Atlanta Braves: The next 3 candidates for contract extensions

News broke on Tuesday that the Atlanta Braves had extended young star center fielder Michael Harris II to an eight-year, $72 million contract. This is the third major extension the Braves have made this year, to go with the 10-year, $212 million extension given to Austin Riley, and the eight-year, $168 million extension handed out to Matt Olson after acquiring him from Oakland.

They currently have the following players under contract or team control until at least 2026:

• Ronald Acuna
• Ozzie Albies
• Matt Olson
• Michael Harris II
• Austin Riley
• Ozzie Albies
• Kyle Wright
• Spencer Strider
• William Contreras

For those that don’t know, organizations work for decades to have a core of legitimate players locked down for that long together. They have a truly talented young core that was built almost entirely from their farm system. The Braves have become a model for other organizations to try and emulate.

As a result, the Braves have set themselves up for both the present and the future. They still have an embarrassment of young talent yet to reach an extension, so who is next?

Here are three potential candidates for a contract extension from the Atlanta Braves

Kyle Wright is another young pitcher experiencing a breakout season. After struggling mightily in his first few callups, as most young pitchers do, he has really turned it on this year. He currently sports a 3.14 ERA/3.67 FIP/3.52 SIERA slash line per FanGraphs in his age 26 season. His curveball is his bread and butter, and per Baseball Savant it has an 83rd percentile spin rate, and a 34.4% whiff rate.

The biggest knock on Wright is that his fastball is very hittable. It has a .326 batting average and .558 slugging against it. Ironically, it has significantly more horizontal movement than the average MLB 4-seam fastball, and significantly less vertical movement. It averages 95.2 mph and lives mostly at the top of the strike zone.

Wright is following a long line of young Braves pitchers who have shined in recent memory. Their farm system has been a well-oiled machine for many years, and Wright appears to be a by-product of that.

The Braves may exercise caution due to the history of success not being there, but continued success will only drive his price tag up. At this point, I’d think he could be extended for a pretty fair rate even though he is not set to hit free agency until 2028.

Dansby Swanson has become an absolute force in the middle of the Braves lineup. Unlike the other two players listed in this article, he is set to hit free agency in the very near future. He will be an Unrestricted Free Agent after this year, and I am sure the Braves are already in discussions with his reps.

Swanson was a first overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2015 draft. He was traded that same year to Atlanta in a famous trade that saw the Diamondbacks receiving Shelby Miller. It is neither here nor there, but that trade did not work out for Arizona.

Swanson is the WAR leader for the position players on the Braves currently with 5.2. He is a defensive wizard at shortstop, with a 14.5 defensive score on FanGraphs, which is the highest on the team. In 502 at-bats, Swanson has a .808 OPS, and a .294 batting average.

The concerning part for the Braves has to be the fact that he has never been this good to this point. His highest WAR season besides this one was last year with a 3.4. As far as wRC+, he was considered barely a below average hitter last year with a 98. With Swanson, the Braves know they are getting top notch defense, but the bat is up for debate.

Max Fried is another obvious candidate as he has been very solid for many years. This year has been his most impressive as he has a 2.60 ERA/2.45 FIP/2.00 SIERA slash line. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he received an extension. He will hit age 31 when he becomes an UFA, so that may give the braves pause for an extension.

Vaughn Grissom has absolutely scorched earth in his first 28 plate appearances. He currently has .400 average with a pair of home runs. He has already integrated himself into this powerful lineup, leaving them with even fewer holes. He will definitely have to keep it up, though, for the Braves to pull out their checkbooks. I am sure they are watching though.

William Contreras is having an outstanding year with a 134 wRC+. He averages a home run per 15.6 plate appearances, which is very good. Another player not set to hit free agency until 2028, they may choose to get ahead of the game and get an extension in his hands.

In conclusion, the Braves have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to young talent, and they are wise to lock up that talent for the foreseeable future.