Another of the Braves stable of wunderkind is 20 year old Austin Riley. Austin is listed as being 6-3 and 220 pounds officially and was drafted 41st overall in the 2015 MLB Amature Draft. He is a product of DeSota Central High School in Southhaven, Mississippi. Austin is another young prospect in the Braves long search for a permanent replacement for Hall of Fame bound Chipper Jones. The road to Atlanta is littered with “can’t miss” prospects who fell short. However, Riley is built like a prototypical third baseman and he has been described as having light tower power.
This fall, Austin was assigned by the Braves organization to play for the Peoria Javalinas of the Arizona Fall League. Against top flight minor league competition he slashed a tidy .300/.364/.657 with a sparkling OPS of 1.021. In 70 at bats, Riley posted 21 hits including 5 doubles, 1 triple and 6 home runs. He struck out 21 times and coaxed 4 walks. While the number strikeouts is a bit disconcerting, he is after all, a power hitter and still is only 20 years old. Coming into the fall league, he reputation was his defense at the hot corner was suspect but he showed good quickness at the hot corner and a strong arm.
After being drafted by the Braves in June of 2015, Riley split time with the Braves’ Gulf Coast League affiliate and the short season rookie team in Danville. He posted a combined .304/.389/.544 and an OPS of .993 in 60 games and 217 at bats. In 66 hits, he slugged 14 double, 1 triple and 12 home runs striking out 65 times. If you are paying attention, you will note he seems to have equaled his hit totals with strike outs.
In 2016, Riley was promoted to Rome of the A class Sally League. He appeared in 129 games and had 543 plate appearances amassing 134 hits, 39 doubles, 2 triples and 20 home runs. He also struck out 147 times and drew 39 walks, scoring 68 times while driving in 80. His line for the year was .271/.324/.479 and an OPS of .803.
Defensively, in 1045.1 innings played, he had 355 chances recording 92 put outs and 213 assist. He committed 30 errors and posted a .910 fielding percentage. He also had range factor of 2.63. To give a point of reference, the major league average range factor for third baseman(a saber metric stat) is 2.70. Unknown to me are how many of Riley’s errors were fielding miscues verses the number of throwing errors.
In 2017, Austin again split time in two levels of minor league teams. He began the season with Advanced A Florida Fire Frogs and was promoted after 80 games to the AA team in Mississippi. Between the two levels, he hit .275 in 129 games with 542 plate appearances. He scored 71 runs and drove in 74 slugging 19 doubles, 2 triples and 20 homeruns. He also walked 43 times and struckout 124 times. If you compare his numbers for the two seasons he has spent in the minors to date, you will notice his numbers are pretty consistent. His over all fielding appeared to improve with a .932 fielding percentage in 1093.1 innings. He handled 326 chances registering 91 put outs and 215 assist while committing 20 errors at the hot corner. His range factor was 2.52 for the year.
Excerpts from a March 2017 article by Mark Bowman:
“I looked at his first-half numbers and thought, ‘He’s better than that,'” Jones said of Riley, ranked as the No. 13 prospect in Atlanta’s farm system by MLBPipeline.com. “Then you saw the second-half numbers and it was obvious something clicked. So when I saw him this year, I asked, ‘What was the deal?’ He said, ‘Breaking balls for strikes and 2-0 changeups.’ I looked at him and said, ‘Welcome to the three-hole, buddy. That’s the way it is. When they come to the ballpark, what they’re saying is we can’t let Austin Riley beat us.'”
Though he is not a part of this year’s big league camp, Riley made his second start of the Grapefruit League season during Thursday’s 8-7 loss to Yankees. He recorded a pair of hits against the Marlins on Saturday, but he has gone hitless in the four at-bats that have followed.
As Jones has spent time with Riley over the past week, the two have traded offseason hunting tales and discussed those mental aspects that could help the 19-year-old Riley develop a better plate approach as he prepares to begin the upcoming season at the Class A Advanced level.
“Austin Riley could be Freddie Freeman’s protection in the lineup within the next two to three years,” Jones said. “That’s what we’re shooting for. So, I’m really trying to talk the mental side of hitting as opposed to the fundamentals because the fundamentals are there.”
Just two years removed from high school, Riley garnered the attention of Bobby Cox during the 2015 Instructional League and then ended up with an .803 OPS despite experiencing a disappointing first half of his first full pro season last year. He also committed 30 errors, but as he moves closer to ending his teenage years, he has started to grow into his big frame and gain the mobility he’ll need to serve as an adequate defender at third base.
“Chipper and I have talked about last year’s first half and how I could have done things better,” Riley said. “It was all about how I could have simplified things. He gave me some feedback and it all made sense about why the first half went bad and the second half went good. During the first half, I was looking offspeed. In the second half, I was hunting the fastball and it went a lot better.”
At age 20, Austin appears to be right on schedule to make his debut in Atlanta by the end of 2019 or 2020. Short term, the organization will want to see how he fares against stiffer competition at Triple A Gwinnett. I am unsure if Riley will begin the 2018 season at double a Mississippi or triple a Gwinnett. A lot will depend on what organizational moves are made in the off season by the new regime of Alex Anthopoulos. Currently, the Braves have three possible choices to play the position in Adonis Garcia, Rio Ruiz and Johan Carmargo. The word is the Braves want an upgrade to play third base and will look outside the organization to bridge until Riley is ready to make his appearance in Atlanta.
Terrific opine, Gil! Many thanks!
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Thank you Chief…. 🙂
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Good ‘un, Gil.
At age 20, Austin appears to be right on schedule to make his debut in Atlanta by the end of 2019 or 2020.
Don’t be surprised if he makes an appearance late this season.
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Regarding the slow market…
MLBTR was trying to say a few weeks ago, it was because of analytics, or some sort of B
I actually buy into that too, as a component. I believe that because of the expanding use of analytics in personnel decisions, it’s taking front offices a little longer to “quantify” their targets.
Whether or not we like it, that’s the wave of the future, and we might as well get used to it. More and more teams are staffing their front offices with analytics experts, and the Braves are no different. In fact, AA is big on analytics. The good thing about him is, though, that he understands both sides of the coin. While GM of Toronto, he doubled the scouting staff while also implementing an analytics staff. And as with most things in life, it comes down to finding the proper balance.
AA’s philosophy was spelled out very clearly recently in a piece by the ajc’s Gabriel Burns (whom I like very much) when AA was quoted as saying:
“(Analytics) allows you to merge what you’re seeing with your eyes subjectively with data. Especially some of the statcast information right now. Everyone’s still wrapping their arms around it, but I’ve been amazed at just what we’re able to quantify and how we’re able to implement it from a developmental standpoint, from an acquisition standpoint, from a positioning standpoint as well.
“There’s just only so much we can do with our eyes. That’s not to say it’s not important, and the human element’s not important, but the more objective data that we can get and help to inform the decisions we make, the better off we’re going to be. So I don’t look at it as one or the other, I look at it as a ball of information.
“From one transaction, if it’s 80 percent analytical, 20 percent scouting, great. If it’s 80 percent scouting, 20 percent analytical; there will be a cause and effect. There will be a reason for all those things. We definitely are going to pull all the information, go through it and come to the best conclusion that we can.”
Whatever it takes to put a winning product on the field.
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I didn’t know a thing about analytics the first time I saw Brett Butler play centerfield for Richmond but my eyes saw STAR written all over him. Sometimes you can just tell, too bad Ted Turner couldn’t tell when he traded away two future all-stars in Butler and Jacoby to Cleveland….
Okay, I get it, sometimes the computer analysis does a deep dive but like they say, “Garbage in, garbage out” …. I hope the data entry folks don’t drop a key or two. Then again, AA did trade Olivera for Alex Woods. Of course the Dodgers gave him $50MM to begin with. Hummmmm….
Looks like the Angles have been the recipient of the Braves misfortunes. They signed Maitan and another prospect.
Trying hard not to be POed about it all…..
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They signed Maitan and another prospect.
Maitan who? No longer in the system, no longer on my radar.
In all seriousness, we all know that out of those 13 players lost, the historical percentages suggest just 1 or 2 that will actually turn out to be contributing major league players. Of course, you have to have those 13 to get those 2.
The big problem I still have with the whole thing is that these kids get 2 paydays. And I don’t buy for a second that they were totally innocent in the dirty dealings. In their culture, they are fully aware of the baseball road out of poverty and they work for it for years. They and their buscones are not blind to what goes on. Granted, the players are not as savvy as those offering the deals, but their buscones are quite experienced. Bottom line, it is an offer and it requires acceptance. They are complicit, even if only to a minor degree. And they are rewarded with a second payday because of it. Their age is not an excuse. I expect my own kids to live with integrity, no matter how old or how young. Rewarding these kids with 2 paydays only adds fuel for the next fire. Why wouldn’t a kid – or more accurately his buscone – now encourage an under-the-table deal while preparing to anonymously turn in the wrong-doer the following year and set up another payday? The precedent has been set.
