Back in July, Chase Irle predicted that Dansby Swanson would earn himself an extension this offseason. That take is aging like a fine wine.
Dansby Swanson 2020: .274/.345/.464/.809, 15 2B, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 22 BB (60 Games)
Dansby Swanson Career Postseason: .302/.357/.556/.913, 5 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 6 BB (17 Games)
Along with elite defense and a bat that finally started finding green grass in 2020, Swanson straight-up shows up in October. Braves fans are well aware that he can tend to get seriously unlucky at times, rocking pitches directly into a fielder’s glove. Any poor luck seems to simply evaporate come playoff time. His career postseason BABIP is a ridiculous .421.
Dansby Swanson 434 FT 💣
Braves take an early 2-0 lead pic.twitter.com/9nk4tNHsxY
— Bleacher Report MLB (@BR_MLB) October 19, 2020
Dansby has two more years of arbitration, putting off his Free Agent status until 2023. However, we could see Atlanta use the strategy of “buying” those years in exchange for a lower contract figure for the future. I’m a big fan of this strategy. It worked beautifully for Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuña. Swanson is estimated (via Spotrac) to command around $6.3 million in arbitration this season.
I think offering Swanson five years in the range of $50-$60 million would be the best move. He would get a nice pay bump that Atlanta can afford. Also, I believe $10-$12 million per season is about what he’s worth.
Those dollars would have Swanson making more than both Javier Baez and Trevor Story. Dansby is well-deserving of an extension. Locking him up would give Atlanta a clear pathway to getting Freddie Freeman locked up too. With Ozzie, Acuña, Freeman, and Dansby all in the fold for at least the next 5 years — the nucleus of a contender would be firmly in place.
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