Just over a week ago, Braves ownership group Liberty Media released a financial statement that showed the ballclub's revenue increased by 47 percent -- or roughly $124 million -- in 2017, thanks in part to new, publicly-financed, SunTrust Park (via ajc.com).
Everyone paying attention knows that Major League Baseball as a whole is flush with cash, a veritable monster of a $10 billion-plus industry.
And yet, many teams aren't really spending in free agency this offseason.
On the heels of Mike Moustakas taking a pay cut -- coming off a 38-homer season -- to remain with the Royals, let's dig in on the Braves and if they should be spending more in free agency this offseason. We'll just work through the thought process right here.
First things first: I would never advocate spending just for the sake of spending. Teams with an established star at third base like the Rockies or Cubs shouldn't even bat an eye at the Moose deal. It's not like signing him and reshaping their roster would make sense.
The Braves, though, looked like a natural fit for Moustakas, especially if it wasn't at a big price for a long-term deal.
Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson have first base through shortstop tied down with Johan Camargo currently slated to play third. Camargo would make a great fifth/utility infielder, though, and could take over short if Swanson runs into an extended slump again. Moustakas would've given them great flexibility and solidified the roster.
In terms of possibly blocking a prospect, first of all, I hate acting like prospects are definitely going to flourish when they get to the bigs. Look no further than Swanson's struggles at times last season. Secondly, the man in question here would be Austin Riley.
Riley, 20, is ranked as the number 54 prospect in baseball by Baseball America. He split time between High-A (81 games) and Double-A (48 games) last season, and that's as far as he's gotten. He looks very good, but he's not that close to the majors and definitely isn't a sure thing. He's not a reason right now to avoid adding a big-league third baseman on a two-year deal.
Perhaps grabbing Moustakas on a two-year, $40 million deal would've done the trick?
On a short-term deal like that, however, the team has to consider why it's doing such a thing. Are they a contender this year or next? Are they close enough that Moustakas would put them into contention?
As things stand, it's probably a no on both counts for this year. Moose would've also cost them a draft pick.
Of course, it's not about only Moustakas. There are other free agents out there that could move the needle.
Remember how much money the Braves themselves say they made last year. They also got a $50 million payment from MLB's sale of BAMTech to Disney like every other team. They only have $35.2 million in committed salary to 2019 and looking ahead, only $1.02 million committed to 2022. If they were so inclined, they could've splurged in spending this offseason with several long-term deals.
They still could sign Jake Arrieta, too. What if they grabbed him for something in the ballpark of four years and $100 million? Financially, they can easily absorb that.
Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir are the elder statesmen in the rotation, but either one could be bumped. Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb need to stay in the rotation, but Arrieta could serve as the ace. There's also still room to absorb Luiz Gohara (again, the Kazmir/McCarthy spots) during the season, too, ending with an Arrieta-Teheran-Folty-Newcomb-Gohara rotation.
The Braves have lots of starting pitching prospect depth in the minors (Max Fried, Aaron Blair, Lucas Sims, Matt Wisler are closest to the majors right now), but not all will stick as important rotation pieces. Plus, Teheran is only signed through 2019 with a club option for 2020.
Basically, it wouldn't be ridiculous to sign Arrieta. It's probably overstated in some circles, but it doesn't hurt the young pitchers to be around a former Cy Young winner with a World Series ring.
Again, though, they shouldn't spend just for the sake of spending and that's probably where we run into an issue here.
SportsLine currently has the Braves projected to go 74-88. Would signing Moustakas and Arrieta have pushed them to the mid-80s in wins? I doubt it. Moustakas was worth 1.8 WAR last season while Arrieta was at 1.9. The high-end projection for Moustakas is probably 3.0 while it's not difficult to see Arrieta getting hot and hitting 5.0 again.
That still doesn't make the Braves a contender, even if we account for possible overperformance. They would still seem light.
Instead, it probably makes more sense for the Braves to lie in the weeds this offseason as they have and look ahead to next.
Come next offseason, they'll know a lot more about Swanson, Camargo, Albies, potential superstar rookie Ronald Acuna, their stable of young starting pitchers both in the majors and minors and more.
At that point, the Braves will know what holes they need to fill in free agency, there's a monster free agent class and the Braves are sitting on a mountain of money.
We've already been eyeing the Phillies as a major player next offseason, but they could well have company from a division foe.
I initially was going to write that the Braves should have signed Moustakas, but when you work through everything, it actually makes more sense to strike in a big way next offseason. If they don't and they keep pocketing all the extra revenue, though, Braves fans should be outraged.
