The Braves have until five days after the end of the World Series to determine whether to exercise their 2020 options in the contracts of starting pitcher Julio Teheran, outfielder Nick Markakis and catcher Tyler Flowers.
The team intends to take roughly all of that time before acting, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Thursday.
“We always take right up until that time period, just because there’s no reason to do it earlier,” Anthopoulos said. “We have time now, so those will all be resolved. We have a bunch of decisions to make.”
The decisions on those players’ 2020 options obviously will have a ripple effect on the many other roster and payroll choices the Braves must make in the months ahead.
“Now, we can talk to clubs that are not in the playoffs on trades and things like that,” Anthopoulos said. “We’ve already done some prep work on free agency and so on. But we’ll make those (option) determinations five days after the World Series, or right in that time period.”
Their choices:
> Under terms of Teheran's contract, the Braves have the option of bringing him back for a $12 million salary in 2020. If they decline the option, they'll owe him a $1 million buyout.
> Under Markakis' contract, the Braves have the option of bringing him back next year for a $6 million salary. If they decline the option, they'll owe him a $2 million buyout.
> And under Flowers' contract, the Braves have a $6 million option for 2020, with a $2 million buyout if they decline the option.
Quick math: It would cost $24 million to keep all three players for next season -- or $5 million to let all three go.