The Atlanta Braves are in the market for starting pitching and the hot stove is cooking. Alex Anthopoulos has already completed a five-player deal that brought Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales, and Evan White to Atlanta in exchange for Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips. Read more about that trade here.
The Braves feel they have left field wrapped up after the departure of Eddie Rosario. The team turned down a $9 million option on Rosario and will leave it up to Vaughn Grissom and Jarred Kelenic.
Marco Gonzales is a quality back-end arm for the rotation but as we learned last year (and seem to learn every year), you can never have enough starting pitching.
While many fans are clamoring to see Shohei Ohtani or Dylan Cease in a headline that sends a star to Atlanta, the Braves might be more hampered by budgetary restrictions than we want to believe.
They are already projected to exceed the luxury tax by $13 million. We don’t know where the limit is this season, but it probably rules out a $20 or $30 million acquisition. Read here for more on the competitive balance tax and where the Braves’ budget stands in relation.
Seth Lugo is entering his age-34 season and made 26 starts for the Padres last year. Lugo is reportedly seeking a three-year deal, which would take him through his age-36 season. Prior to last season, Lugo had not pitched in more than 101.1 innings in any season. The last time he was a regular starter was in 2017 when he was 27. He made 18 starts for the Mets posting a 4.71 ERA.
Between 2019-2022, he was primarily a reliever for the Mets. He posted a 3.51 ERA and struck out 10.9 hitters per nine innings. He even had a couple of seasons with a an SO9 in excess of 11.
In 146.1 innings as a starter last season, he posted a solid 3.57 ERA. His strikeouts per nine dropped to 8.6 but his walks per nine was a solid 2.2.
Lugo is likely seeking around $10 million per year. That seems a little high for a team with presumably limited budget space and a 34-year-old who has a career 4.01 ERA (as a starter) over 64 starts.
Should the Braves sign Seth Lugo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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