Atlanta Braves News: The Atlanta Braves have traded LHP SP Marco Gonzales to the Pirates for a player to be named later and cash considerations.
I imagine the Braves will be sending a portion of the $4.5 million Seattle agreed to send them in the Kelenic deal. On Sunday night, the Braves completed a five-player deal with Seattle that brought Marco Gonzales, Jarred Kelenic, and Evan White to Atlanta in exchange for Cole Phillips and Jackson Kowar. The Mariners also sent $4.5 million in cash considerations.
Table of Contents
Marco Gonzales to Pirates rumor was leaked prior trade
Rumors of this deal began circulating not long after the Braves acquired Gonzales, which makes it worth noting. Next year, when we hear rumors about an Alex Anthopoulos trade and we ask, “when have you heard rumors of an AA trade before it happened?”
News of this trade comes shortly after mlb.com published an article with quotes from Anthopoulos saying how he doesn’t like to let things leak.
What does Marco Gonzales trade mean for Braves?
The Braves were at $249 million in AAV payroll (which counts toward the competitive balance tax threshold). The luxury tax kicks in at $237 million, so even after removing Gonzales from the equation, the Braves are still at $242 million. To be clear, the first level of the tax is just 30% on anything over $237 million, so it’s not a massive amount of money for the Braves.
It appears the Braves are intent upon exceeding that CBT threshold for a second year in a row. We don’t know where the ceiling is for the total payroll but the CBT tax plays a roll. In a recent post about the implications of signing Ohtani, the Braves would have ended up with just under $40 million in taxes in that scenario.
In real dollars (because the CBT payroll is calculated using average annual value) Gonzales was set to earn $12.25 million in 2024.
Why is this exciting for Braves fans?
It’s clear the Braves have bigger plans and better names in mind when it comes to filling out their roster and their payroll. Marco Gonzales is a quality major-league left-handed major-league starting pitcher. He fits the mold of what the Braves were looking for this offseason but with a less impressive name than what we might have hoped for.
The Braves have a solid top three but have many question marks surrounding the back end of the rotation. Marco could have added a lot of quality innings if they needed, which they do. In the five seasons prior to last year, Gonzales posted a 3.94 ERA over 765.2 innings pitched. There’s a lot of value for a player that reliable in the big leagues. He had a rough season last year, but it was cut way short by injuries.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if they kept Gonzales and I wouldn’t have been too upset. However, the fact that they were able to clear his salary off the payroll indicates they have more exciting plans in place. Hopefully, we’ll be reporting some good news for the Braves in the very near future. Keep track of all of our Atlanta Braves trade rumors here.
Leave a Reply