Braves Executives Address Tomahawk Chop Controversy and Options for Replacing Josh Donaldson
By Scott Rogust
The Braves suffered a major loss in the heart of their order Tuesday night when 2019 NL Comeback Player of the Year Josh Donaldson signed a massive four-year contract with the Minnesota Twins rather than re-upping with Atlanta.
On Thursday, team brass held a town hall meeting for season ticket holders, and spoke about what needs to be done now that the Bringer of Rain is off to the Twin Cities. They also touched on a separate hot-button issue: the controversy surrounding the team's tomahawk chop celebration.
"We never said we were going to stop doing the chop, as you said that last postseason game there weren’t a lot of opportunity to do it. What we have committed to doing, we will continue to have thoughtful conversations with the Native American community" -AZ
— Stacy (@SlmSolo) January 16, 2020
The Braves' signature chop has been the source of controversy for many years, but most recently reared its head during the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals. Redbirds relief pitcher Ryan Helsley, who has Cherokee heritage, implored the Braves to abandon the celebration altogether.
The organization responded by not handing out their usual foam tomahawks to fans during Game 5 of the NLDS. However, there was backlash from some fans who want the team to continue the tradition. Braves vice president Adam Zimmerman stressed the organization will continue to have discussions with the Native American community to come up with a solution.
Cleanup hitter: Where we are at today, we are still out there trying to acquire a bat. Where that presents itself, it could be in a lot of spots, but we are still engaged. My hope is that it is somebody outside of the organization. -AA
— Stacy (@SlmSolo) January 16, 2020
Making up for Donaldson's loss, both as a full-time third baseman and as a power-hitting cleanup bat, loomed large over the proceedings. General manager Alex Anthopoulos said that the team is hard at work in search of a big hitter, and will not hesitate to turn to the trade market.
Atlanta has been linked to third basemen Nolan Arenado of the Rockies and Kris Bryant of the Cubs, both of whom are considered available. Both could fill the roles of everyday third baseman and dangerous power hitter, and the Braves have the prospects to make a deal happen. It's simply a matter of figuring out how much it will take to facilitate a deal.
All told, the two-time defending NL East champs have much work to do to iron things out in time for Opening Day 2020.