New year starts baseball countdown
Georgia’s football season is now over. Georgia Tech’s has been long over. And the Falcons aren’t playing anytime in January, either.
So, dare we say, it’s time for baseball season?
There is still more work for almost every team to do in this hot stove league offseason, but in the south we can at least start thinking about when the Braves get to their new spring training home in North Port, FL.
Unless, that is, you root for Clemson and LSU. Then there may be something else occupying your mind for the next 13 days.
Pitchers and catchers report to spring training on February 12 for the Braves. That’s 43 days away.
General manager Alex Anthopoulos is not finished with his offseason work. He is waiting to see what Josh Donaldson will do. The free agent third baseman is weighing offers from Atlanta, Minnesota and Washington. Reports have the Twins and Nationals going to four years, while the belief is the Braves have stopped at a three-year offer.
If Donaldson returns, the Braves will have only smaller moves to make before the start of the season, and Anthopoulos has proven he isn’t against making those sort of moves right before the season starts.
But if Donaldson leaves, Anthopoulos will have to find a significant bat for the lineup. The Braves need someone to hit fourth behind Freddie Freeman in the lineup, whether it’s a third baseman or outfielder.
Kris Bryant is available. He can play third base and left field. And the rumors about Nolan Arenado aren’t quieting down one bit. It would be interesting to see if the Rockies are serious or not.
The Braves may still look at add another starting pitcher, a la when they added Anibal Sanchez before the start of the 2018 season. We’ll mention Alex Wood again, and several reclamation projects are out there like King Felix Hernandez.
The bench could be another area the Braves will look at before mid-February. They’ve expressed interest in bringing Adeiny Hecharvarria back as the backup shortstop, and you wonder if they’d be interest in bringing back Matt Joyce as a lefty bat off the bench.
The National League East could be the best division in baseball, so the Braves must continue to improve a roster that will already look a bit different come February.
Either way, let the countdown begin. Football season in the state of Georgia is over. The Hawks aren’t any good, and the Thrashers are long gone.
It’s time to start talking baseball!