The Atlanta Braves' have had one of the more active offseasons to date in the Major League Baseball Hot Stove period, but Wednesday was a day that had many Braves fans asking questions about their intentions.
Adam Duvall did not receive a tendered contract by Wednesday's Non-Tender deadline, meaning the Braves chose to make him a free agent instead of controlling him for another two seasons. This move came as a surprise to many, given Duvall's power explosion in 2020.
Duvall's 16 homers ranked second on the team to NL League Leader Marcell Ozuna, and tied for third in the entire National League over the 60-game shortened regular season.
The Batter Up Podcast covered this controversial issue, saying that other factors are at play below the surface area numbers.
Will Palaszczuk believes Duvall does not project into the Braves' starting outfield, so he thinks another move is afoot. "Much like I questioned the Drew Smyly move for the rotation, it made more sense given the signing of Charlie Morton," Palaszczuk said, "If you think you can improve at that position, or at least come close to the production you had last year you have to allocate your money elsewhere."
Joe Patrick also feels that if Duvall is the Opening Day Left Fielder saying "it would be disappointing," if he starts the season there, but adds that another factor could be at play. "He had an unexpectedly great season, and his arbitration number elevated itself to a point where the organization felt like they should shore up the rest of their roster," Patrick said.
Various models had a wide swath of numbers for which Duvall could earn in 2021 if tendered, ranging from $4.7 million to $7.1 million. The Braves could technically still re-sign him to a one-year or multi-year contract, but that seems unlikely given his propensity to earn more elsewhere.
Caleb Johnson took the Braves to task for what he called "a move that's going to come back to bite them" next season. "Do we like winning? I look at these Braves decisions like, 'Are we trying to save money? or Are we trying to win?'," Johnson said. "That's a guy that seemed in my opinion relatively inexpensive, and he's an extremely hot bat."
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