With Correa off the board, how will Dansby's market shift?

ATLANTA -- Dansby Swanson might not get his wish to remain with the Braves. But the Atlanta native could still end up quite satisfied while benefiting from the incredible riches showered upon some of the game’s other top shortstops this winter.

When Carlos Correa agreed to a 13-year, $350 million deal with the Giants late Tuesday night, Swanson stood as the last of this offseason’s elite free agent shortstops to remain unsigned. Trea Turner signed an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Phillies last week and Xander Bogaerts inked an 11-year, $280 million deal with the Padres a couple days later.

Swanson’s deal might not be as long or rich as those three deals. But this market boom should still benefit the 28-year-old shortstop, who ranked second among all MLB shortstops with a 6.4 fWAR this past season, trailing only the Mets’ Francisco Lindor (6.8). Turner (6.3), Bogaerts (6.1) and Correa (4.4) all ranked behind Swanson.

Now, Swanson will garner even more attention from the clubs who fell short in their pursuit of Correa, Turner and Bogaerts.

The Cubs, Red Sox, Twins and Dodgers have shown the most interest in Swanson this winter. This could position Swanson to get a deal that lasts at least six years and has an average annual value (AAV) close to $25 million.

The Braves have remained quiet since offering six years at approximately $16-17 million per year during the regular season. The only recent contact between these two parties occurred two weeks ago, when Swanson called Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos to get a feel for what might occur.

With no other recent contact, it looks like the Braves might soon have somebody other than Swanson serving as their starting shortstop for the first time since 2016.

The Braves’ internal options include Orlando Arcia and Vaughn Grissom. Arcia has previously served as the Brewers’ starting shortstop, but seems more fit for a backup role. Scouts have doubted Grissom’s ability to play shortstop at the big league level. But Braves third-base coach Ron Washington has been encouraged by what he’s seen while working out with the 21-year-old infielder this winter.

“After the first time [Grissom] called, [Washington] called me and he raved,” Anthopoulos said. “I was surprised because Wash isn’t the type to rave.”

The Braves could attempt to trade for a shortstop, but the options appear limited and they further thinned their prospect pool when they acquired catcher Sean Murphy from the A’s this week.

If the Braves were to sign a defensively-capable free agent shortstop like Elvis Andrus, there would be an even bigger focus on landing a strong hitter to play left field, where there is also a need. But the added outfielder would need to help compensate for the offense Swanson provided while producing a 115 OPS+ this year.