Reassessing Atlanta Braves' Offseason Plan and Breaking Down What's Next

The Atlanta Braves entered the offseason as a mystery team in regards to their direction.

Former general manager Frank Wren was out, and in stepped John Hart.

The roster featured almost the entirely same cast as the one that won the NL East in 2013, but they fell flat at the end of the 2014 season to finish below .500.

Hart had some nice core pieces in Freddie Freeman, Andrelton Simmons, Craig Kimbrel and Julio Teheran. On the other hand, he also had some miserable contracts (Dan Uggla, B.J. Upton) and two key players that were due for pay raises (Justin Upton, Jason Heyward).

It began as an offseason in limbo. Hart could attempt to piece together a playoff team again in 2015, or he could break the roster up and look toward a more powerful lineup in 2017 and beyond.

The move that finally swung the pendulum was the trade of outfielder Jason Heyward and relief pitcher Jordan Walden to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins. In this move, Hart traded one year of Heyward and got four years of team control in Miller and six years in Jenkins.

This move signaled the main goal of the offseason was to get younger and rebuild the farm system in hopes of putting together a more powerful roster in 2017.

The next move for the Braves is trading Justin Upton.

The two-time All-Star is arguably the best right-handed power bat on the market and is a hot commodity. The Braves also seem unlikely to be able to pay him what he'll command after the 2015 season. 

The Braves will want to get young pitching with top-end potential in return for Upton. They'd also be intrigued by outfield or third base prospects, as the farm system does not feature impact players for the future.

A deal the Braves must continuously pursue is acquiring pitcher Taijuan Walker from the Seattle Mariners. So far, this has not materialized, but the Braves should continue trying to hammer out a deal to bring in the 22-year-old right-hander.

Another player the Braves should target is pitcher Tyson Ross from the San Diego Padres. Once again, would the Padres be willing to give up Ross for one year of Upton?

Hart may have to get creative to land either of the two pitchers.

Either way, trading Upton is a must at this point. The value of getting a compensatory draft pick next offseason would be far less than a package of prospects they could gain right now.

The other big name is Evan Gattis.

Despite having four years of team control over Gattis, the Braves have a nice catching prospect in Christian Bethancourt who is ready for consistent MLB playing time. Because of his team control and power, Gattis would also command a nice return for the Braves.

The Braves also have the option to move Gattis to left field if Upton is traded.

Once again, if I'm Hart, then I'm looking to make a trade. If trading Gattis means losing a few more games in 2015 but building toward a strong 2017 and beyond, then I make that move.

Hart could piece together a 2015 team that could contend for the playoffs.

However, after trading Heyward, I'm far more interested in seeing the Braves go total-rebuild mode and fortify the farm system. A roster in two to four seasons with World Series potential interests me far more than a possible 2015 playoff spot.