This week, two things came true: Future Hall of Famer Zack Greenk He will kick off this season as he began his career with the Kansas City Royals. For the first time in his 12-year career, future Hall of Famer – and soon-to-be Los Angeles Dodger – is Freddy Freeman He wouldn’t fit in with the Atlanta Braves.
It’s also true: Kansas City and Atlanta have a very good chance of being better this season than last season. Yes, Atlanta won the World Championship, but the Braves were also under 0.500 for most of last season and finished the regular season with just 88 wins. The royals have been rebuilding for the past four years, and they’re finally ready for the competition.
In the end, the Braves and Royals might be better because of the moves they’ve made this week, though, or a little bit of both. There are no guarantees one way or the other. In the short term, there is little in terms of bottom line value to separate Greinke from Mike Minorwhich Greinke ostensibly replaced in the KC list, or Freeman from Matt Olsonwho were acquired by Atlanta to take charge of their franchise.
This week, with baseball’s post-lockdown trades running like fire hose, most pieces on this site and others have been rating the impact of such moves. It was fun, exhausting, and a bit dizzy. With one update to my prediction spreadsheet this morning, I watched the Blue Jays vault from close second behind the Yankees in the Middle East to favorites to win both the division and pennant.
This piece, however, is not an analysis of the movements. It’s a lament – on one of them, anyway.