It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
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excellent work there Gil! Feel like I know the kid a bit more….
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True Vee, I guess it is time to move on and concentrate on the next batch of prospects. I am hopping to add a new blog each week that focuses on one of the Braves top thirty prospects.
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https://www.fanragsports.com/murray-braves-to-sign-christian-colon-to-minor-league-deal/
Okay… ?…
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Re: Christian Colon
No risk minor league deal. I imagine that AA is still scouring.
Wonder if Rafael Belliard is officially retired?
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Rosenthal headline on his pay-for-play rag The Athletic: He’s 53 and hasn’t played in the majors since 2005, but Rafael Palmeiro is eyeing a comeback, and redemption
One of two things is happening here. Either Palmeiro has moved from ‘roids to crack, or Rosenthal has tossed out a click-bait headline to try to gain a few more subscribers. Either scenario is shameful.
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Now that’s funny Fee.
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Remember when jim palmer tried to comeback after being a hof.er? Long time ago
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Palmer#Comeback_attempt
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I met him one time in the Charlotte Douglas International Airport after he retired. Wasn’t interested in interacting with others at all. Not a fault. I understand that it probably gets tedious being well-known. However, he’s the one who choose to take a seat beside me even though we were the only two people in that whole section…. At least he wasn’t scowling or behaving badly. People are so interesting!
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It’s just my opinion and I don’t get a vote but it is my belief that if you let known cheaters like Bonds and Clemons into the HOF then you cannot ever keep anyone out. Hypocrites….
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CL, it is your magnetic personality what won him over… You flirt… 🙂
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ME??? Why, I can’t imagine what you’re talking about, sir! 😀
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Rumblings this morning point to GStanton making up his mind in the next couple of days… hopefully before the Winter Meetings get rolling on Sunday. My money is still on San Fran, who seem to have gone all in on this and can’t afford to lose him. The flip side of that coin is St. Louis, who appear to be ready to pivot to free agent JD Martinez if they fail to secure the services of Stanton.
My personal opinion? Glad you asked…
I think Stanton would thrive in SF and I think that team can more easily handle his stature since they endured the circus that was Barriod Bonds. Not to try to equivocate those two as Stanton is a young man of high character and integrity. But he does almost seem bigger than the game right now, especially with that contract he has in tow.
To the contrary, I personally believe that JDM is a better fit for the Cards than Stanton. But what do I know? I’m just an amateur hack with admittedly biased opinions, old school ideals and a strong “homer” mentality.
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BTW- I’m off the Todd Frazier bandwagon now. We need a LH for the lineup in a bad way, especially if we part with the LH Kakes to make room for the RH Acuna.
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Of course, if we can dump the RH Matt Kemp and pick up a LH LF, any LH LF, the need is lessened.
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If defense truly is AA’s goal for this team, and we would defense for power, then OF John Jay would be a nice pickup. He’s a lefty hitter that owns a lifetime .288/.355/.383 slash line, and plays all 3 OF positions well. An OF of Jay in LF, Ender in CF and Acuna in RF would be defensively unrivaled. MLBTR projects him to sign for 2 yrs/$14M.
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If the Braves pencil in two rookies for the starting line up, it will signal they are still in the seriously rebuilding stage. If they only opt for starting Acuna and sign or trade for a veteran outfielder of third baseman, they are going for it.
As for me, I would like to see them finish what they started and solidify their starting 8 and go for it in 2019. The rookie pitchers should be more established then. So much depends on pitching and how much money Liberty is willing and able to spend.
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If they only opt for starting Acuna and sign or trade for a veteran outfielder of third baseman, they are going for it.
Maybe not going for the whole shebang, but certainly going for a winning season, and a Wild Card spot. That’s what I want for 2018. I’ve yelled (typed with great vigor) it loudly since the end of the 2017 season. My plan says to trade Markakis, Dump Kemp, acquire a veteran for both 3B and LF and start the rookie Acuna in RF. My plan also includes acquiring pitching in some form or another, either to bolster the rotation, and thus bolstering the bullpen by effect, or by adding 2 strong veteran arms to the bullpen and allowing the young pitchers to gain experience. Option #2 there is probably the route they’ll take.
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So much depends on pitching and how much money Liberty is willing and able to spend.
Ah… the great mystery. A much as we like to try to speculate and make assumptions, no one really knows how much they’ll allow AA to work with. Well, hopefully AA does.
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I’ll tell ya what… I’ll detail my plan for 2018. I need a few minutes to gather all the details…
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Phase 1 begins with letting some current players walk. Gotta open spots before we can fill them. The current 40-man roster has some openings, but we still need to clarify. We currently sit at 37. The 25-man roster is assumed to currently be (close enough for this exercise):
5 man Rotation: Julio, Folty, Luis Gohara, Sean Newcomb, Max Fried
8 man Bullpen: Viz, JoseRam, AJ Minter (L), Dan Winkler, Sam Freeman (L), Josh Ravin, Chase Whitley, Luke Jackson
Starting 8: Ender, Ozzie, Freddie, Kemp, Kakes, Flow, Camargo, Dans
Bench: Zuk, Lane Adams, Adonis, open
With our current roster, we are obligated somewhere in the neighborhood of $100M. For the sake of this exercise, I’m going to place our 2018 payroll at $125M. I think that’s a reasonable assumption, even if it is nothing more than assumption.
I start by letting Kemp walk. Nobody is taking him for anything. I’m simply writing off the money. Of the $21.75M he’s owed for each of the next 2 seasons, the Braves are only paying $15.75 each year.
He’s gone, but his money is still here. Net payroll effect is $0.
Adonis Garcia, believe it or not, still has an option left. He can stay in the organization, but goes to AAA. Net payroll effect is $0.
I need 2 bullpen spots, so 2 guys have to go. Those 2 will come from the group of Ravin, Whitley, Jackson. I let them battle in spring. But again, the net payroll effect is close enough to $0.
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Always enlightening Vee.
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So now I have opened up 1 OF spot, 1 additional bench spot, and 2 bullpen spots. My needs are now clearly defined as 1 OF, 1 3B (moving Camargo back to the bench), 1 bench bat, 2 bullpen arms. And my payroll is still at about $100M, so I have $25M to work with in Phase 2, the acquisition phase.
I intend to fill my OF spot with Ronald Acuna, and his rookie deal has no real effect on my payroll. Gil, he’s the only rookie I want in my lineup.
Now I can target my bullpen arms. I sign RH Anthony Swarzak for 2 yrs/$14M and RH Tommy Hunter for 2 yrs/$12M.
My payroll is now at about $113M for 2018, and I still need a 3B and a bench bat.
For 3B I trade for Jedd Gyorko from the Cards. He’s owed $9M for 2018 and $13M for 2019 with a team option for 2020. The timeline works well with Austin Riley. Plus SD is paying $3M in each of the next 2 years.
Gyorko costs me Jason Hursh, Akeel Morris, Ricardo Sanchez and Travis Demeritte. It’s worth it.
My payroll is now at about $119M for 2018, and I still need 2 bench bats.
With Gyorko installed at 3B, Camargo goes back to my bench, but I still have an opening for a LH with power. Having Lane Adams and Camargo covers all of my positions defensively pretty well, so I can go bat first with this last spot.
Let me define this more clearly: I have about $6M to spend, I need a LH with power, and I don’t care about his defense. Now I wish I had Matt Adams back!! But I don’t, so I sign Lucas Duda. He’s a LH who has hit at least 27 HR’s in 3 of the last 4 seasons. He was hurt most of last year, so he should sign a 1-year deal to prove his health. I get him for my remaining $6M.
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Now for my $125M, I have:
5 man Rotation: Julio, Folty, Luis Gohara, Sean Newcomb, Max Fried
8 man Bullpen: Viz, JoseRam, AJ Minter (L), Anthony Swarzak, Tommy Hunter, Dan Winkler, Sam Freeman (L), Josh Ravin
Starting 8: Ender (L), Ozzie (S), Freddie (L), Gyorko (R), Kakes (L), Acuna (R), Flow (R), Dans (R)
Bench: C Zuk (R), OF Lane Adams (R), IF Camargo (S), 1B/LF Duda (L)
And I think I can compete with that group.
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My biggest concern about the Braves pitching staff is with so many “young” arms there is a concern about how they are used. Having a bunch of guys who only pitch 5 innings a night is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. You cannot suddenly take a kid who has pitched an average of 145 innings a season and suddenly expect to get 200 innings out of him without him breaking down.
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Oh… I needed to mention that adding Swarzak, Hunter, Gyorko and Duda requires 4 spots on the 40-man with only 3 to begin with. But letting Kemp walk takes care of that one, so we’re at 40. Plus, I probably trade both Luke Jackson and Chase Whitley since neither has an option remaining, opening another 2 spots. And if we really need another spot for any reason, Adonis can be DFA’d and I’m back to the original 37.
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Gee, Duda for Adams… That is a head scratchier. Of course the Braves could always try to re-sign Adams for less that the arbitration amount, I would guess Matt’s agent is beating the bushes looking for a team that would want him.
