The Atlanta Braves… did not sign a free agent on Monday or Tuesday. We know that has caused some angst among fans, but please – take Dr. Browning’s advice and exercise some relaxation techniques… it’ll be all better soon.
One thing to note as a reminder, free agency is not Alex Anthopoulos’ preferred means of team-building. He would much rather go with the draft, player development, and trades.
The immediate objection to that statement would be ‘but he signed Josh Donaldson as a free agent!’ Absolutely true, though this represents a special circumstance:
- Impact player
- (Very) Short-term commitment
- Gap-filler (kinda)
- Previous relationship with the player
This exception noted, it’s not that free agents are being excluded from the shopping list in general.