Braves need to have a clear response after Phillies-Trea Turner deal

With Trea Turner going to the Philadelphia Phillies, it means the Atlanta Braves have even more of an incentive to bring back Dansby Swanson on a long-term deal in his MLB free agency.

One big domino has fallen in the MLB free agency shortstop market, as former Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers star Trea Turner is returning to the NL East to play for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Turner has been a thorn in the Atlanta Braves‘ side for ages. Now that he is back in the division, Atlanta has to accept there are no foregone conclusions that the Braves will win its sixth NL East title in a row. The New York Mets won over 100 games last year and the Phillies just won the NL pennant. So with Turner out of the picture and back in the division, that means one big thing now…

The Braves are under even more pressure to bring back Dansby Swanson on a long-term contract.

Atlanta Braves are under more pressure to bring Dansby Swanson back now

Although there was some notion for Swanson to take a hometown discount like Chipper Jones had for years to stay in Atlanta, that may no longer be the case. Unless Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos has bigger plans in store, such as signing either Xander Bogaerts or Carlos Correa in their respective free agencies, letting Swanson walk now would look pretty terrible…

In theory, Swanson could still take a hometown discount to stay, but Turner leaving the Dodgers to come back to the NL East to play for the defending National League champions speaks volumes. More importantly, guess who has a vacancy in The City of Angels and who is incredibly close with Swanson from their time in Atlanta? The Dodgers and their star first baseman Freddie Freeman!

Frankly, this all comes down to what Swanson and his camp want to do. If he wants to leave his hometown team for a little bit more money, then he can do that if he so chooses. However, if the Braves come up empty-handed in the marquee shortstop free agency sweepstakes and think it is okay to roll with Vaughn Grissom out there full-time in 2023, then let’s enjoy a third-place finish!

Ultimately, Anthopoulos has earned the right for Braves Country to trust him. Nothing leaks out of his front office, as he makes deals in silence. He will always do what is in the best interest of the Braves. After all, he is the architect who brought Atlanta its first World Series title in 26 seasons a little over a year ago. We must trust the process, even though other rival teams are making deals.

Anthopoulos will make the right move for this team, but all the pressure is on the front office now.