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Nothing like stoking the old stove Vee… 🙂
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Having a bunch of guys who only pitch 5 innings a night is a recipe for disaster in my opinion.
Agree, but I expect Folty, Gohara and Newcomb to step up in their innings… Folty especially. I need it from him, and with so many more talented pitchers on the way, he ought to be motivated to push himself.
I take care of Fried. He’s gonna be special.
Anyway, that’s why I signed Swarzak and Hunter. Both guys can give you multiple innings. We know Sam Freeman can go multiple innings.
My “wild card”, so to speak, is Lucas Sims. I’d like him in the bullpen too, as I think he can be really great for 2-3 innings. But who does he unseat? He opens the season in AAA for me and is the first man up if necessary.
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Duda for Adams… That is a head scratchier.
I had nothing to do with letting Matt Adams go. That was the previous administration. I’m just trying to fill a bench spot. 😉
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The whole thing hinges on dumping Matt Kemp and acquiring my 3B. I can make everything else work, even if I have to draw my bullpen arms internally. But I have to lose Kemp and gain a capable 3B.
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One has to wonder if AA waits for spring to see what shape Kemp’s shape is in or he bites the bullet prior to spring training.
While I think Acuna is going to be a special player, I don’t see him as protection for Freddie going into 2018. Teams need a reason to have to pitch to Fab5.
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While I think Acuna is going to be a special player, I don’t see him as protection for Freddie going into 2018. Teams need a reason to have to pitch to Fab5.
Again… why I need my 3B. Jedd Gyorko is a RH to hit behind the LH Freddie, and slashed .272/.341/.472 w/ 20 HR in 2017. He could do it.
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A few things starting to move.
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St. Louis Dispatch: The Cardinals have also had discussions with Tampa Bay about its closer, Alex Colome, and a source confirmed those talks could shift or expand to include third baseman Evan Longoria.
I love that the Cards are looking at Longo. That means that Jedd Gyorko will be available. 😀
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Nice piece on the post-penalty Braves by Jon Heyman: https://www.fanragsports.com/heyman-upshot-of-braves-penalties/
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Dee Gordon traded by Miami to Seattle.
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Pretty sure the Fish will be bottom feeders for the next couple of years, Stanton best get out while he can….
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Source: as part of the Gordon deal, the Marlins also send $1M in international pool money to the Mariners. Mark Feinsand
Aha… Building a war chest for you know who….
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I’d rather have Longo 😛
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Dee Gordon goes to the Mariners…odd…apparently they will make a CF’er out of him. Mariners talk all of his salary, so no doubt the prospects will be weak. What a great time to be a Marlins fan, eh? Braves should be able to win 15 of 18 next year, eh? thing is, 4 teams in the NL East will probably be .500 or better next year….
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So, how much are the Marlins asking for Osuna??? I’m pretty sure the Fish would trade Prado to clear salary. Could the Braves convince Marteen to play a little less full bore? NAW!
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Looking at the Marlins farm system, I would not be surprise to see the Marlins snatch Dustin Peterson via Rule 5 Draft. He is better than what they have so far.
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The Marlins are going to be in their never ending rebuild mode. SAD…..
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Starter on a new lead, I thought I would focus on a pitcher or two for a change. Maybe AJ Minter as I think he will be a stalwart in the pen next season.
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So, who do the Braves trade Blair and Wisler for? Do they throw in the towel or face the reality they were rushed to the Show too soon?
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After all, Blair is only 25 years old. Not the wunderkind Gohara but former Braves flop Mike Minor has found fame and fortune as a big league pitcher and just signed a pretty nice contract with the Rangers.
Maybe the same could be said for Wisler who showed flashes of potential before assuming the deer in the headlights look while getting shelled. Is it just me or do you feel both of these guys lack the confidence to just rear back and challenge the hitter.
Does Fried really possess better stuff or does he just believe he does. He pitches with swagger…. A big plus for a major league pitcher.
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Hey, not like John Smoltz didn’t stink up the place for a couple of years before becoming an All-star and future hall of famer.
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Anyone else think Jace Peterson is a likely candidate to end up in Miami next season? I’m still surprized the Braves didn’t tender Dantana.
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I’d rather have Longo
Sure. But I don’t want his contract.
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I would not be surprise to see the Marlins snatch Dustin Peterson via Rule 5 Draft.
I looked at DPetey’s numbers from 2017 yesterday, Now I see why he was not protected. Yew. 1 HR for the season.
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Gil, I wonder if Blair, and Wisler (and maybe Folty too) were reasons the braves let McDowell go… (and poor Baltimore, twice they have signed braves pitching coaches that have not made their pitching staffs any better) we heard he wasn’t so hot with the kids…though I wonder if the kids today, just don’t listen the same way as when he and others were young players.
I do feel like the organization lost faith in them…now who that/they were, I don’t know, but Wisler just didn’t seem to do well in the pen at all, but they kept trying to put him there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them both become ok starters, elsewhere…but, what can you get for them now? But, gonna need roster spots, right? looking at the 40 man roster, I see several guys that could easily go…then I see names like Mauricio Cabrera. He’s still only 23….I wonder if he got hurt at all last year? or just a case of pitcher’s yips….never know when someone will get their control back…you forget how good he was in 2016, would be nice to see him come back strong again…
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V, I was half kidding about Longoria, but you know…he’s a flat out winner. He’s not young…well, yes he is, but not by baseball standards…but man, does he play, 156 or more games 5 straight years…
and a real bat behind FF. Salary isn’t all that bad….with people still acting like Byrce Harper and Machado (sp) are 40 mil a year players (I think thats crazy myself) then 13 mil, 14, 15, 18, 19 mil doesn’t sound all that bad….
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Salary isn’t all that bad
No, but commitment is for 6 more years. Braves aren’t going to block Austin Riley, that’s for certain.
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I’m pretty sure the Fish would trade Prado to clear salary.
I was considering Prado yesterday. The guy’s had some pretty serious injuries recently. He should have a couple years left in the tank, but his best years are behind him for sure. Still, he wouldn’t have to play everyday. In fact, it’d be a great way to give Camargo a couple of starts each week. Problem is that he’s got 2 years of $13.5M and $15M left on his deal. If we took that on, we’d have to shed the equivalent somewhere else. We’ll almost certainly have to eat all of Kemp’s money. Would the Marlins take on 1 year of Markakis at $11.5M to shed those 2 years of Marteen? Maybe, but then you’ve sent off one of the few LH bats in the lineup. If Marteen was LH I’d be alot more in that. I just can’t find a match for hm as hard as I tried.
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Regarding the Marlins/Mariners swap…
The Tridents took on all of Dee Gordon’s salary in order to get back the $1M+ of int’l signing slot allowance. That’s the real bottom line. It’s the 3rd trade they’ve made in the last 2 days to acquire slot allowance. it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to connect all those dots.
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No it doesn’t Vee.
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V, I liked most of your moves mentioned yesterday, but left…if you are going to get a guy thats so-so on defense, and hits 20+ HR’s, why not just stay with Kemp? I mean, is it what I want to see the braves do? not really….but, we know how teams are , they HATE to eat money for nothing. I still wonder who was forcing the team to put Bartolo out there week after week, when he was the worst pitcher in all of baseball…Coppy or Hart?
anyways…that’s water under the bridge
Last year Kemp hit 19 HR’s in 115 games. Like Gil said, people that have hammy issues, have hammy issues for their career. but get this….2014, 15, 16, he played at least 150 games each year. Hit 35 HR’s in 2016.
as…boring as it is at times to not make changes, and as annoying as it is that he came into camp in great shape, then turned into a blob….I we likely to get someone significantly better than Kemp, if the team doesn’t sign someone like J.D. Martinez, or trade for Stanton? and we know that ain’t happenin’
run what ya brung, right Gil? 😉
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Speaking of Stanton…I am sure he is hoping against hope that the Angels, or more likely for his hopes, the Dodgers would make some last minute move for him….
while I wouldn’t want to live anywheres near SF, even though its a beautiful city….and he will still lose a few homers there, sure seems like a good place for someone to play baseball. St. Louis would even be better for him….can you believe he’s probably too young to recall how big Mark McGuire was as a player there?
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V, I liked most of your moves mentioned yesterday, but left…if you are going to get a guy thats so-so on defense, and hits 20+ HR’s, why not just stay with Kemp?
My roster actually keeps Nick Markakis and plays him in LF with Ronald Acuna taking over in RF.
You may be referring to my reference to Jon Jay, whom I think would be a very good defensive OF if that’s the direction AA wants to go. But that would require getting rid of both Kemp and Kakes. I doubt AA is going to make that kind of sweeping change in his first season here. Sloppy might have, but not the new guy.
My real acquisition came at 3B. I need a real 3B.
