It still stings. The Atlanta Braves had a team good enough to win the World Series, and they completely blew it vs. the Philadelphia Phillies for the second consecutive October. Despite winning 104 games during the regular season and earning home-field advantage throughout the postseason, it was all for naught for Atlanta. The Braves managed to win one playoff game in back-to-back years.
For now, the Braves are in full-blown offseason mode. It is all about figuring out what the hell happened vs. Philadelphia the last two postseasons and going from there. Atlanta may have won the NL East six straight times, but the Braves have not even gotten back to the NLCS since winning it all two years ago. Fortunately, Atlanta still has one of the better rosters in all of baseball for next season.
So instead of watching other teams play baseball this weekend, here are some of the hottest Braves rumors about where the team's head is at heading into the heart of the offseason. Adjustments will be made, probably of the smaller variety. However, this latest series loss was so incredibly damning that the Atlanta brass may be left with no choice. Regardless, something has to change, and change fast.
The sun came up the last few days, so you might feel good enough to check out some Braves rumors.
Atlanta Braves rumors: A huge return is coming back to team in 2024
No, it is not all bad in Braves Country in the middle part of October. After missing all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, veteran left-handed reliever Tyler Matzek is supposedly well on his way towards returning in 2024. Kyle Wright may be down for the count, but Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said after the season that Matzek will be ready for some spring training.
Not to say the Braves bullpen was less-than-stellar this year, but it did have some hiccups along the way. For the most part, they were rectified in the second half, but there was a time when it was a big problem. Matzek was obviously not part of it, but he was a huge part of the 2021 Night Shift that helped Atlanta win its first World Series championship in 26 years. Also, he tucks it into his sock...
Nuts, cajones, guts, whatever you want to call it, the Braves were certainly missing that in the postseason. Matzek's greatest moment in Atlanta uniform came in the series-clincher vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2021 NLCS. Being able to reinvent himself after dealing with the yips earlier in his career, Matzek has shown us all that he has the mental makeup to help get the Braves back on top.
Assuming he can pitch like he did before Tommy John, Atlanta could be a getting a huge boost here.
Atlanta Braves rumors: Vaughn Grissom's future with the Atlanta roster
Much has been made about what to do with Vaughn Grissom on the Braves' big-league roster. He is too good to spend any more time at Triple-A Gwinnett, but finding the right spot for him defensively in Atlanta has always been an issue. He may be viewed as an infielder by the Braves and Anthopoulos, but you have to wonder if moving him into the outfield or having him serve as the DH is a possibility.
Look. For as long as he can hit, he will have a place on a big-league roster. I think that is what has made him such a compelling potential trade piece over the last year or so. Orlando Arcia emerged as the starting shortstop and had an All-Star season for the Braves. Ozzie Albies will get hurt on occasion, but he is a Silver Slugger candidate the second base position pretty much every season.
The fact that Anthopoulos spoke so highly of Grissom's skill set and being a good teammate, it feels like the Braves are not done with him just yet. Sure, they may get a compelling offer for him by a team in dire need of some middle infield firepower, but a lot can happen between now and the end of spring training. Atlanta will need to figure out what to do with Grissom at some point, but this team has time.
Then again, offense was not the problem during the regular season, only during the postseason run...
Atlanta Braves: Alex Anthopoulos' comments are a little bit worrisome
In the wake of a postseason gone awry, Anthopoulos met with the media and discussed the early part of the Braves' offseason plans. In his conversation with David O'Brien of The Athletic, he didn't really have any concrete answers for what went wrong in October, other than he's looking at it. That is fine because there is no simple answer and these things do take time. However, there are some concerns.
The big one that stood out to me was Anthopoulos not saying he will go get a veteran ace pitcher. He may not have tried to put labels on it, but they need a front-end guy, especially if Charlie Morton calls it a career. He did not say that Morton was an ace when he came over in 2020 from the Tampa Bay Rays, but he did pitch in big games for the Braves the following postseason. Chuck shoved in 2021.
The other cause for concern is these assurances that there is nothing wrong. Is that true? While I am okay with Brian Snitker managing the club for the next two years before he probably retires, the last two NLDS have not been anything to write home about. To me, immediately dismissing something is what led to the downtick of the Team of the '90s era. The Braves Way had gotten so incredibly stale.
I trust Anthopoulos to make the right baseball decisions, but he built a winner that did not win it all.
