Picking the Ideal Free Agent to Fill Each of the Atlanta Braves' Holes

The Atlanta Braves, as currently constructed, don’t have that many holes. Or rather, they don’t have that many positions that are not already occupied by a player with a big contract.

But the holes the team does have are critical and need to be filled. I’ll go into this exercise as if the team intends to try and be competitive next year and not, as some have suggested, hold a fire sale and rebuild.

The ideal free agent for each of the team’s needs may not necessarily be the most expensive or best guy at that position. Instead, I’ll weigh other factors such as cost and what they can contribute.

Starting Pitchers

The most pressing need for the 2015 Braves is to fill two spots in the starting rotation. It seems a foregone conclusion that Ervin Santana, who rejected the team’s qualifying offer Monday, will finally get that big free-agent contract he has spent two offseasons pursuing, and the Braves won’t be the team giving it to him.

Aaron Harang could also depart for a multiyear deal now that his good year in Atlanta has re-established him as a decent back-of-the-rotation innings-eater. And so the Braves must fill two spots in their five-man rotation—a tall order for any team, but especially one constrained by payroll limitations.

I’ve been pairing right-hander Jake Peavy with the Braves since the offseason began, so there’s no reason to stop now. Part of that pairing is because Peavy is from the South, but it’s also because the team could benefit from his intensity on the mound as well as his veteran influence.

Atlanta’s rotation seemed to miss that veteran presence this season, having lost Tim Hudson to the San Francisco Giants last offseason. Peavy could be that guy, sharing his knowledge with the team’s young rotation while giving the Braves another mid- to front-of-the-rotation starter.

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

With cost being an issue, the other ideal free-agent starting pitcher I’d like to see the Braves sign is right-hander Jason Hammel. At 32, he’s just a year younger than Peavy, and he spent all of his career pitching either in the American League or for the Colorado Rockies until this year, when he spent half a season pitching for the Chicago Cubs before being traded back to the AL.

That non-Coors Field National League experience produced the lowest ERA of Hammel’s career, with a significant uptick in strikeouts. Getting a guy like Hammel, who may be more comfortable facing NL lineups, could fill the team’s need for a lower-cost rotation piece with potential upside.

Center Field

Wait, don’t the Braves have a center fielder? Yes and no. Technically, B.J. Upton is their center fielder for the next three years, but everyone within a 100-mile radius of Atlanta and anyone with an Internet connection should know by now that the team is trying to rid itself of the underperforming Upton.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

With the presumption that the Braves can trade him, they will need a new center fielder, and I believe there’s an ideal fit on the free-agent market—Colby Rasmus.

The Braves drafted his brother Cory, a pitcher, who made his major league debut last year before getting traded to the Los Angeles Angels. They are likely familiar with who Colby is and what he can bring to the team.

Yes, Rasmus is also from the South, and going to a team so close to home might be a goal of his, especially for a one-year contract to increase his free-agent value. He’s been inconsistent from year to year, and this year was one of those years.

The Braves could sign him with the hope that he puts up monster numbers and then extend him a qualifying offer in order to get a draft pick and continue to rebuild their minor league system.

Relief Pitcher

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Another player I’ve mentioned previously as an ideal piece for the Braves to sign this offseason is lefty reliever Andrew Miller. Sure, he’s going to command a large contract, which is less than ideal, but his huge upside as a setup man for Craig Kimbrel would be ideal.

Just like a team needs a good hitter to get on base in front of a run-producing, middle-of-the-order slugger, a team with playoff aspirations also needs a great setup man to get the ball to its ace closer in the ninth inning.

I look at the signing of a dominant setup man with closer-like stuff as protecting the investment that’s been made in the actual closer. The Braves have been lucky in recent years to find some great setup men on the cheap, but there’s no guarantee that luck will continue.