My beef with Matt Kemp (you like that one?) is that he isn’t dependable. If I thought I’d get 150 games out of him, I’d take the 20+ HR’s and be happy since I’ve got to pay him anyway. But as you mentioned, he gave us just 115 games last year and I have no reason to think he’s going to get any better as he gets older. And who do I play out there when he’s out with a bad hammy or 2? OK, Lane Adams. Fine. But then who’d on my bench? Dustin Peterson, who hit .248 with just 1 HR against AAA pitching last season? Might as well re-sign Emilio Bonifacio. Not only that, but I have a big problem with a professional athlete that can’t push himself away from the training table. I think it sets a horrible example for the youngsters.
All that said, it’s certainly more likely that Matt Kemp starts the season in ATL than somewhere else. And to that end, I hope he proves everything I just said about him to be wrong. If that happens, I’ll eat crow and be happy about it.
That scenario means I must find another LH bat for the lineup or it’s way out of whack. And as we all know, lineups must be in whack.
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while I wouldn’t want to live anywheres near SF, even though its a beautiful city….and he will still lose a few homers there, sure seems like a good place for someone to play baseball. St. Louis would even be better for him
His situation is so unique. Even though he has to be traded for, his no-trade clause essentially makes him a FA since he gets to pick his landing spot.
If you were a young man of his stature, pulling down millions, and used to the vibrant culture in Miami, would you rather live in San Francisco or St. Louis? Maybe it’s better stated, would you rather live on the West Coast or the Midwest?
He’ll thrive in San Francisco.
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AAA Gwinnett just announced their new name: The Gwinnett Stripers.
It’s not my favorite, but considering some of the other finalists, the Buttons, the Sweet Teas, the Hush Puppies, the Gobblers, the Lamb Chops, and the Big Mouths, I’ll take it.
Actually, Stripers was not a finalist, but it is a derivative of Big Mouths, as in Big Mouth bass.
Most people don’t understand why they wanted to change their name, but I get it. They wanted their own unique branding. It’s a marketing thing. Plus with such a close geographical proximity to the parent club, creating a little more identity space was probably not a bad idea either. If you look around the landscape of minor league clubs, most have their own unique names. Even our high-A Kissimmee club is called the Fire Frogs. I won’t be surprised to see the AA Mississippi club and low-A Rome club follow suit in the future.
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Lucas might want to get used to that uni. 😉
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Wow! Surprising. Wonder what Seattle is gonna do with all that slot space now? And can you imagine if the Halos were to make a last minute successful pivot to GStanton?
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Ken Rosensource: In recent days, multiple major league sources have told The Athletic that (Giancarlo) Stanton does not want the San Francisco Giants or the St. Louis Cardinals.
The glaring grammatical error aside, this is something of note. Why? Because it’s the Giants and Cards who had actually worked out respective frameworks for a deal should t be approved.
Henry Schulman, San Francisco Chronicle: The Chronicle heard Thursday afternoon that Stanton has told friends that the Giants are not his first choice and might be his last.
Yeah. 98 losses might make a team less desirable.
Craig Gish, National Sports Radio for Sirius XM: Now told Stanton will approve: Dodgers, Yankees, Cubs, Astros
In other words, Stanton wants to win now. But here’s the hangup. The Yankees are cutting costs. (There is a school of thought that says the reason they dumped Joe Girardi for Aaron Boone is that Girardi was in line for $4M+ per year whereas Boone just signed for slightly over $4M for the the entirety of 3 years.) The Astros can’t tie up that kind of coin with their bevy of young stars all coming up for big raises at the same time. The Cubs are kind of in that same boat.
That leaves the Dodgers.
Will the Dodgers re-engage? If you ask me, they have the upper hand now. It’s hard for me to imagine the Marlins and Dodgers coming to agreement on their own “framework” anytime soon. The Dodgers just aren’t as desperate as the Giants and Cards are.
Maybe they can trade Stanton for Yasiel Puig and Yasmani Grandal. The Cuban community in Miami would love it, right? 😀
Derek Jeter might not have booted too many ground balls in his playing days, but he’s made way more than his share of errors since becoming an owner.
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I have now seen another writer suggest Martin Prado as a fit in Atlanta. He also suggested Nick Markakis as the return player. Interesting. Disclaimer: His deal involved more players than just the 1/1 swap. I won’t go into those details because it’s merely creative speculation. It’s just interesting to see those names connected again.
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I am surprised that the Mariners did not win that contest. They traded away some pretty decent prospects just to get cap space. Oh well, maybe it was the weather….
So, it is snowing here in the center of the universe… Not one of those crazy 10 inch snows like we had 10 years ago but it is pretty and white. W’ont last long but enough to make one pine for a one horse open sleigh… Okay, maybe not open but I’m past my snow mobile prime.
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I bet V is getting snow….a friend in NE ATL has about 2 1/2 inches with more to come…me? 33 and raining
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et me define this more clearly: I have about $6M to spend, I need a LH with power, and I don’t care about his defense. Now I wish I had Matt Adams back!! But I don’t, so I sign Lucas Duda. He’s a LH who has hit at least 27 HR’s in 3 of the last 4 seasons. He was hurt most of last year, so he should sign a 1-year deal to prove his health. I get him for my remaining $6M.
V, ok, I see what happened, I just made LH to LF
I would think with 27 HRs the last 3 years, Duda is going to be wanting full time work…
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So, with Duda you get a more expensive version of Matt Adams…
“me? 33 and raining” Hey, be thankful… fewer accidents and pray no freezing rain…. The real bane of the south!
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So, the Angels should put up about 6 runs a night, too bad their pitching staff will give up 8…
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I think we said that already. These guys need to keep up.
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Ber, Duda won’t find full time work for the same reason Matt Adams won’t. Can’t hit lefties.
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V, I will have to respectfully disagree…though you have to remember…I’m old 😉 27 HR’s is still a lot…I think . He’d get no playing time here with FF and being a 5th outfielder….
Cleveland was mentioned as a place for Matt Adams, and I would assume Duda might end up as a possibility there, or KC, Toronto….they can all use DH types…
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Stanton to Yankees is about to happen…
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I guess that will take the Yankees out of the Bryce Harper sweepstakes… 🙂
Starlin Castro plus “solid” prospects. I guess the Yankees wanted somewhere to spend all their ARod money.
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Ha ha ha ha…
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wow….just when it looked like Stanton was a fool to turn down 2 teams with a rich history of winning….
Yankees were acting so cheap too. though I guess the 30 + million helps this year? or not…man, so confusing.
M and M 2.0 . So glad a plucky team like the Yankees finally get a chance to compete… 😕
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Folks should remember one thing, you don’t get extra points in baseball for hitting the ball 500 feet.
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No, but you can sure scare the bejeebers out of opposing pitchers…
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MLBTR: *logo image
NL News & Rumors: Giants, Stanton, Moustakas, Cards, D-backs
December 10th, 2017 at 12:40pm CST • By Connor Byrne
Before the Giants’ pursuit of Giancarlo Stanton failed, they offered the Marlins a package including right-hander Tyler Beede and catcher Aramis Garcia, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Beede and Garcia, both 24 years old, rank among the Giants’ top 10 prospects at MLB.com and Baseball America. Along with surrendering those two, San Francisco would’ve absorbed $230MM of the $295MM owed to Stanton (the Yankees, who won the Stanton derby, will take on $265MM). That package was to the Marlins’ liking, but Stanton put the kibosh on a deal by declining to waive his no-trade clause for San Francisco.
More on the Giants and a few other National League clubs:
The Cardinals have had talks with the agents for relievers Addison Reed and Brandon Morrow, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. At one point this offseason, there was “momentum” toward a deal between Reed and the Cardinals, a source told Goold, but it seems this winter’s slow-to-develop relief market has helped prevent an agreement from coming to fruition. Whether he signs with the Cardinals or another team, the soon-to-be 29-year-old Reed is in position to end up as one of this winter’s richest relievers.
A lack of financial wiggle room could prevent the Diamondbacks from doing anything significant in free agency, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Arizona needs bullpen help, for instance, but several agents informed Piecoro that the club’s not showing much willingness to spend. The Diamondbacks “think they’re going to get by spending $5 million” total on bullpen upgrades, an agent for a second-tier reliever told Piecoro. In order to free up payroll space, the D-backs could deal left-hander Patrick Corbin and/or center fielder A.J. Pollock, Piecoro suggests. Both players are only under control for another year – MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects an $8.3.MM arbitration award for Corbin and an $8.5MM salary for Pollock.
The Giants will reportedly pursue the top free agent third baseman available, Mike Moustakas, but Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle casts doubt on the possibility (via Twitter). The club is wary of going after free agents who have rejected qualifying offers because of the compensation it would have to give up to land them, Schulman notes, and Moustakas is part of that class. Signing him would cost the Giants two draft picks (their second- and fifth-highest choices) in 2018 and $1MM in international bonus pool space.
