ATLANTA — ESPN ranks eight Braves among MLB’s top 74 players. Ronald Acuna is No. 14, Ozzie Albies No. 74. In between come Austin Riley, Max Fried, Michael Harris, Spencer Strider, Matt Olson and Sean Murphy. That’s two pitchers, one catcher, three infielders and two outfielders. That’s what you’d call comprehensive.
We note that Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson, famous former Braves, are ranked No. 5 and No. 54, respectively. This tells us what we already knew: This club is willing to pay for big-time talent, but it isn’t willing to pay just anything, not even for faces of the franchise.
Maybe you hate that Freeman’s a Dodger and Swanson’s a Cub, but there’s a greater lesson at play: You can build a top-shelf roster without going the way of Silicon Valley Bank. The Braves will pay $83.5 million — using Spotrac’s adjusted salaries — to those eight ESPN-ranked players in 2023.
