{"id":16951,"date":"2019-02-12T09:44:08","date_gmt":"2019-02-12T14:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=16951"},"modified":"2019-02-12T09:44:08","modified_gmt":"2019-02-12T14:44:08","slug":"nick-markakis-right-fit-atlanta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/02\/12\/nick-markakis-right-fit-atlanta\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing Back Nick Markakis Right Move for Atlanta Braves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Despite capturing the 2018 National League East title, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/mlb-teams\/atlanta-braves\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Atlanta Braves<\/a> entered the off-season with several holes to fill. With division rivals <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/mlb-teams\/philadelphia-phillies\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> committed <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/2019\/02\/07\/phillies-acquire-jt-realmuto\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to making improvements<\/a>, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/mlb-teams\/new-york-mets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Mets<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/2018\/12\/02\/mets-acquire-robinson-cano-edwin-diaz-from-mariners\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">striking early during the hot-stove<\/a> season\u00a0to make themselves more formidable, the Braves had to make some moves to stay ahead of the pack.<\/p>\n<p>Signing\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/donaljo02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Donaldson<\/a><\/strong> brings a power bat to the lineup. Meanwhile, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mccanbr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brian McCann<\/a><\/strong> solidifies things behind the plate and will be a steady influence on a young pitching staff. Despite these moves, the Braves still had a hole in the outfield.<\/p>\n<p>General Manager Alex Anthopoulos\u2019 philosophy, and ownership\u2019s tight budget strings mean that making a serious run at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/harpebr03.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bryce Harper<\/a><\/strong> is highly unlikely. Early in the off-season, Anthopoulos seemed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/sports\/baseball\/braves-payroll-will-increase-but-that-doesn-mean-harper-machado\/DHfHhF8FglDiLi9D6nTWaK\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">squash that idea when he said<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s the obvious big names at the top, but I don\u2019t know, for our club, with what we have, that the value\u2019s going to be there in the free agent market.\u201c<\/p>\n<h1>Nick Markakis Return a Good Fit<\/h1>\n<h2>Familiar Face<\/h2>\n<p>Big name free agents <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brantmi02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Brantley<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/polloaj01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A.J. Pollock<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mccutan01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew McCutchen<\/a><\/strong> all signed elsewhere. The Braves were still able to land a Gold Glove, corner outfielder by inking Markakis to a one-year deal.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Nick Markakis: &quot;I think the sticking point was my kids. I asked them where they wanted Dad to be, and they all said Braves. How could I say no to that?&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hcrCV5SC2D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/hcrCV5SC2D<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Braves On FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSNBraves) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FanDuelSNBraves\/status\/1087881075676901377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 23, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Under virtually any other circumstances, any fan base would be clamoring with excitement over such a signing. However, a quick scroll through Braves\u2019 related social media suggests more angst than excitement from the majority of fans. Why? The biggest difference between the other signings and the Braves bringing back Markakis is that he played for the Braves last season. He lacks the exciting, perceived high ceiling that a new player often brings.<\/p>\n<p>Markakis certainly is not a sexy signing, but he is a very practical one given the current baseball landscape in Atlanta. Many pundits picked the Braves to take a step forward last season. Few were bold enough to call for them to win the pennant a year (or two) ahead of schedule. With a nucleus of rising, young talent, Markakis will continue to be a veteran presence in the locker room without breaking the bank. The team friendly one-year, $4-million deal has a club option for $6 million in 2020. That reasonable price tag will allow the Braves to also consider signing another bullpen arm in spring training.<\/p>\n<p>Should Markakis fail to produce, the Braves still have the flexibility to make an in season move or relegate Markakis to be a late inning defensive replacement.<\/p>\n<h2>Second Half Slump or Market Correction?<\/h2>\n<p>Many Braves fans point to the sharp decline Markakis suffered in the second half of last season as a reason to move on.\u00a0 A closer look suggests that the extraordinary early season production was as much an outlier as the drop off. In the first two months of the season, Markakis hit everything and registered a robust .333 batting average. He also scored 34 runs and drove in 38.\u00a0That two month stretch easily was Markakis\u2019 best as a Brave, but as the temperatures heated up, Markakis cooled down.<\/p>\n<p>When many fans checked back in during the pennant race stretch run, Markakis found himself in a two-month slump. In August and September, he only batted only .255. His runs and RBIs both dipped by nearly thirty percent too.<\/p>\n<p>Markakis has been a dependable starter his entire career, but expecting him to maintain his early 2018 pace is unreasonable. While the late season dip is not the type of performance a pennant contender can tolerate from a middle of the lineup hitter, his performance over the middle two months last season is a more realistic expectation. June and July saw Markakis bat .301 with strong run production. Despite his late season fade, he still posted his best WAR for the season as a member of the Braves.<\/p>\n<p>Markakis lacks prototypical outfielder power numbers, but plays excellent defense, and can comfortably bat at several different lineup spots. The foresight of Atlanta&#8217;s front office to wait out the market and re-sign a player that they are familiar with should set the team up for success this season. The move also gives them flexibility to wait on their young talent to develop with another season in the minor leagues. No one will confuse the move with signing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/harpebr03.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Bryce Harper<\/strong><\/a>. When compared to other outfielder signings, the Braves look like winners with a proven, high-floor player.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"bS08PWGeQ0NufimxbLb1kQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1046627334\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'bS08PWGeQ0NufimxbLb1kQ',sig:'9uADIsX8iNl4idd2RDkqEmSvMWflRL05YHORBFhp-gU=',w:'594px',h:'391px',items:'1046627334',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Atlanta Braves bring back free agent outfielder Nick Markakis for 2019 MLB season is the right move for young team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2939,"featured_media":17013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1071],"tags":[48,68,69,298],"class_list":["post-16951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-braves","category-mlb","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-nick-markakis"],"modified_by":"Paul Harvey","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2939"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}