The Braves will hire Alex Tamin as their director of major league operations, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Tamin was previously the Dodgers’ director of baseball operations, serving in the same front office as new Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos. While with Los Angeles, Tamin “handled rules and transactions” and was “heavily involved” in advance scouting, according to Rosenthal, who adds that he’ll perform similar tasks in Atlanta.*
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Well that didn’t work at all…
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MLBTR: The Braves will hire Alex Tamin as their director of major league operations, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Tamin was previously the Dodgers’ director of baseball operations, serving in the same front office as new Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos. While with Los Angeles, Tamin “handled rules and transactions” and was “heavily involved” in advance scouting, according to Rosenthal, who adds that he’ll perform similar tasks in Atlanta.
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I liked it either way… my only question was how involved was Tamin in scouting Olivera?
Okay, another reason to hate wet sloppy snow… breaking off a tree limb and putting a hole in my shed roof… grrrrrrrr…
Sigh, blue tarp time…
Okay, more baseball, I can understand everyone in Atlanta’s desire to get an upgrade in pitching and their desire to trade away Julio but unless Liberty has advised Alex that he has a huge budget increase, I can’t see it happening before next season when the rookies will have had a chance to prove themselves. The cost for starting pitching is pretty high in both players and salary. JT’s salary is much less than any comparable hurler as far as I can tell.
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NEW HOFers
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I have a hard time celebrating the new HOF’ers today. Dale Murphy was left off again… with less than 6 votes. It’s a travesty. He’s more deserving than Alan Trammell and at least as deserving as Jack Morris. He carries the stigma of the losing 80’s braves teams. That’s the only way he continues to be ignored.
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The only tangible rumor involving the Braves thus far as the Winter Meetings come to full steam today:
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And here is one very intangible rumor authored by Peter Gammons yesterday. There doesn’t appear to be any basis for it other than Gammons simply saying it will happen.
What will be interesting in Lake Buena Vista is what starting pitchers turn out to be available in the trade market… The Braves will trade Julio Teheran, who was spooked by their new, homer-happy park.
It should be noted that he also predicted several other pitchers around the league that “will be traded”.
My take: The only way the Braves trade Julio is that they already have an agreement in place to replace him with another veteran top-of-the-rotation starter. Gammons doesn’t seem to have any nuggets to reveal whom that might be.
Gammons is a good writer, but way past his prime and just writes for his own blog these days. It seems to me that he is kind of spitballing here. But he’ll hit on one of them and the national baseball writers will laud him for his insight.
Cast a big net; catch a big fish. In the case of Julio, I’ll believe it when I see it.
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Frazier was a 1st round pick by Cleveland in 2013, subsequently moved to the Yankees in the Andrew Miller trade. He struggled a little in his forst foray at AA in 2016 at the tender age of 21, but not last year. In 74 games, Frazier slashed .256/.344/.473 w/ 12 HR’s before being called up The Show in July.After his callup, 17 of his 31 hits were of the extra base variety (4 HR’s, 9 doubles, 4 triples), including a homer in his first AB.
Baseball Prospectus grades him thus:
Hit 45, Power 50, Base running/Speed 55, Glove 50, Arm 55, Overall 50
Corner OF with lightning quick bat and mostly average tool set. Bat speed can generate power, but more of a mistake hitter. Consistency in hit tool will need to improve for power to realize. Glove/arm grade out as future average; athleticism makes him capable. Above average speed that aids athleticism. Capitalizing on potential more risky on this enigmatic talent.
So his bat definitely profiles for LF, where he would play alongside Ender in CF and Acuna in RF.
Anyway. Frazier is a guy that could easily develop into a power hitting LF and cleanup bat.
If AA could expand the deal to include 3B Chase Headley, he could answer alot of lineup questions in one deal. NYY would like to get Headley’s contract (2017-2018 at $13M each) off their books, so the ask on him would be minimal. And his short contract wouldn’t block Austin Riley. The Braves certainly have the pitching and prospects to get such a deal done.
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Headley is a SH who has slightly better numbers as a LH, which is good for this lineup. Frazier is RH power.
Headley in 2017, split between 3B and 1B: .273/.352/.406, 12 HR, 30 doubles
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And with Headley having plenty of experience at 1B, he makes the bench more versatile… which is a must since it’s gonna be a 4 man bench again…
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B&S poll part 1:
Will Matt Kemp open the 2018 campaign in a Braves uni?
B&S poll part 2:
If you voted “no” above, will he be traded or released?
B&S poll part 3:
If you voted “traded” above, where will he land?
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In a move similar to the rebranding of the new Gwinnett Stripers, the Yankees have just unveiled the new name for their AAA affiliate in Tampa…
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I think our fish can take him…
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The writing should be on the wall for…
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Please no…
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Lord…
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Some things can’t be unseen…
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I might just cry…
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Things are obviously slow. I need some tangible Braves news to help refocus.
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Another error.
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Of note. Of major note.
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If the Braves can dump Kemp’s deal and trade Markakis, while playing Ronald Acuna in RF and Johan Camargo at 3B, they would certainly conserve some resources. And finding a replacement LF might prove easier than finding a new 3B.
I can be on board with that if it means redirecting $$ toward a starting pitcher.
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Here’s a scenario:
The Braves trade Sean Newcomb and 2 lesser prospects for Clint Frazier, who becomes the new LF. Why Newcomb? Because I’m not parting with Max Fried or Luiz Gohara for anything.
The Braves replace Newcomb in the rotation with another veteran innings eater, such as John Lackey? He’s pitched no less than 170 innings since 2011, and less than 190 IP just once in that span. And he would be a tremendous veteran mentor for our young pitchers.
The rotation would be, in no particular order:
Julio (R)
Folty (R)
Gohara (L)
Lackey (L)
Fried (L)
I could live with that, I think.
Then the lineup goes:
Ender, CF (L)
Ozzie, 2B (S)
Freddie, 1B (L)
Frazier, LF (R)
Acuna, RF (R)
Camargo, 3B (S)
Flow/Zuk, C (R)
Dans, SS (R)
That lineup might not scare anyone in 2018, but it could be filthy in 2019 with Frazier and Acuna one year older and Alex Jackson penciled in as catcher.
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I don’t have a straight up answer for your pole yet Vee, let me think about that one. I know what I have on my wish list but I don’t really have any idea. I think it all depends on what kind of value AA can glean out of opposing teams. AA might wait until the Braves DFA Kemp then sign him for minimum… Kemp might not be worth what he is getting paid but he is worth league minimum to an AL team looking for a DH…
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Something fishy going on with minor league mascots methinks…
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Stanton kind of threw the Marlins organization under the bus huh? Of course it is not like we haven’t been doing the same thing for years…
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Finally, news from LBV:
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Reiterating with specificity:
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If D is the priority, Kemp is certain to be gone. Can’t have both.
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Hey, I didn’t weigh 450# but I am living proof you did not have to have a perfect physic to play baseball. I could not throw a lick but could hit anything…
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You know what worries me? A.A. traded Noah Syndergaard away from the Jays….
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I’m pretty sure that Alex will make some moves which don’t work out but that is the chance you take when you swap horses in the middle of the stream.
That is what makes the business so risky and why GMs don’t normally stay in one place all that long.
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It appears now that every national writer thinks this is a natural fit:
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It could be. I’m still concerned with too many RH bats.
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Yes, it’s pretty tough to come up with the perfect blend of bats but then again, if you are able to hit, the pitcher’s favored side has little effect.
My biggest worry would be Mateen’s durability at this point.
So, no noise as to the Braves being interested in either Osuna or Yelich. I would think either or both would be a huge addition. AJ Pollock of the D’backs is available too… SIGH! Tough trying to put together a club on the cheap.
I guess that is why everyone in New York loved Steinbrenner… He did not care what it cost. No illusions as to what he wanted.
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Day 2 of the annual MLB Swap Meet commences this morning. AA spoke to the press yesterday and basically laid out the 2-step plan for this offseason:
No. 1- Proceed cautiously. Simply stated, he doesn’t know his prospects well enough to gauge their value either to the team or to the market.
No. 2- Defense is the priority. He does know one thing well about the system: it’s rich with pitching. His assertion is that if you improve the defense, you automatically improve the 13 pitchers on the team. Seems logical to me. I can vaguely remember a team that built a 14 year stretch of success on the foundation of young pitching and defense.
My takeaway: Matt Kemp will not remain a part of this team very much longer, even if we have to eat 90% of his remaining money to deal him. Nick Markakis is also probably gone if we get a deal to our liking. It might even open the door for Johan Camargo to earn a regular gig at 3B. (And I hope that Dansby is working hard this offseason to improve his D. He’d better.)
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Wonder if AA could address defense/LF in the Rule 5 draft. Perusing the candidates I ran across a name you might remember: Kyle Wren. Not alot of power, but he’s a high OBP guy who can run like the wind and play great defense. And he bats LH. There’s also a kid in the Astros system that profiles a little better to LF with decent minor league numbers and more power. He’s also a LH. Problem here is that he’s only 22 and has not played above AA.
