, third baseman Austin Riley, center-fielder Michael Harris II, right-fielder Ronald Acuña, Jr., and starting pitcher Spencer Strider.

Players under club control through 2027 are Acuña ($17M club option) and Albies ($7M option in 2026 and 2027), Harris II, Murphy, Olson, Riley, and Strider. All but Albies are contracturally wedded to Atlanta through 2028, with Olson signed through 2030 and Riley potentially signed through 2033 if a club option is exercised.

There are also club options on Murphy and Strider that will keep them at Truist Park through 2029.

Riley signed the biggest contract in team history – 10 years for $212 million – on Aug. 1, 2022, less than a month after playing third base in the All-Star Game.

Anthopoulos launched his plan to sign his young corps in 2019, starting by signing Acuña Jr. and Albies to extensions.

Even his trade acquisitions put their signatures on Atlanta contracts quickly. Olson was acquired from the A’s last March to succeed Freeman at first base and received an eight-year extension the next day. Murphy was obtained from Oakland Dec. 12 and inked a six-year, $73 million extension within a week.

“There’s risk to this, no doubt about it,” said Anthopoulos, explaining his policy. “But we like the fact that guys can just worry about going out and playing. They don’t have to worry about making a certain salary, getting certain statistics and so on, and they know they’re going to be here.”

By contrast, the Mets signed nine free agents in less than two weeks after losing Jacob deGrom, arguably their best pitcher, to the Texas Rangers in one of the first big off-season signings.

New York matched Atlanta with 101 wins last year but lost the division title because the Braves won the season’s series, 10-9. Disappointed Mets owner Steve Cohen, who made billions as a hedge fund magnate, decided he would buy his way to the top. But that theory doesn’t always work.

According to Tom Verducci in Sports Illustrated: “Over the past 13 years, the team with the highest payroll has won the World Series twice (2018 Red Sox and ’20 Dodgers) and lost it once (’17 Dodgers). It missed the post-season twice and was knocked out in the Division Series four times and in the Championship Series four times.”

The Mets have won the World Series twice but not since 1968 and have not even reached it since 2015. They definitely lead in projected luxury tax payroll, however, at $355,887,499 – most in the majors and well ahead of Atlanta’s $209,523,333, which ranks fourth, behind Philadelphia’s $213,299,008.

Even the well-heeled Yankees, whose payroll places second, are well behind their crosstown rivals at $248,716,666.

Atlanta’s biggest advantage over its rivals is age – or lack of it. They could start the season March 30 with the youngest roster in the majors.

Harris II, the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year, is just 22. So is Vaughn Grissom, ticketed to succeed Swanson at shortstop. Strider, who finished second in the Rookie of the Year race, is 24. Acuna is 25 while Albies and Riley are 26, Murphy 28, and Olson 29.

“These guys are choosing to stay here, and they don’t have to,” Anthopoulos told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think that’s important, and it’s a credit to Atlanta and the organization.”