Recently, FanGraphs listed their Top 50 free agents going into the offseason. We’ve all heard plenty of talk regarding Carlos Correa and Jacob deGrom, but what about a couple of other guys to fill some smaller voids?
From the 2022 home run king to future Hall of Fame starters to the back-end starters you know and occasionally love: We're ranking our top 50 free agents for the offseason, featuring stat projections, staff and crowdsourced contract estimates, and more! https://t.co/W8krQM47TV
— FanGraphs Baseball (@fangraphs) November 7, 2022
I’ll be using some of their estimations to highlight players that could be on the Braves radar:
LHP Jose Quintana
The Braves have some interesting choices to make with their starting pitching. Charlie Morton has been retained, and guys like Ian Anderson and Mike Soroka may be looking to get another chance in the big leagues. You never know what you’re going to get out of your starters from year-to-year, and that even holds true with Quintana. Once one of the best pitchers in the league, Quintana fell off a cliff before finding himself last year. In St. Louis specifically, he posted a 2.01 ERA over 62.2 innings. FanGraphs has him at a pretty reasonable price if the Braves want to add another lefty to the rotation.
FanGraphs Estimate: 2 years, $24 million
OF Michael Conforto
There was some noise about the Braves signing Conforto during and before last season. Atlanta needed a lefty bench bat and an extra outfielder, an issue they eventually cured by bringing in Robbie Grossman. After Conforto had shoulder surgery in April, the hopes of him playing in 2022 looked pretty bleak. Conforto’s numbers were pretty ugly in his last full season, but he still has a ton of pop. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Braves were interested again, at a number lower than this.
FanGraphs Estimate: 1 year, $12 million
OF Michael Brantley
Another guy who has been tied to the Braves in the past, I’ll let FanGraphs take this one away because they sum it up perfectly:
He’s like one of those aging NBA forwards whose knees went south ages ago, but who can still lean through gaps in the defense, pick out a pass, and bury uncontested jumpers all the livelong day. Those guys, like Brantley, can help a contender until they’re walking with a cane. If not Houston, Brantley will be at the top of some team’s batting order next spring.
Call him the PJ Tucker or Eric Gordon of the MLB.
FanGraphs Estimate: 1 year, $10 million
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Photographer: Michael Longo/Icon Sportswire
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