What the hell Braves? Is this a witch hunt or is it that bad?

[volsboy]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/braves-will-forfeit-rights-to-prospect-kevin-maitan.html
Will the Braves get back to contending anytime soon? Like in our lifetime?

[droner]

Sheesh. That's really severe.

[Black Diamond Vol]

I won't pretend to know all the ins and outs of baseball scouting in banana republics like Venezuela and the DR, but from everything I've read, this stuff has been going on for decades.  In fact, the Red Sox were busted for international violations a few years ago and only lost 3 marginal prospects.  Apparently the new commissioner wanted to make an example of someone, and the Braves made for a perfect small-market foil.  That's fine, but when the Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, or Red Sox (again) numbers come up in the near future, I'll be fully expecting them to pay a similar price.  

While the penalties are severe and unprecedented, the Braves' near-future is still very bright.  AA/AAA are bursting at the seams with top flight prospects, and most of those guys should be hitting the majors in the next 1-2 seasons.  Included among them is Ronald Acuna, who many are calling the Braves' best-ever prospect.  Better than Chipper, better than Andruw.  The only reason (other than injury) that he may not break camp with the big club next year is contractual- the Braves get an extra couple years of team control if they hold him back a few weeks.  But he'll be up by June at the latest, and I can't wait to watch him play.

https://www.fanragsports.com/looking-back-at-ronald-acunas-unbelievable-2017/

But these penalties do effectively gut the lower minors, and leaves the Braves with little margin for error.  These upper-level prospects had better hit, because there won't be much coming up behind them for a long while.

[BanditVol]

Not sure Atlanta is "small market' anymore.  9th largest metro area in the country, just ahead of Boston.

New York-Northern NJ-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA   18,897,109   New York
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA   12,828,837   Los Angeles
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI   9,461,105   Chicago
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX   6,371,773   Dallas
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD   5,965,343   Philadelphia
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX   5,946,800   Houston
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV   5,582,170   Washington
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL   5,564,635   Miami
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA   5,268,860   Atlanta
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH   4,552,402   Boston

[Black Diamond Vol]

Not sure Atlanta is "small market' anymore.  9th largest metro area in the country, just ahead of Boston.

New York-Northern NJ-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA   18,897,109   New York
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA   12,828,837   Los Angeles
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI   9,461,105   Chicago
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX   6,371,773   Dallas
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD   5,965,343   Philadelphia
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX   5,946,800   Houston
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV   5,582,170   Washington
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL   5,564,635   Miami
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA   5,268,860   Atlanta
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH   4,552,402   Boston

"Market size", when it comes to sports, doesn't necessarily just mean the population of the metro area.  In baseball these days, it mostly means who has the richest owners and spends the most on payroll.  In that regard, the Braves are squarely in the bottom half of MLB, and have been since shortly after Ted Turner sold the team over 20 years ago.

[BanditVol]

"Market size", when it comes to sports, doesn't necessarily just mean the population of the metro area.  In baseball these days, it mostly means who has the richest owners and spends the most on payroll.  In that regard, the Braves are squarely in the bottom half of MLB, and have been since shortly after Ted Turner sold the team over 20 years ago.

Oh okay.  MLB is the only major sport with no salary cap, which causes things like that.