The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
QUALIFYING OFFER NOT LIKELY FOR MARKAKIS
Deadline is today for Braves to extend qualifying offer.
MLB’s deadline for qualifying offers is at 5 p.m. today. The offer is valued at $17.9 million for one year.
Teams can make the offer to their eligible free agents, resulting in either retaining the individual for another season or receiving draftpick compensation when he departs. It’s an easy decision for the Nationals to attach the offer to Bryce Harper, for instance, because he’s a lock to decline it.
Each of the nine qualifying offers made last season were rejected. The previous winter, two players took the lucrative one-year deal.
Nick Markakis is the only Braves player who could receive the offer, though that’s considered unlikely. The sum outweighs Markakis’ probable one-year value, while the draft pick likely would fall in the second round.
Teams receive a pick between the first round and the Competitive Bal- ance Round A if the offeree signs for more than $50 million, while less than such would award a selection before Competitive Balance Round B.
The Braves have ample spending room, but there’s little reason to believe they would tie up nearly $18 million for a player they might look to replace. The organization likes Markakis, and general manager Alex Anthopoulos is open to retaining him on a short-term agreement, but it wouldn’t come at such an annual cost.
Markakis had his first AllStar campaign in 2018, playing in all 162 games. But his second half was a drop-off: He hit .258/.332/.369 after marking .323/.389/.488 before the break. He was instrumental in the clubhouse’s lauded chemistry.
Perhaps the team re-signs Markakis, who turns 35 this month, but it doesn’t seem to be option A. Therefore the cons of making a qualifying offer are greater than the pros.
Starter Anibal Sanchez, catchers Kurt Suzuki and Rene Rivera, infielders Ryan Flaherty and Lucas Duda, relievers Brad Brach and Peter Moylan also are free agents. The Braves will have a busy offseason but could circle back to a couple of those names if the situation is right.
Braves bolster catcher depth: The Braves acquired catcher Raffy Lopez from the Padres for cash considerations, the organization announced Thursday.
Lopez, 31, slashed .176/.265/.284 with three homers in 37 games last season. He’s a four-year major leaguer, having previously spent time with the Cubs, Reds and Blue Jays.
He’s a career .184 hitter over 76 major league games. After bouncing between the majors and minors, Lopez was pushed out of the Padres system.
It’s a minor move, but the Braves needed veteran catching depth in their system. They carried Chris Stewart through much of 2018, and he filled in when Tyler Flowers was injured earlier in the year.
Lopez addresses a system need at negligible cost. The Braves are searching for a catcher to pair with Flowers.