ATLANTA -- As Braves manager Brian Snitker savored the memories from his team's unexpected postseason run this year, he also envisioned what has occurred over the past few weeks, as the Mets, Phillies and Nationals have all improved their bid to win the 2019 National League East title.
"Teams are going to continue to get better. That's the nature of the beast that we're in," said Snitker. "And we're going to have to continue that, too. The work is just beginning for us. I don't feel we're a finished product at the Major League level. Our players are not finished products yet."
Since producing the NL East's best record over the season's final three months, the Mets have added Robinson Cano and fortified their bullpen with Edwin Diaz. The Phillies are primed to build on their additions, which include Andrew McCutchen and Jean Segura, who should help shape a defensive reformation. The Nationals' bid to bounce back from a disappointing season has been enriched by the addition of Patrick Corbin, who joins Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg in the starting rotation.
The Braves have been quiet since signing Brian McCann and Josh Donaldson, who will team with Freddie Freeman to give Atlanta two legit NL MVP Award candidates. More moves will be made to strengthen the rotation and fill an outfield void. But Snitker believes the experience Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies and other young players gained in 2018 will be the foundation of his team's bid to defend its division title.

"We talked about [winning the division] last year, but it was just kind of talk," Snitker said. "Now it's kind of like we've experienced it and we know where we want to get and what we want to do."
Lineup
Snitker is intrigued by the idea of starting his lineup with Acuna, Donaldson and Freeman. But before making a decision, he'll see which outfielder is acquired and get a better feel for whether it's best to keep Acuna in the leadoff role or drop him to the cleanup spot.
"I'm going to wait until I get down [to Spring Training] the first of February and see who we've got," Snitker said. "I play with it all the time. That's what managers do. They sit at home and doodle, you go out to dinner and you're writing on a napkin and things like that. And we envision it.
"It might be something we play with over the entire spring. I don't think we're going to -- when we open the Grapefruit [League] season, I don't think I'm going to have a lineup that's set yet."

<p.> Albies factor
Blessed with power and speed, Albies has the tools to be a leadoff hitter. But as the young switch-hitter struggled from the left side and hit .226 with a .282 on-base percentage after the All-Star break, he showed that he did not yet have the plate discipline or experience to fill the role. </p.>
Depth leads to rest
After Albies earned an All-Star selection with his first-half credentials, he said that fatigue did not influence his second-half decline. But in a conversation with general manager Alex Anthopoulos after the season, the 21-year-old second baseman admitted that he started to wear down near the end of his first full Major League campaign.
With Johan Camargo and Charlie Culberson available as super utility players, Snitker will have the bench depth necessary to fulfill Anthopoulos' wish that the everyday players get regular rest. In other words, the days of Freeman aiming to play all 162 games are over.
"I don't think we need anybody to play 162 [games]," Snitker said. "Because there's been a lot of talk about how so and so slacked off. I'm the reason why. I'm the one that played their legs off. But with that being said, I felt like that's what we had to do to get where we wanted to go."