While Braves tout profits, competitors spend theirs

Liberty Media may have made more money, but the Phillies signed Harper.

There were two Braves-related headlines Thursday. One was great for their bottom line. The other shined a light on their reputation as cheapskates.

In the morning, Braves owner Liberty Media announced that revenue and profit increased dramatically in 2018, the team’s second season at taxpayer-subsidized SunTrust Park. The Braves won and the fans came. Meanwhile, player payroll is less than a year ago after Braves officials said that increased revenue in the new ballpark would mean more spending on players.

Hours after Liberty Media crowed about its profits, news broke that the Phillies and free agent Bryce Harper agreed to a 13-year, $330 million contract. The Phillies already had made significant expenditures on payroll. Now they’ve added one of the two best free-agent hitters of 2019.

The Braves won the National League East in 2018. Now the Phillies should be favored to win it in 2019. The Mets and Nationals got better this offseason, too.

The Braves never were going to get into the bidding for Harper or Manny Machado (10 years, $300 million from the Padres). No one expected that. Everyone understands this isn’t the market for those kinds of deals.

The Braves signed Josh Donaldson to a oneyear, $23 million contract and gave minor deals

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