Braves have plans other than Trea Turner if Dansby Swanson walks

The Braves won’t be making a splashy move to replace Dansby Swanson if he walks

Dansby Swanson has played well enough to earn himself a massive new contract, and the Atlanta Braves would probably love to keep him. But with how well he has played and the Braves reputation for signing young talent to affordable deals, it may not be a tenable reunion.

While Braves fans might want the team to backfill Swanson’s role with Trea Turner if he does, in fact, move onto a new team, they should not hold their breath regarding the likelihood of that happening.

MLB insider suggests Braves are content with talent they have in-house at shortstop

Ken Rosenthal dropped a massive column in The Athletic on Monday with rumors all across the MLB (subscription required). In it, he mentioned Swanson and the Braves and said that if it’s not Swanson, it won’t be Turner, Xander Bogaerts, or Carlos Correa for one simple reason: Cost.

Rosenthal went on to say that Orlando Arcia and Vaughn Grissom are their de facto options at SS if they can’t come to an agreement with Swanson.

The Braves have made financially savvy moves, and loading up their existing young core with an overpriced veteran free agent SS would hinder their ability to continue to move fiscally flexibly in a few years. The Braves seem set on competing as a dynasty, not a one-off World Series champ.

After a title in 2021, it looks like the Braves will be a playoff fixture regardless of their starting shortstop beyond this year thanks to these kinds of money management decisions.

One other nugget: Rosenthal said the Braves won’t be chasing Jacob deGrom, largely for the same financial reasons that they won’t be star-chasing at short.