Only time will tell if the Atlanta Braves made the right decision to let Dansby Swanson walk.
There are consequences, good and bad, for the Atlanta Braves to let hometown hero Dansby Swanson walk him in free agency.
Although he starred collegiately at Vanderbilt and was drafted #1 overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the rest of Swanson’s baseball career up to this point revolved around Atlanta and the Braves. Former Marietta Blue Devil grew up minutes from Truist Park. He would always have to get a discount in his hometown to stay, but I guess he wasn’t like Chipper Johns…
So Swanson takes his talents to the Windy City to play on the North Side for the Chicago Cubs. This places him in the same city as his new wife Mallory Pugh, who plays professionally for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Basketball Association.
For the next seven years, Swanson will be the star of the Marquee Network’s marquee, as the Cubbies hope to grow from Loved Losers to once again NL monsters.
Swanson’s walk has been a divisive topic for Braves Country, but let’s discuss the pros and cons of it.
Why the Atlanta Braves were right to let Dansby Swanson walk his free agency
With Swanson being such a popular player and one of us, to be completely honest, it’s hard to see the silver lining in his passing, at least initially. Truthfully, there’s more than just a positive side here with Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos letting Swanson walk. It was never about paying him more money, but rather not having him on the books for over six years.
Given that Swanson is already pushing 30, Anthopoulos wasn’t ready to let his skill set slip so quickly at a high number on the back end of a blockbuster deal. It’s the same logic that was applied in allowing another famous player in Freddie Freeman to walk over to the Los Angeles Dodgers in his free agency last winter. Anthopoulos will make long-term moves for the benefit of the team.
So with that in mind, not signing Swanson frees up more long-term financial capital to expand players like ace player Max Freed, as well as having the resources to trade a player along the lines of star Pittsburgh Pirates quarterback Brian Reynolds. The former Vanderbilt star himself requested a trade out of town, and the Braves are arguably the favorites to land him a trade.
Overall, you can kind of get a sense that there’s a follow-up move that the Braves have to make. Yes, trading Oakland Athletics player Shaun Murphy was great, but that meant William Contreras had to go to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of last week’s three-team deal. Atlanta needs to address its new void on short notice, as well as look into the possibility of upgrading in left field.
Not committing to Swanson over the long term provides Anthopoulos with more capital to spend elsewhere.
Why the Atlanta Braves got it wrong letting Dansby Swanson walk him in free agency
Emotionally, there’s no doubt about it, that sucks as a Braves fan. Everyone in metro Atlanta wanted to grow up to be the next Chipper, and Swanson briefly had to be that guy. While I’m glad he got his money and he and his wife can live in the same city together, this is two years in a row where Anthopoulos has let a big fan walk inside the league in the wake of the 2021 World Series title.
While Swanson did a great job filling the position of Freeman’s locker room leader last season, is Austin Riley ready to be that guy now? Travis d’Arnaud could be used in that role as well, but his time with the Braves will likely be coming to an end as well, especially after Anthopoulos traded Murphy from the A’s. Yes, these intangibles matter a lot in over 162 games, but there’s a lot more to this than that…
Atlanta has one of the deepest rosters in baseball, but there is a void at shortstop. In theory, Vaughn Grissom could be a future cornerback for the Braves there, but the other trouble maker is still very much on defensive work. On top of that, Atlanta didn’t sign one of the other big free agent companies in Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Carlos Correa, all of whom went to NL teams.
Not only did Atlanta get worse at center but four teams in the National League improved with Philadelphia (Turner), San Diego (Bogarts), San Francisco (Korea) and now Chicago (Swanson). The Braves’ championship window is still open, but the league’s more competitive Senior Circuit has been getting tougher with all four-star shortstops changing hands.
Atlanta loses hometown champ, All-Star, Gold Glover and locker room leader Swanson.
Did the Atlanta Braves make the right call in letting Dansby Swanson walk?
Let’s not be stupid here. It is too early to tell. However, the decision to let Swanson walk rests entirely with Anthopoulos. Swanson may have outgrown his market value in Atlanta, but we all thought he would have played for the Braves for the better part of his career after he was traded out of the Diamondbacks organization for a bag of baseballs in a historic robbery.
Anthopoulos’ decision will not be judged solely by what Swanson does at Chicagoland, but by the corresponding moves he makes, or doesn’t make, to balance the loss of such an important player to this franchise. In fact, Swanson picked a great time to take a career year. He’s not the first player to reach the top during the season of his contract, and he won’t be the last.
Going into the Cubs, Swanson faces tremendous pressure to be the peak version of what he was with the Braves, despite not having the necessary talent yet. Yes, he could have had an exceptional career in Chicago, but Swanson wasn’t that kind of guy on the Braves until the 60-game COVID season. This is when he made his mission towards stardom.
Ultimately, this call will be judged by Anthopoulos by what wins the NL’s first World Series championship between the Braves and Cubs. Atlanta certainly has the upper hand to do so, but Chicago isn’t going to falter all this time. The Braves are still chasing 1995 without Anthopoulos, so I think Atlanta fans need to relax for a second and be patient.
With your heart, this was a wrong move, but with your mind, it might finally be the right move.
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