Spring training is just a few weeks away, and the Braves have yet to make a single addition to their roster this offseason.
Meanwhile, Max Fried, Charlie Morton, A.J. Minter and others have found new homes. Right now, this is not a championship-caliber squad, with holes in the outfield and pitching staff.
However, Hall of Fame third baseman and Braves star Chipper Jones appeared on 680 The Fan and reminded fans that there’s no reason to panic in January.
“We got a pretty good team guys. Let’s chill out a bit,” Jones said. “We still got time to make moves. There’s still people out there. There’s still trades to be made. Alex (Anthopoulos) wants to make this roster as strong as possible to win as many games as possible. He’s not sitting on his hands, he’s doing work, he’s doing research, he’s trying to work within a certain budget, and let’s trust the man. He at least deserves that.”
There’s no question Alex Anthopoulos deserves the benefit of the doubt. As Braves general manager, he has done more with nothing than any other general manager combined. Consider what he accomplished last summer, when he acquired Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez for peanuts.
There’s no point in pronouncing judgment on the Braves offseason until it’s over. There are numerous players available in free agency or trade that might drastically improve the picture in Atlanta. If we’re sitting here on Opening Day and the Braves roster looks exactly the same as it does now, every fan has the right to gripe. But for now, let’s take the famous Chipper Jones’ counsel and watch what occurs over the next five weeks.
