If the Braves seemed outclassed in the NLDS _ they were outscored 20-8; eight Dodgers hit home runs, while only four Braves, Sean Newcomb among them, had RBIs _ that should have been no shock. Having won the National League West six years running, the Dodgers approach every season thinking of October. The 2018 Braves were coming off four losing seasons, and their new general manager wasn't sure what he had.
On the day the Braves clinched the NL East, Alex Anthopoulos conceded it wasn't until the Braves summoned Mike Soroka at the start of May that he began to believe. Let's recall that the GM's one big winter move was meant to yield long-term salary relief, not immediate on-field impact. In dumping Matt Kemp back on the Dodgers, Anthopoulos cleared $18.5 million for 2019 _ but added roughly $22 million to the 2018 payroll, most of it in dead money owed Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Kazmir, neither of whom played an inning.
The offseason that commenced Tuesday morning will be rather different. Anthopoulos knows exactly what he has _ and what he doesn't. He has money to spend. He has no bad contracts to shed. He said in July that Liberty Media, the Braves' distant-in-every-sense owner, would allow him to "shop at any aisle."
Owing to youth and talent, Anthopoulos could do nothing major this winter and the Braves would still be considered the East favorite. Any move he makes won't be with mindset to get the 2019 Braves back to October; it will be to win 11 games _ 10 more than this team managed _ once there. His to-do list could look a bit like this:
