Braves rumors: Atlanta already working to lock up another young star

The Atlanta Braves are making quick work in trying to secure the talents of their All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson before he reaches the open market.

The Atlanta Braves barely have let the ink dry on the fresh contract extension with rising star Michael Harris II. Harris looks to be on his way to winning the Rookie of the Year award in the National League. Now Atlanta to want to sign another core member of their playoff team who is much sooner than Harris to reach free agency.

According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the club is working hard to sign star shortstop Dansby Swanson to an extension before the end of the season. The Braves rumors mill never stops.

Swanson came to the Braves in the trade that cost aging manager Tony La Russa his cushy executive job with the Diamondbacks in 2016. Shelby Miller went to the Dbacks and promptly struggled while Dansby has grown into a player worthy of the No.1 selection.

Swanson made his first All-Star team this year and it was a worthy selection. The 28-year-old shortstop has played in all 119 games this year so far. He is hitting .292/.348/.455/.802 with a 120 OPS+. He has smashed 16 home runs, 25 doubles, 65 RBI, and stolen 15 bases with 38 walks to 133 strikeouts. The bat has been unlocked to finally get him to the All-Star Game.

Though his hair is already MVP worthy, let alone Hair-Star worthy.

Braves rumors: Dansby Swanson, Atlanta progressing on long-term extension to avoid free agency

According to Heyman, the two sides are discussing a similar deal to the one Xander Bogaerts signed with the Red Sox years ago: A six-year deal in the range of $120 million dollars. This is a fair deal considering it would start with Dansby’s age-29 season and this is the first year he’s truly become an elite hitter. On the year, Dansby has been worth 4.5 WAR.

We’ll see if this deal gets done as the same agent that repped Freddie Freeman, Casey Close, is repping Dansby Swanson. Hopefully, there are no issues between the two sides.

If the Atlanta Braves and Dansby Swanson can reach an agreement, it would mark the 6th extension the Braves have signed with one of their star players since 2019. The other five are Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, and Ronald Acuna Jr.

It’s a great time to be a Braves fan with all this money being spent on the team’s future. Also, one last thing to point out. None of the players that have signed extensions with the team are represented by super-agent Scott Boras. Could other teams be doing this too if Boras didn’t rep their players? Just something to chew on.