The Braves have yet to sign a single player to a guaranteed major-league contract this offseason despite having several holes that need to be filled. As Ken Rosenthal recently reported, Alex Anthopoulos is waiting in the weeds for an opportunity to strike, still hoping to land a playoff caliber starter, an outfielder, and a high leverage reliever.
Among the potential free agent targets that could fill those holes, Anthony Santander and Jack Flaherty are two that would really move the needle, and both are reportedly considering shorter term deals with higher AAVs.
“At least two — right-hander Jack Flaherty and outfielder Anthony Santander — are open to considering short-term deals with high average annual values, according to league sources briefed on their discussions,” Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon are reporting for The Athletic.Â
For an organization that hates handing out long-term contracts, this presents an opportunity for the Braves to still land one or two of the better free agents to hit the market this offseason.
Anthony Santander is coming off a monster year for the Baltimore Orioles, mashing a career-high 44 home runs. The prospect of adding that kind of power to an already potent Braves lineup should scare everybody in the National League.
On the pitching side, Jack Flaherty is coming off a helluva season of his own. After several years marred by injuries and inconsistency, he posted a 3.17 ERA with a 10.8 K/9 between the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers. In this market, if the Braves could somehow convince Flaherty to sign a short-term deal with a high AAV, it would be a steal.
A five man rotation of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo Lopez, and Jack Flaherty would be as good as any in baseball.
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Photographer: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire
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