If we simply wanted to replace Kemp with another RH power bat to protect Freddie in the lineup, we could pivot to Jay Bruce. He’s likely to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-yrs/$39M. That’s a nice neighborhood. But it breaks down to an average of $13M per season, which isn’t alot more than the Braves are paying Markakis ($11M). If you can trade Kakes on his short 1 year obligation, you can pick up Bruce for very little more annually and feel alot better installing Camargo at 3B on the cheap.
A different Jay, Jon Jay, is more a likely target given his lesser demand and greater defense. I can’t get a feel for his contract projection, but he made $8M last year with the Cubs and probably won’t get much more of a raise given he’s a OPB guy and not a power guy. 2 yrs/$16M-18M? Seattle is rumored to like him alot to replace Bruce.
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If you take a close look at the Braves offense or lack off for the past 5 or 6 seasons, one thing you will notice is the Braves seldom had trouble putting men on base, they could not bring them home. Getting guys in scoring position with no outs only to see them stranded. So many DPs hit into, so few sac flies…. Oh, the humanity….
So, OBP guys at the top of your line up are great but you still need guys in the 3,4,5 hole who can put wood on the ball to bring them in.
I am very curious as to whether or not Matt Kemp is seriously trying to get into playing shape to either gain favor with the brass or improve his trade value. I can live with a Kemp who will drive in runs and protect Freddie, I loath to have a slow dude who will let in runs and ground into DPs…
So, are we having fun yet?
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Okay, I have place the old boob tube (anyone remember when it refereed to the mental capacity of its watchers and not the content of the pitchers shown on it?) but, I digress… on the MLB network to get up to date info on everything baseball winter meeting happenings…
I am sick to death of politics… seriously sick of it….
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So, Wren…Wren… how is that name familiar??? Oh yeah… 🙂
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The Yankees have sent 3B Chase Headley to the Padres. Scratch him off the list of possible acquisitions.
Meanwhile, the Phillies are kicking the tires on P Jake Arrieta. Please let’s not fall behind the Phillies. Please.
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Braves could have done this. Just sayin’. Would have only cost minimal prospect and the willingness to spend a little $. Would have been a serious upgrade at 3B and would have added a solid relief arm. Both are on the necessity list.
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You know the old saying Vee, you snooze, you lose…
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there are 30 teams looking to improve themselves this winter…unlike the old days when some teams seemingly did nothing at all to improve, people are paying attention to what all the teams do…and most of those 30 teams feel they need bullpen help, and starters….so like Gil said, snoozin’=losin’
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Day 3 from the Winter Meetings. Activity: none.
OK, Thoppy. I understand you want to proceed with caution. But please do proceed. Please.
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Vee, those GM types have not yet awakened… Still, many are trying to get to the course for their 9AM tee times and get on to where all the real deals take place.
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While there is no movement to report, there are a couple of items that came out yesterday saying first that the Braves are among the teams connected to Rays P Chris Archer. That’s not really a surprise given the widespread interest in Archer and his team friendly contract. The cost in prospects for Archer would obviously be pretty tall. I’ll believe that happens when I see it.
The second item was a little more surprising, but not really given this player’s team friendly deal. The Braves were among the teams listed to have interest in Marlins OF Christian Yelich.
Could their interest be real, or are they just kicking the tires?
Fred Owens at Tomahawk Take suggests that the Braves could also be willing to take on the contract of Martin Prado to help grease the skids, and to that end it might help mitigate the cost in prospects. Owens suggests if the Braves were willing to take the entire contract of Prado, a package of “Sean Newcomb, Cristian Pache, Touki Toussaint and another body like Matt Wisler” could get it done.
We know what Newcomb is. Pache is an elite defender already and a guy that could mirror the meteoric rise of Acuna, but with more speed and less power. Toussaint probably has the best curveball in the organization, but his ceiling is probably as a #3 starter, something we have a large stable of. And Wisler… well, he’s Wisler. So it’s a young ML starter, our #’s 10 & 13 prospects and a throw-in.
We’re already said to be looking for a starter, and have 4 youngsters vying for 3 spots behind Julio and Folty. If we acquire a veteran, that’s 2 spots for 4 youngsters. We could spare Newcomb. And of all the starters currently in the running, he’s probably the one I’d give up first. If I can get Yelich now, I don’t need Pache in 2 years. Toussaint is still a couple years away as well, along with the next wave of starters. I’ll help Wisler pack.
In other words, if that package would bring back Yelich (and Prado), I’m in.
(Sung to the tune of White Christmas):
I’m dreaming of an outfield of Yelich, Inciarte & Acuna
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I still believe the Braves will acquire another starter, but one more along the John Lackey ilk, not the Chris Archer type. As I mentioned previously, I think Lackey would be a decent pickup. Kind of Jaime Garcia and RA Dickey rolled into one.
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BTW- The Phillies got a deal done with reliever Tommy Hunter last night. They gave him 2-yrs/$18M. He was a guy that I thought the Braves might make a run at. I can live with not picking him up, but it hurts when the Phillies get him. We are falling behind them rapidly. At this pace, we’ll only finish ahead of the Marlins in our division, and that’s only because they might not even have 8 men to put on the field right now.
The Rockies just locked up Jake McGee to go with the previously signed Bryan Shaw. The reliever market is moving along briskly, and we’re watching it happen from the sidelines.
Remember, the stated shopping list is: starting pitcher, reliever, 3B. So far we are 0-for-3.
Those still on the market worth looking at: Addison Reed, Juan Nicasio, Anthony Swarzak, Steve CIshek, Joe Smith, Matt Albers, and Brandon Kintzler.
The greedy Phillies are said to be talking to Reed. The Mets are connected to just about all of them.
Come on Thoppy, get out there and get one of these guys! Our rivals are taking the best ones out from under us!
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Interesting…
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Dangit!
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Swarzak is the guy I thought we’d really be in on. Now our division rivals, the Mets, have him.
We’re not moving up the ladder, folks. By comparison, we’re stepping down. Nats are still the Nats and have a better manager. Mets are better. Phils are better. Marlins don’t count. I think they’re gonna apply for a Gulf Coast League schedule.
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Great pickup for them. Now if we can just get Yelich…
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I think Ozuna’s former teammate isn’t happy:
https://twitter.com/ChristianYelich/status/939559584959676416
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Much activity happening in Orlando at baseball’s winter meetings. Meanwhile, at the Braves table…
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I think we suggested this a couple weeks ago, didn’t we? Somebody’s paying attention…
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Vee, just proves our eyes are really so bad. even when you are not seeing things in real time.
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A comment about the Marlin’s trade of Stanton and Osuna, neither one netted the Marlins a top one hundred rated prospect. Says a lot about the Marlins, their departure was a salary dump, plain and simple.
Tells me that Prado could be had for the price of picking up his contract.
Yelich is a different proposition, he still has a lot of time left on his contract and the rate is reasonable. Braves would have to bit the bullet on both Markakis (half his salary at least) and Kemp (a bag of bats and shag bag of practice balls and the Braves eat $26 MM or so.
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For all those fans in Atlanta who scream for new ownership for the Braves, I say the fire sale occurring in Miami should be an eye opener as to what really happens. I am not sure if the buyers of the Marlins failed to read the accounting reports or if they planned to sell everything to the bare walls as part of their overall strategy but if you were one of the 25 people in Miami who identified themselves as a fan of the ball club, what is happening has to be brutal.
I hope Jeter and company were not counting on a boost in ticket sales or increased revenue from stadium vendors to boost income, perhaps they believe closing off some of the cheap seats in the bleachers will allow them to cut the expense of hiring people to clean up after games or sell souvenirs.
I know it’s tough to manage your cash flow after making a big purchase, ask anyone who buys a new house who exactly will be eating steak and who will be existing on pork and beans for the next year? Anyhoo, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it…
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I am not sure if the buyers of the Marlins failed to read the accounting reports or if they planned to sell everything to the bare walls as part of their overall strategy
They planned it from day 1. They knew exactly what they were buying. The real culprit here is Jeff Loria, who backloaded all those deals with the knowledge that he would never pay the full value of them. And as much as folks want to demonize Derek Jeter, and he could have handled these deals a little better (and less publicly), what he is doing is trying to tear the team down to a foundation that he can work with so that he can build something stable. It hurts badly in the short term, but will pay off in spades in a few years. In all honesty, it’s not terribly unlike what the Braves have gone through, we just didn’t have the reigning MVP and HR king to trade.
As for what he has receieved back from Stanton/Ozuna, those deals aren’t quite as bad as they look. Obviously the main purpose was to dump the full value of the contracts, which he accomplished. But the return wasn’t chump change. I also saw the comment that they didn’t get a Top 100 prospect back, but it was refuted (can’t find it now; I looked) that Cantera is a Top 100, one of the others from STL is arguably there in some circles, and another from STL should move into the Top 100 this season. So it wasn’t too bad. But again, the purpose was to dump salary. And they did that.
