Despite finishing 2016 three games below the Phillies in the cellar of the NL East, the Braves’ progressing rebuild and acquisition of young talent has renewed optimism about the future of the franchise among many baseball writers. They’ve also worked to improve their on-field product in the short term by signing deals with players like Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, and Kurt Suzuki, and acquiring cast-offs like Brandon Phillips and Matt Kemp.
Unforgivably, they also signed Ryan Howard to a minor-league contract.
The two teams are in a fight to lift off from the bottom of the NL East this year, and this opening series will be our first glimpse of which club is proceeding in its rebuild more quickly.