If Dansby Swanson stays with Braves, he may have to go the Chipper Jones route

Should Dansby Swanson return to the Atlanta Braves in his free agency, he will have taken a page out of the Chipper Jones playbook in order to do so.

With Dansby Swanson’s high-profile free agency having Atlanta Braves fans everywhere wondering what is next for the All-Star shortstop, we must look at what Chipper Jones did as the template for the manner in which he might stay.

Although the Braves are the favorite to retain him until he signs somewhere else, Jon Heyman of The New York Post does have the Chicago Cubs as his pick for where Swanson will sign this offseason. Swanson’s fiancee Mallory Pugh plays professionally for the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars. Some have connected him to Chicago, while others have remained somewhat skeptical about the loose connections.

Even though the Braves have money, Swanson may have to take the hometown discount to stay.

Atlanta Braves: Dansby Swanson may have to take the Chipper Jones discount

Last offseason, Braves Country went through an agonizingly painful ordeal surrounding former franchise cornerstone first baseman Freddie Freeman. While he had played his entire professional career up to that point in Atlanta, Freeman signed with the NL rival Los Angeles Dodgers for slightly more money. Swanson is represented by the same agency that used to work for Freeman.

There may have been a late offer on the table from Atlanta to make it close enough for Freeman to stay, but that is neither here nor there. Atlanta decided to move on from Freeman by trading for Oakland Athletics star and Lilburn native Matt Olson. He is four years younger than Freeman and signed an eight-year deal upon being traded to Atlanta on par with what Freeman will make in six.

The big difference when it comes to Swanson is he is the same age as Olson. In fact, the Marietta native was going to room with Olson at Vanderbilt had he not signed with the Athletics out of high school. They achieved great success together in their first year as teammates at the professional level. While money talks, Swanson would be giving up a ton if he were to walk in his free agency.

Admittedly, this all goes back to what Jones prioritized during his hall-of-fame MLB career and if Swanson values the same things. Jones was a first-ballot inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. Although he is one of the greatest switch-hitters and third basemen of all time, Jones understood the value he had by playing for one team throughout his illustrious pro career.

Yes, he could have made more on the open market, but he took the hometown discount to allow an increasingly cash-strapped ownership group to spread the wealth around. While the Braves never achieved the same levels of success under Liberty Media initially as they did under previous owner Ted Turner, Jones became a baseball icon in part because he was willing to stay in Atlanta.

Swanson is only coming off his first All-Star nod, but the former Vanderbilt star is in the midst of his prime. He is living out the dream by playing miles from where he grew up in one of baseball’s newest and most impressive cathedrals. Although he is probably not Cooperstown-bound, the chance to play with one team into his late 30s could make him Braves royalty by decade’s end.

Obviously, there are so many factors playing into his free agency, but one would think, all things equal, winning would be the ultimate trump card. In time, maybe a team like the Cubs can get back to being championship-caliber. Maybe the Seattle Mariners are about to enter an era akin to their late 1990s to early 2000s golden years in the Pacific Northwest.

But the Braves are winning now!

Although they may have run out of gas in the MLB postseason, Atlanta does not overcome a 10.5-game deficit to the hated New York Mets to win the NL East for a fifth year in a row without Swanson’s leadership and elevated play. No doubt, he has earned a hefty payday. While he could get more elsewhere, there is value in taking slightly less to sign up for only playing for the Braves.

It is uncommon for players to take less in baseball, but this is a hometown discount worth taking.