As for Yelich, his deal is actually a fairly good one. But I liken his situation to Andrelton Simmons, who also had a fairly team friendly deal. That’s the kind of asset that will yield a real haul in prospects. Plus, the team may not be ready to win for the duration of the deal, so the tradeoff in wins on the field is lessened even more. The difference is that Yelich has already expressed a desire to leave as he’s not happy with losing the other 2/3 of his OF mates. I don’t believe Andrelton ever publicly said he wanted to go anywhere else.
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So, we agree then Vee, it was a salary dump, it why I see the Marlins trading (dumping) Prado.
I think the Braves are pretty much stuck with Kemp and his salary. Everyone else sees what we see, Alex isn’t going to fool anyone, our best hope is Kemp gets into shape and proves to be of some value to the Braves as protection for Freddie.
I do think Markakis would be easier to move, perhaps as part of a deal to the Marlins, I think he would be a good fit there.
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Now Braves. (Homage to our old friend The Scribe.)
Winter Meetings Day 4. Rule 5 Draft day.
So the meat and potatoes of the meetings are done. Today is all about the Rule 5 Draft and getting out of town. Let’s look at the braves checklist.
Starting pitcher: whiff
Relief pitcher: whiff
Third baseman: whiff
You’re out!
I get that the starting pitching market is exorbitant. And I get the pivot to a veteran inning eater on a 1-year deal. If the unicorn isn’t available, you can’t force it. I’m a little surprised we couldn’t find an IF, but I suppose the IF market has not exactly been robust. And there’s always Marteen Prado, right?
But reliever? When we posted yesterday’s update, it was something like this…
The Phillies got a deal done with reliever Tommy Hunter last night… Those still on the market worth looking at: Addison Reed, Juan Nicasio, Anthony Swarzak, Steve Cishek, Joe Smith, Matt Albers, and Brandon Kintzler.
Well, the Phils indeed signed Hunter on Monday. Yesterday, the Mets signed Anthony Swarzak, the Astros signed Joe Smith, the Mariners signed Juan Nicasio, and the Nationals signed Brandon Kintzler. So for those keeping score, within the division, the Phillies added Tommy Hunter, the Mets added Anthony Swarzak, and the Nats added Brandon Kintzler. The Braves added no one.
And the shelves are getting seriously picked over. The list of remaining top relievers is now
Tommy Hunter, Addison Reed,Juan Nicasio,Anthony Swarzak, Steve Cishek,Joe Smith, Matt Albers, andBrandon Kintzler.LikeLiked by 2 people
Hot rumor that Yelich headed to the Braves for three prospects…. YES!
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In response to being shut out on Hunter, Swarzak, et al., Thoppy told the press yesterday that he’s open to letting some of our young pitchers break in as relievers. He did that in Toronto with Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez. And if you’ll remember, we’ve long advocated to use Lucas Sims out of the bullpen. And if you look at all the arms that are already here or are close, it makes sense.
Potential starters; Julio Teheran, Mike Folty, Luiz Gohara, Sean Newcomb, Lucas Sims, Max Fried, Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard, and unnamed veteran innings eater on 1-year deal. And if we’re honest, Kyle Wright is pretty close himself. Chances are Soroka, Allard and Wright start the season in AAA. But that still leaves 7 pitchers for 5 spots, so a bullpen spot for somebody is certainly not out of the question. Of those 7, I’d go with Julio, Folty, mystery veteran, Gohara, and Newcomb/Fried as starters, with Sims and Fried/Newcomb in the pen. If that happens, then there really isn’t room for another relief arm…. which has Viz, Minter, SFreeman, JoseRam, Winkler already cemented for 5 of 8 spots. Add to that group Josh Ravin, Chase Whitley, Luke Jackson, Rex Brothers, Jason Hursh and Akeel Morris all battling for spots, and you see a lessened need. There will already be alot of arms in camp to choose from.
I say all that to say this…
If Thoppy still lands Reed or Cishek or Albers, I won’t be sad. But I also don’t see quite the urgency that I may have earlier exhibited.
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I think the Braves are pretty much stuck with Kemp and his salary.
He will be dumped, even if a straight release. I just can’t see it any other way.
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http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=642667#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL
Braves make a rule 5 pick off the Yankee’s minor league system….A good pick.
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Hot rumor that Yelich headed to the Braves for three prospects…. YES!
Hope you’re right, but if it’s only 3 prospects, they must be good ones and we must be also taking on Prado’s contract. They would most likely be getting one starting pitcher that is ML ready (Newcomb?), another top tier pitcher (Touki Toussaint?), probably OF Christian Pache, and somebody to play 3B… hopefully Rio Ruiz and not Johan Camargo. Heck, we can toss in Adonis Garcia for good measure. 😀
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Bowman suggests…
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Mark BowmanVerified account
@mlbbowman
3m3 minutes ago
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The Braves selected RHP Anyelo Gomez from the Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft. Anthopoulos said yesterday he’d been approached by some teams about a draft-and-trade selection.
To Marlins?
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We can include Gomez in the deal for Yelich. 😀
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Gomez is a reliever with a big arm.
McAlpin reports: 24 yr old RHP posted a 1.92 ERA at four different levels in the Yankees minor league system in 2017. Struck out 87, walked 21 over 70.1 IP
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Looks like we’re on the same page, Gil.
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Okay Vee, how do you get to copy the twitter post?
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Okay Vee, how do you get
to copythe twitter post?Okay, looks like the Yankee’s lost three pitchers to Rule 5 selections.
Braves could have dangled Adonis… 🙂
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Okay Vee, how do you
get tocopy the twitter post?Even my editing suffers from typos….
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To copy the Twitter post, just copy and paste the link.
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Braves lost catcher Joe Odom in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft, but picked up catcher Sklyer Ewing from the Giants’ AA roster. Yawn.
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While all that was going on, the Cubs signed reliever Steve Cishek.
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The Braves also picked up a minor league IF, Tyler Smith from the Rangers. “Smith, 26, appeared in 10 games with Seattle last season, while splitting the remainder of the year between the Mariners’ Triple-A club & Texas’ Triple-A affiliate.”
I sense losing Camargo in a deal…
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… or the acquisition of IF Smith could signal sending IF Travis Demeritte off in a deal.
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Oh, and obviously Demeritte and Dustin Peterson survived the raid.
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I would hate to lose Camargo but if it means acquiring Yelich, I can deal with it.
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Now that the draft is behind us, I will not be surprised to see the Braves try to bring back Matt Adams, just for less money. I’m sure his agent is beating the bushes but Atlanta might just be his best landing spot.
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Agree on Matt Adams, Gil. There just isn’t a market.
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That’s a good arm that can help the team… much like former Rule 5 pickup Dan Winkler. Pretty much cements that the team won’t make a run at one of the established (read: expensive) arms.
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Adams made $2.8M in 2017. He was expected to get somewhere around $4.4M in arb. I could see the Braves try to bring him back for $3.5-4M. Remember, it was John “Sgt. Schultz” Hart that made the decision to let him walk, not Thoppy.
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I hope Jonny Venters can make a comeback….
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Okay, nothing new on the Yelich rumor, I hope it wasn’t Rosenthal just blowing smoke. I figure Newcome (they will want Gohara) possibly Markakis with money thrown in and another prospect or two.
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For Yelich I would speculate Newcomb, Pache, Toussaint and another… possibly Dustin Peterson, and expand it to include Prado with us giving up Markakis and paying half his $11M for 2018. They’ll need a CF in a bad way, so Lane Adams could also come into play as well.
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all things being equal, why would a reliever come join a 90 loss team? You have to pay more than market costs to get one, and look at the deals these guys are getting! (and honestly, some names I don’t really even know are getting 9 mil a year)
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Thoppy on his 1st Winter Meetings as Braves’ GM, courtesy of Bowman:
“You are still trying to balance the offseason, and you feel like the train has left the station and you’re running behind it to try to get caught up. Getting here, I feel like I finally grabbed the pole and we’re on it.” — Anthopoulos, on how his comfort level has steadily improved since joining the Braves.
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all things being equal, why would a reliever come join a 90 loss team?
I can give you about 18 million reasons.
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Yes Ber, some ridiculous money being bandied around, ready to dust off your curve ball yet…
I think the Braves could match up pretty well with the Marlins, might just be a:
Pick one from column A and two from column B they deal. really, the quality of the prospects depends on how much of Yelich salary the Braves would take on.
For sure, someone (Kemp) (Markakis) will have to leave.
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Completely random factoid:
In his final season with the Boston Braves in 1915, HOF’er Rabbit Maranville made a salary of $6,000.
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I think the Braves could match up pretty well with the Marlins
Actually, I do too.
For sure, someone (Kemp) (Markakis) will have to leave.
Both.
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all things being equal, why would a reliever come join a 90 loss team?
I can give you about 18 million reasons.
V, thats why I said all things being equal…if team A is a playoff contending team, and Team B isn’t(at least based on last year’s record) you are going to take team A’s offer IF the salary is the same…unless team B adds a year, something…
Remember how Wren had to settle for Derek Lowe and KK cuz no one available that off season would come here, even to play for Bobby Cox…
that am sure is an issue
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Ok, a thought I had….
