Good morning. This is LEADOFF, today’s early look inside Atlanta sports.
While most folks around here were still dissecting the Falcons' and Bulldogs' season-ending losses, MLB Network Radio was talking baseball, of course. And if you missed it, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos made an appearance there Sunday.
Here are Leadoff’s takeaways after listening to a recording of the interview:
> Anthopoulos didn’t rule out outfield super-prospect Ronald Acuna making the big-league team out of spring training, but he didn’t fuel the notion, either. “I think the one thing with Acuna is he didn’t have a ton of time last year at the highest levels of the minor leagues, especially the little time he spent in Triple-A. So as a default, would you like him to have more time? Sure,” Anthopoulos said. And later: “Long-term, we’re totally sold on him. We think he’s going to do great. It’s just hard to put a timeline.”
(Anthopoulos didn't go into the business ramifications of the matter, but there's a significant advantage to Acuna opening the season in the minors: The Braves can have him for an entire extra season before he is eligible for free agency if they keep him off the big-league roster until, say, the third or fourth week of April. That could loom large in six years. And cost-conscious clubs also can have a financial incentive to stall a prized prospect's arbitration eligibility by delaying their debut until, say, late May or so. David O'Brien detailed how all of this works in this blog late last season.)
> Anthopoulos discussed the Braves’ third-base position, which remains in flux for the 2018 season. “Third right now would be a competition – I would say the two main guys (competing) would be Rio Ruiz and Johan Camargo,” he said. But he added: “We are open-minded to get someone more established. … We’ve definitely talked about some scenarios that we could get someone to come in and take the everyday third-base job.”
> And he offered this big-picture take on the coming season: “2018 is a really important year for us because we have a lot of young players that can go either way. They can really emerge and take the next step. They might kind of stay to the same area they’re in, or stall or go backwards. Part of if it is to trying to find out exactly what we have. That being said, there’s a ton of talent on this team, as we all know. And we do believe in it, and there’s a very real chance a lot of these guys take a step forward and we do start to make some significant strides and have a really exciting 2018.”
Braves pitchers and catchers report to spring training at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando on Feb. 13.
MORNING READING ...
Chris Vivlamore writes about Hawks second-round draft pick Tyler Dorsey, who of late has earned playing time in the team's rotation at shooting guard. See story here.
Ken Sugiura writes about the case of Georgia Tech assistant basketball coach Darryl LaBarrie, placed on paid leave in November as the NCAA investigates an allegation of a rules violation. See story here.
Steve Hummer ponders whether the Bulldogs and Falcons can keep pace with escalating expectations. See his blog here.
