We are nearing the opening of the International Free Agency signing period, on January 15th. The Braves are reportedly set to sign one of the top prospects in the class, but the biggest story of the signing period is that Roki Sasaki will be able to sign with a team formally. Reportedly he has not made a decision yet, which will pose problems for teams hoping to sign him, as they will need to hold open space in their bonus pool for him. If the Braves are involved, look for them to delay finalizing deals with the free agents they are expected to sign until Sasaki informs them they are out of the running or makes a final decision. While there hasn’t been any reporting to the point, there are some reasons to believe that Atlanta could be desirable for Sasaki. Sasaki’s agent has indicated some interest in having a friendlier and less invasive media market, a team set up for short and long term success, and having a team with a good pitching development reputation, all of which fit Atlanta. Furthermore, Atlanta’s extensive history of handing out extensions to their young players must be appealing to a player in Sasaki’s financial situation, as his short term income is dramatically limited by the international free agency process, and Atlanta has been polled among the most desirable teams to play for among MLB players. I will be interested to see if Atlanta is involved in the Sasaki sweepstakes.

Braves News

We are really at the bottom of the barrel here, with no moves of note and not to the point of Spring Training news either.

MLB News

Players like Anthony Santander and Jack Flaherty are reportedly at the point of considering more short term, high AAV deals, which could be of interest to an Atlanta front office that has been fond of that type of deal.

Garrett Crochet has talked with the Red Sox about signing an extension, after the star lefty was traded to Boston from Sox to Sox earlier this offseason.

International Amateur Free Agent Darell Morel has flipped to sign with the Pirates, after initially agreeing on a deal with the Dodgers, as the Dodgers are holding open space in hopes of signing Roki Sasaki and Morel gets nearly double the bonus he was set to receive.

Rep. Bryce Berry, 23, won his race for the 56th district in a landslide. That makes Berry, born in 2001, Georgia’s first representative to be born after the year 2000.

The game between the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks scheduled for Saturday has been postponed because of a winter storm.

The NBA said the decision was made “to prioritize the safety of the players, fans and staff due to the severe weather and hazardous icy conditions in the Atlanta area”.

The league said a date for a rescheduled game will be announced at a later time. The Rockets’ team flight arrived in Atlanta before the postponement was announced.

A winter storm dumped snow and ice on the Atlanta area Friday and roads were expected to refreeze Saturday night.

Power outage numbers around Atlanta crept up Friday night as falling trees on power lines became a widespread issue. More than 110,000 customers were without electricity, mostly in the Atlanta area.

On Friday, four passengers were injured after a Delta Air Lines jet bound for Minneapolis aborted its takeoff. Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant said the plane experienced an engine problem.

While the issue happened during the snowstorm that caused widespread cancellations and delays in Atlanta – the world’s busiest airport – officials couldn’t say if the problem was related to the weather.

The 201 passengers, two pilots and five flight attendants aboard evacuated the Boeing 757-300 using inflatable slides and were bused back to a concourse. One of the injured passengers was taken to a hospital, while three were treated at the airport for minor injuries.