Pitcher A, is 39 years old. in 2017, 12 – 12 4.59 ERA. 31 starts, 170. innings , 36 HR’s allowed in the NL.
Pitcher B is 37 Y.O. 14 5 3.69 27 starts, 148 innings, 21 Hr’s in the AL
Pitcher A is Lackey, Pitcher B is CC Sabathia.
Thing is, both want to play with winners, how do you convince them to come here??
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Tax breaks….. 🙂
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V, thats why I said all things being equal
OK… then 18 million and one reasons…. one more than the other guy. It’s all about the Benjamins. Pat Neshek had no qualms about signing with Phillie for 2-yrs/$16.25M. They finished 66-96, 6 games worse than the Braves. The shelf life of a reliever is so tenuous; that’s why the market is always robust and they always take the most $$. There are exceptions… Chapman, Davis, Miller, etc. But those are exceptional talents, too.
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Thing is, both want to play with winners, how do you convince them to come here??
But both may not get an offer from a “winner”. Sabathia is rumored to have interest from LAA, but that’s the only team I’ve heard connected. There are no rumors of anyone connected with Lackey. And at this stage of their respective careers, they have a choice… take what you can get, or hang ’em up.
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It’s really all about leverage. If you are in great demand, you have great leverage. You get to pick and choose. If you are not in great demand, you take the best offer and call it a day.
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Lots of reasons to play in Atlanta, players are aware of the family friendly environment as well as lower tax rates. Still, an agent will have a huge impact on where a player goes in the end. 10% of 5 MM is greater than 10% of 4.5 MM. Agents don’t care what a player pays in taxes.
Now, I think there are many other factors that would come to mind for a veteran, have they already won a World Series is a huge item for any ball player, even a journeyman.
After that, it pretty much comes down to money… and family.
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I can speak from experience, kids never want to leave their friends… It’s why Markakis’s family is still in Baltimore.
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So…. the Braves sign that deal with the Marlins yet? 🙂
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Like buying a lottery ticket. The odds…
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If you’re Matt Adams, that has to hurt a little.
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Tough market this year unless you are a middle reliever….
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So, the Braves have closer(s) in waiting, AJ Minter and Vizciano. I think they will be okay in that regard.
I think Wisler and Blair will both be given an opportunity to make the team this spring BUT the young-ens will be knocking at the door. Super two status may well enter into the equation.
I think the same might be true for Acuna as far as the super two status goes, going to be hard to deny him a spot though with all the hoopla surrounding him. I do hope he is not a jerk…
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I think the same might be true for Acuna as far as the super two status goes
We have a difference of opinion here, Gil. I think he’ll be in RF from Day 1 of 2018 unless he gets injured between now and March 29.
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gee, I figured I was done talking about Matt Adams…
Carlos Santana 3 year deal with the Phils, 60 million dollars Dude has a .249 career BA. never driven in more than 87 RBIs. But, he walks a lot. So sometimes he gets to 2nd or 3rd base in hits…eventually.
Carlos Santana last year..
23 HR 79 RBI .256 in 571 ABs .455 SLG
Matt Adams 20 HR 65 RBI’s .271 in 334 ABs .543 SLG
So…3 HR’s and 14 RBi’s in 241 AB’s and lots of walks = 20 mil per cuz he’s mediocre against lefties and righties.
Matt Adams , cuz he can’t hit lefties (in 60 AB’s , which of course is really being given a chance to get better) isn’t worth 4 mil, and may have trouble finding regular AB’s anywhere….ok……
One reason I do think the phils got him is he has been on winning teams, though I never heard of him being a team leader kinda guy, which isn’t fair on my part he may well be that guy..he will likely hit more HR’s in philly, but their lineup is nowheres near the indians lineup (how did he only drive in 79 all season long on that team?)
Phils are better though than they were last year, no doubt…
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So sometimes he gets to 2nd or 3rd base on hits…eventually.
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While you were sleeping… The Braves trade Matt Kemp to the Dodgers for 4 players, one of which the are going to DFA (Adrian Gonzalas) net zero on salary outlay… More on this later.
Clears space for Acuna to play for sure,
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so confusing! but, seems like the braves get 2 decent arms…possibly…possibly…guys that are forever injured….
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/12/dodgers-acquire-matt-kemp.html#comments
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Actually a decent deal for the Braves, a couple of pitchers who may or may not help the Braves but who knows? Moves to spent money for someone who might actual help.
Hey, it’s a shame Matt Kemp got hurt but that is what happens when father time encroaches upon our bodies. He was a hoss in his prime and real protection for Freddie in the line up but it is still early yet….
I don’t think this off season is done for the Braves and Gonzales will sign with another team. he still has something left in the tank, too bad for Matt Adams though, another left handed power bat who can DH and play first and would be cheaper than Matt…..
Look for LA to flip/DFA Kemp in a few weeks.
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Funny reading the boards on this trade from the LA fans, I guess they don’t realize the Dodgers are saving about $30 MM in luxury tax money with this deal.
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Pretty sure AA has a handle on the health/condition of the guys he traded for.
The Braves got better just by improving their offense.
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Well McCarthy threw all of 90 innings last year, (40 the year before, 23 the year before that!) so, no…not really anyone you can expect to be a full time starter. Kazmir didn’t even pitch last year…..but whatever….there is always a chance one of them is healthy for awhile, right?
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So. you are telling me they have been lightly used for the past couple of seasons? 🙂
Hey, I have no delusions as to what this trade is all about, clearing space and hoping they actually get something useful. Let’s be realistic, how many folks have been clamoring to just DFA Kemp and eat his salary?
No, the Braves did not acquire an ACE pitcher but maybe they will be lucky, that said, AA has already said he was not counting on Kazmir so if he could provide any service at all, it would be a plus, if he can’t.. Well, doesn’t he have an insurance policy on him to perform? Maybe the trade voided it. I don’t know.
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So. you are telling me they have been lightly used for the past couple of seasons?
Pretty funny Gil! 🙂 my 1977 Buick Regal is lightly used, they on the other hand.. have well used arms….
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I don’t think Kazmir’s arm is the part that has broken down, of course, when one part goes south, the rest soon follows. Tis why it is never a good idea to let that bad ball joint go un-attended, the rest of the suspension will soon follow…
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So, upon further consideration of the recent trade of big contracts between the Dodgers and the Braves, an opine of how things came down.
Thoppy had inside information on just what the Dodgers were thinking. They wanted to be rid of 2 pitchers who they did not feel merited the money they were being paid plus a first baseman, who while no means was washed up, still was no longer needed with the emergence of Cody Bellinger. The luxury tax being assess at 50% was also a bit of an albatross hanging around the Dodger’s neck, not that the Dodgers couldn’t afford to pay it, they just did not want to.
So, knowing this plus after consultations with the coaches and managers and other assorted brain trust folks with the Braves, he also knew that Matt Kemp had fallen out of favor, particularly with his weight gain in the 2017 season. It does not take an analytical expert to see that Kemp was no longer productive in the role the Braves had acquired him for. His huge contract was weighing down the Braves too but only because the Bravos were trying to wipe the taste of an ill timed trade with LA for over hyped and over paid Hector Olivera.
So, it was a match made in bean counter heaven, the Dodgers got rid of three players that no longer figure in their plans plus got them below the luxury tax cap (saving them $30MM in the process) and the Braves picked up four players and cash to even out the trade financial obligations.
Now one of the highest profile players, Adrian Gonzalez will be granted his release in exchange for ceding the no trade clause of his contract, he will still get his $21.5MM for 2017 but can sign with any club who wants him for MLB minimum. A sweet deal for any AL club looking for a left handed DH who can play a decent first base. Astros anyone?
Kazmir and McCarthy are also owed big money but Thoppy is only counting on McCarty to provide innings for 2018, if Kazmir were to return, it would be a bonus, I’m curious as to whether or not Kazmir’s salary is still covered by insurance. I have not found an answer yet.
The extra piece in all this was a player who obviously improves the line up for the Braves, utility man Charlie Culberson. Atlanta GM, Alex Anthopoulos, said Culberson plays a Gold Glove caliber defense at short stop and AA should know.
the fate of Matt Kemp’s career is still murky. He could be traded or released, it is still spent money as far as the Dodgers are concerned but just like a Clinton Foundation contribution, it is kept in a different ledger. Nothing like creative financing to balance out your ledger.
So what’s next, AA has said he want to improve the Braves defensively, check those boxes, he has sad he wanted to clear space for Braves wonderkin Ronald Acuna, done and he wanted a veteran pitcher to stabilize the staff. I’m pretty sure McCarthy does that.
It also clears salary space for 2019 when the Braves should be ready to actually compete again. Sorry Braves fans, 2018 should be better than 2017 but still not going to bump off the gNats from their perch atop the NL East.
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Okay folks, looks like the boss has posted the new lead… I am going to copy and paste the above opine so feel free to scroll past when you see it again. 🙂
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