The Atlanta Braves beat writer for The Athletic Dave O’Brien joined Dukes & Bell Thursday to talk about his article that he and Jeff Schultz wrote based on their sit-down with Braves brass Terry McGuirk and Alex Anthopoulos.
O’Brien talked about how much money the Braves are willing to spend on payroll this season.
“I believe them when they say they are prepared to add $20-25 million to the payroll which will get them to $135 million," said O'Brien. "The problem with that is they will probably look to add a big name player down the stretch, the problem with that thinking is you’re not in a vacuum. If Philly and Washington play up to their potential you could be 10 games out of first place, so the problem with that thinking is you’re not going to make that trade if you’re out of the race.”
O’Brien told the guys why the Braves say they're not worried about moves by their division rivals, but they should be.
“With other teams making the moves they have in the division you have to be cognizant of their moves," O'Brien said. "If you’re going to up the payroll anyways then go ahead and make those moves even if you have to overpay for them or you might not be in the mix.”
When asked about the debt that the Battery seems to carry...
“If you’re paying off the debt for years and years, you’re going to have a tough time explaining to fans why you’re doing that when you told them this was going to be a positive thing.”
