Braves News: Snitker, Fried Among BBWAA Finalists, McGriff And Murphy on Contemporary Ballot, more

As the first full week of the MLB offseason began on Monday, awards season continued, and once again, both past and present Braves were recognized. In terms of the present, Max Fried, Brian Snitker, Spencer Strider, and Michael Harris II all were among the finalists for BBWAA awards. Though Fried and Snitker may have an uphill battle to win the Cy Young or Manager of the year in the National League, it seems pretty certain Strider or Michael Harris will win the NL Rookie of the year award.

Monday also brought news of a few former Braves who once again could have a shot at finally reaching the Hall of Fame. Both Fred McGriff and Dale Murphy are among a group of eight players who are apart of the Contemporary Baseball Era Ballot. Voting for the eight finalists will be done on December 4th, with 16 members having three votes each. Similar to the regular Hall of Fame process, candidates will need to earn 75% of the vote. In other words, while it is another opportunity for McGriff and Murphy to finally be enshrined in Cooperstown, it remains far from a guarantee that either will earn enough votes.

Braves News

• Both Cal Conley and Justyn-Henry Malloy continued to hit well in the AFL over the past several days.
• FanGraphs released their top 50 free agent rankings for the offseason with contract predictions. Dansby Swanson was viewed as being worth around six years and $140M while Kenley Jansen looked to to be in the one year, $10M range.
• David O’Brien discussed the Braves potentially looking at Xander Bogaerts for the shortstop position in the Athletic’s free agent preview piece.
• The 2022 season in review for Braves players began with Sean Newcomb and Will Smith, both traded within the season, leading off the series.

MLB News

• First Baseman Anthony Rizzo elected free agency after an impressive 2022 campaign with the Yankees.
• Jean Segura’s player option was declined by the Phillies for the 2023 season.
• Angels General Manager Perry Minasian mentioned the Angels will not be moving superstar Shohei Ohtani this offseason.