Braves Rumors: Ron Washington take 1B Coach Eric Young Sr. to LA
It's not just third base that the Atlanta Braves now have a hole to fill. The other corner of the infield will need a new man as well.
With fan and clubhouse-favorite Ron Washington leaving his job as Braves third-base coach for the Los Angeles Angels manager job, news broke this past weekend that he's bringing another former Atlanta coach with him. Washington has added former Braves first-base coach Eric Young Sr. to his staff, where he will be the new third-base coach for the Halos.
That now leaves two vacancies for the Braves to fill on Brian Snitker's coaching staff this offseason, which adds to an already seemingly important offseson for the roster that Alex Anthopoulos will have to deal with.
Former player Matt Tuiasosopo feels like the most obvious candidate to fill the void at one of the corners. He was the stand-in for Washington recently at third base when the new Angels manager was accepting an award/honor in Louisiana. Thus, it would be natural to simply give Tuiasosopo a promotion to a full-time role.
Fans and analysts alike have also speculated about the possibility of franchise legend Chipper Jones perhaps taking up the mantle at third base. He's been involved with the team as a pseudo-assistant coach in recent years and his standing with the organization and stature as a Hall of Famer would certainly qualify him to take the job.
However, losing both Young and Washington now is another big hurdle for the 2023-24 offseason that the Braves will have to navigate deftly.
Braves Rumors: Aaron Nola connected to Atlanta, Anthopoulos willing to spend
Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos has been blunt already this offseason about the club's desire to bolster the starting rotation and pitching staff for the 2024 season in free agency or via trade this offseason. The big question has been if Anthopoulos, who has been quite stingy in terms of handing out big paydays on the open market, would be willing to cut the check to one of the top arms on the free-agent market.
Indeed, it sounds like he is.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic ($) reported on Monday that, "for the right starting pitcher", Anthopoulos and the Braves would be willing to hand out the highest AAV on a contract -- they have not signed a player to more than $22 million per year in his tenure -- this offseason. More importantly, Rosenthal had one pitcher in mind: Aaron Nola.
"Of the pitchers available, righty Aaron Nola is perhaps the most intriguing fit. Nola is close with Braves pitching coach Rick Kranitz, who was with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2016 to '18. And as a native of Baton Rouge, La., who attended LSU, he might prefer to sign with a team in the south," Rosenthal wrote.
Rosenthal noted that Nola's lack of an extension with the Phillies -- a fun wrinkle in this -- could be indicative that Philadelphia isn't going to re-sign him and could look elsewhere. Nola on the open market would be coveted, but when you combine need and status as a contender, few places would make more sense for the veteran righty than the Braves, especially with those connections.
The Braves rolling out a top three in the rotation of Spencer Strider, Aaron Nola, and assumedly Max Fried (at least for now) would be quite formidable. But most importantly, Anthopoulos' reported willingness to spend on the right starting pitcher opens a ton of doors for Atlanta to make a big splash that their pitching staff might truly need to get back over the hump.
Braves Rumors: Shohei Ohtani 'intrigued' by playing for Braves
On one hand, it might seem like any dream of Shohei Ohtani coming to Atlanta is dead. Then there's this other hand that has recently come into view, one in which Ohtani would reportedly be "intrigued" by playing for the Braves.
MLB Network insider Jon Morosi recently broke down the latest Ohtani buzz after the GM Meetings in Scottsdale and mentioned a fascinating nugget that connected the two-way Japanese superstar to the Braves based on something that he'd heard.
"I think those type of ball clubs that are showing a willingness to compete and contend, whether it's the Chicago Cubs—I even had someone tell me in the last week or so that Shohei would be very intrigued about playing for the Atlanta Braves. Now, I don't expect the Braves to sign him as their priority is upgrading the pitching staff for 2024. But that gives you an idea of where his thought process is," Morosi said.
After the early buzz was all about Ohtani wanting to A. Stay on the West Coast, and B. Play for a contender, we've seen the apparent focuse for the free agent shift more in favor of the latter, which would obviously be highly advantageous for the Braves if they were interested.
The big question is if they would be interested, though. Starting pitching remains the priority for the Braves in a massive way this offseason and, with his UCL injury, Ohtani is not going to be able to pitch in the 2024 season. Of course, that shouldn't preclude Atlanta from pursuiting Ohtani in itself -- that would be asinine.
In the interest of piroritization, as Morosi hinted at, Ohtani might not be the top target for Anthopoulous and the Braves. However, if they do want to make a push for the superstar, it seems like they might have at least some chance to land him.
