Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos is sure to not be reactionary when he sees other divisional rivals making big moves, but he can’t help but be relieved when one of those rivals doesn’t land a big star.
So, after seeing the Mets bring in Justin Verlander and Kodai Senga in addition to retaining Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo, the prospect of New York also adding Carlos Correa would have had a major impact on this season’s NL East race.
Once the Correa deal fell through, Anthopoulos was admittedly very excited.
“People ask, ‘Do you react when other teams are doing stuff?’” Anthopoulos said. “You see the Mets are doing stuff, you see the Phillies. ‘Do you react?’ No, we can’t react. We just can’t run a team that way. We have our things that we believe in and things that we do, and we have to keep the blinders on when it comes to that.
“But we follow, we monitor. So when Carlos Correa ends up a Minnesota Twin, I am pumped.”
The crowd listening to Anthopoulos speak roared with applause and laughter after his Correa remarks, as the Braves, the defending NL East champions after surging past the Mets in September, will have a slightly more manageable time in repeating as division champs. But the Mets, along with the Phillies, still carry strong rosters into the season, and Anthopoulos can only focus on his team’s moves rather than worrying about the rest of the division.
But it doesn’t hurt when one of those teams doesn’t pull in a big fish.
“I don’t want those other teams getting great players, because we know how big of a challenge it is,” Anthopoulos said. “That bring said, we follow, but we have a game plan, we’re going after the guys that fit for us, and we try to get it done.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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