MLB.com beat writer Mark Bowman recently reported that, according to a source, Atlanta would be interested in free agents Michael Brantley and Wilson Ramos this offseason. Let’s take a look at what that would mean for the 2019 Atlanta Braves and whether either make sense for the Braves.

To begin, let’s go ahead and get this out there – we don’t know exactly how much money the Braves have to spend on player payroll this offseason. We don’t know the team’s exact plans for all arbitration-eligible players, and we don’t know the extent Atlanta’s monstrous 2018 revenue will affect things. There are estimates between $30M and $60M for this offseason, and those seem reasonable to me, particularly the lower-end estimates.

Michael Brantley

The Player

In 2014, when he slashed .327/.385/.506 with 20 HR, 23 SB, and a 6.5 fWAR, Michael Brantley appeared to be an age 27 breakout superstar. He won a Silver Slugger, was an All-Star, and finished 3rd in the AL MVP race. Brantley hasn’t gotten back to that lofty standard, but he has been productive when healthy. He was a very solid regular in ’15 (.310/.379/.480, 3.5), but ended that season with a shoulder injury that necessitated surgery. He missed most of the first month of 2016 and returned on April 25. Unfortunately, his return was short-lived. Inflammation in the same shoulder landed him back on the DL in mid-May, where he would remain for the rest of the season. He returned in 2017 and was productive (.299/.357/.444, 1.5), but various injuries, including a sprained ankle, limited him to 90 games. Brantley would have the ankle surgically repaired in the offseason, and after Cleveland took a gamble by picking up his $12,000,000 option for 2018, he rewarded the gamble with a return to his 2015 form, slashing .309/.364/.468 with a 3.5 fWAR in his age 31 season.

If you can keep Brantley in the lineup, the lefty will rake. He’s had an above-average wRC+ in each of the last 7 seasons he has batted at least 50 times. Even as he exits his physical prime, he still projects to be an above-average hitter. Steamer is projecting him at 117 wRC+ for 2019. Brantley has skills that should age well. His contact is at times incredible: when Brantley swung at pitches inside the strike zone in 2018, he made contact 97.3% of the time (against a league average of 85.5%). He is disciplined, rarely strikes out, and remains a good baserunner. While you wouldn’t want to commit many years to a player with his injury history, he does seem like a good bet to remain productive at the plate over the next few years.

In the field, Brantley is sub-par. Statcast showed Brantley as making 4 fewer outs in the field than an average player would, given the same portfolio of batted balls in his direction. He’s a corner outfielder with a good arm and not a lot of range, which makes Brantley a very easy candidate to replace departing free agent Nick Markakis. Brantley spent most of 2018 in left field, but I would imagine Ronald Acuna Jr would hold onto that position, while the less range-y Brantley slides over to right.

The Cost

Fangraphs estimates Brantley will receive a 3 year deal, somewhere in the vicinity of $42M-$48M. MLB Trade Rumors estimated 3 years, $45M. So, it seems pretty easy to determine exactly what Atlanta would be on the hook for here. To acquire Brantley’s age 32-34 seasons, the organization would commit from $14M-$16M per season. For a player who has the upside of 3-4 WAR seasons, with reliable skills that would age well, I think that’d be a good signing for the Braves. It’s a relatively short-term investment, one that could be moved down the road if necessary. The key with Brantley really comes down to how well the Braves feel he can stay healthy over the next few seasons. It’s hard to read any tea leaves on that front.

All in all, this is a sensible rumor that makes sense for Atlanta. Losing Markakis’ production from 2018 stings, and there’s no obvious internal option to replace him.

Wilson Ramos

The Player

As the Braves watch Kurt Suzuki, a good hitter, leave the depth chart for free agency, it seems natural they’d be interested in Wilson Ramos, baseball’s best hitting catcher of 2018. Ramos doesn’t have an extensive track record of success. He broke out in 2016 at age 28, slashing .307/.354/.496 with 22 HR and a 3.4 fWAR. Baseball Prospectus, which does a better job of incorporating framing, valued him even more highly, at 5.5 WARp. He signed a 2 year deal with Tampa Bay, but unfortunately tore his ACL prior to the start of 2017, the second such tear of his career. In late June, he returned, where he struggled to rediscover his 2016 form, hitting .260/.290/.447 across 224 PA. In 2018, Ramos did re-discover that offensive presence, slashing .306/.358/.487 in his time with Tampa Bay and, after a deadline trade, Philadelphia. However, 2018 wasn’t without a DL stint – a hamstring injury sidelined him from July 15 to August 15.

Defensively, Ramos is almost the definition of a league-average catcher. He neither stands out nor stinks when it comes to pitch framing (where he did excel in 2016), blocking, or throwing out runners. He would be an upgrade behind the plate over Kurt Suzuki, who let his bat do the talking.

With Ramos, there are two significant risks, one larger than the other. First, and smaller, is a concern over whether he will age well at the plate. He is a free swinger, a chaser, and while he does make good contact on pretty much everything, it’s still a tendency that could hamper him down the road. He has two very good seasons at the plate under his belt, and that’s it. Is that enough to really bank on? But the larger issue is, as you can guess, his health. At 6’1″, 245 lbs, Ramos is a big guy with a frame that probably isn’t going to become more forgiving when it comes to lower-body injuries as he gets older. There’s no guarantee he’ll still be behind the plate in 2 or 3 years. And for a team with Freddie Freeman entrenched at 1B, unless MLB suddenly brings the DH to the National League, that could potentially leave Ramos as an expensive bench option. That’s why Tyler Flowers‘ presence might be key to Ramos staying healthy, were he to come to Atlanta. Flowers is a reliable option, signed for 2019 at $4M with a 2020 option for $6M. Flowers would allow Ramos to significantly dial back his workload, and that could help him stay healthy, or at least healthier. I’m not exactly sure as to the extent Atlanta needs Ramos, but this is the kind of roster he needs to step onto. If you’re depending on Wilson Ramos for 500+ plate appearances, you will likely be disappointed.

The Cost

MLB Trade Rumors estimates a 3 year, $36M deal, and Fangraphs matches that. If the Braves signed Ramos for 3/$36, that would mean a total investment of $16M for the position in 2019, and possibly $18M for 2020. Steamer projects Ramos to be worth 0.00583 WAR per PA next season, and projects .00426 W/PA for Flowers. If Ramos bats 400 times and Flowers bats 300 times, that comes out to a collective fWAR of 3.6 before even factoring in any pitch framing. That’s good bang for your buck. The key is simply making sure the catchers can hit those marks. Replacing either with Raffy Lopez wouldn’t exactly be a disaster, but it would likely cost the team wins.

This is a sensible rumor for the Braves. Kurt Suzuki was a key contributor for the 2018 team, and his production needs to be replaced. Ramos would do that.

However, if the team signed both Ramos and Brantley, it wouldn’t have a lot of money left over to help the bullpen or pursue a starting pitcher. So, while both these moves would make some sense in a vacuum, and both would probably be worth their contract, Atlanta still needs to tread carefully when it comes to guaranteeing 75% or more of its available money to non-pitching positions. It will be interesting to watch unfold.