Report: Braves are Prepared to Raise Payroll to $100 Million

According to DOB, the Braves are reportedly prepared to raise their payroll to $100 million next year, which would be about $10 million more than they spent this season.

It sounds great. The Braves have a very solid foundation for their roster and one of the things that limits them currently is their budget. Raising it $10 million is not an extraordinary amount, but it would most certainly help them either retain a few of their own free agents or go out and find some new players for the short term.

One issue is that last year the Braves said they were prepared to raise it to $98 million but came $8 million short of that target.

So, how much do their words actually mean after saying something pretty similar this past January? In my opinion, not too much. Are they blowing steam? I do not believe so, but I think they are willing to be wise with their money but can push the payroll up a bit if they find something they really like.

It is good timing for a number to be thrown around as today, eight Braves filed for free agency. Those Braves are Brian McCann, Tim Hudson, Paul Maholm, Eric O'Flaherty, Freddie Garcia, Luis Ayala, Scott Downs, and Kameron Loe. I expect all of them to leave except for maybe Hudson and or O'Flaherty. The rest I would be surprised to see in a Braves uniform next year. Brian McCann will be the only player given a qualifying offer.