Braves Acquire Bob Wickman

As usual, Ken Rosenthal has the scoop:  the Braves have their closer in 37 year-old Bob Wickman.  The righthander last pitched in the National League back in 2000 with the Brewers.  He has 229 career saves.

Wickman has allowed more than a hit per inning this year with the Tribe, up considerably from last year.  He's only surrendered one home run though.  His control has deteriorated a bit and his K rate is a bit down from '05. Wickman is on a one-year, $5MM deal. 

The Braves parted with 21 year-old A ball catcher Max Ramirez, who is hitting well this season.  Atlanta has good depth behind the plate so they shouldn't miss Ramirez.

Comments

[was385]

Great trade for my Braves. Finally we have a closer to go along with our 8th inning guy in Ken Ray

[brvslugger10]

Yup that a good trade, catching for the braves in the minor league system is no problem, and they finally have a good closer.

[decolores9628]

Bob Wickman isnt good, hes better than the Braves current closer/s but hes not good

[was385]

are you a mets fan?

[Baseball Mike]

They might as well have traded for Dan Kolb. Not a big confidence-boost for Braves fans.

[RotoAuthority]

Maybe his crap works a little better in the NL but he's definitely on the bottom rung of closers. I don't think there's much difference from Ray or a Brian Meadows. Besides the career saves total.

[Rayman]

Man, I knew this would be Wicky's last year, but I'm still a bit shocked. He was the blue-collar guy here in Cleveland. Sad to see him go, even if he would've retired after this year anyway.

Good pickup for Atlanta. He may be shaky, but he didn't get 45 saves last year on luck alone. Though he's getting older, I contend that it's more a lack of work that has him a bit rusty.

[Blue]

Yeah, Wickman isn't very good. The Braves are probably just hoping he'll be good enough.

By the way, Wickman's 1 HR surrendered: Adam Dunn walk-off grand slam down by 3.

[decolores9628]

im a sox fan actually, white sox

[mrmoderate13]

"Maybe his crap works a little better in the NL but he's definitely on the bottom rung of closers. I don't think there's much difference from Ray or a Brian Meadows. Besides the career saves total."

Also besides Wickman's 124 career ERA+ and Meadows' 86 career ERA+. But thats just a slight difference, right?

[Kramerica Industries]

"Undaunted, the Padres have identified Beltre as their No. 1 target"

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5801734

I found that very interesting.....

[Nick from Washington Heights]

Is there anything to this?

http://yanksfansoxfan.typepad.com/ysfs/2006/07/unconfirmed_rep.html

A-Rod and Melky for Flash, Abreu, Burrell, and D. Bell

[RotoAuthority]

And what Wickman did in the 90s is relevant in 2006 why? He's not the same pitcher.

As for Beltre...I have to say I'm proud to have logically deduced that connection. Bavasi and Towers are tight. I should do this for other GMs.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2006/07/padres_looking_.html

On the A-Rod thing...I would want a few others who have heard the radio report before considering it possible. I am not buying.

[Kramerica Industries]

I have a tough time believing that.....

[mrmoderate13]

"And what Wickman did in the 90s is relevant in 2006 why? He's not the same pitcher."

You are correct. He is better. ERA+ from 2001 through 2005 averaged 140. That includes a 166 in 2005. Next time do a little fact checking...

[A2000]

The thing the Braves like in Bob Wickman is his experience. So he doesn't have the stuff of a Papelbon or Rivera, but look at the rest of the bullpen. No one with closer experience or the mental toughness to go out in the ninth and preserve a three run lead or less. Blaine Boyer may end up in this position later in his career but for now Wickman may be a very good pickup for the Bravos. He also can take on the role of mentor as Todd Pratt is doing for Brian McCann. I do have to say that I personally would prefer Huston Street or one of the other young guns at closer. Those are my two bits.

[A2000]

The Phils should look to get up and coming outfielder Brett Gardner, sick kid that I saw play for the College of Charleston Cougars. From what I hear he is absolutely tearing up the league in high Single A. Now you go do your homework and look him up.

[RotoAuthority]

Wickman has a negative WRXL this year.

Looking at the amount of baserunners he and Meadows have allowed the past few seasons, the difference is negligible.

Wickman's WHIP, last 3 seasons: 1.51, 1.45, 1.26

Meadows: 1.34, 1.22, 1.41

Not a stretch to say Meadows could convert 40 saves if given the chance. Then he'd be the one making five mil.

[PlayballTim]

Wow, this sure makes the Reds' trade for bullpen help look even worse.

So much for Krivsky's last hope that the market for relievers is too tight.

[mrmoderate13]

You're ignoring the contexts. Wickman was pitching high leverage innings for the Indians, while Meadows was mopping up for the Pirates. For one, pitching in the American League is more difficult.

Meadows has pitched almost 930 career innings. I would say thats large enough of a sample size to get an accurate assessment of his abilities. His career ERA is an even five. Wickman has pitched over 980 innings posting a 3.64 ERA.

Their cumulative performances have been different enough that I have trouble assuming that Meadows could do the same job.

ERA is hardly fool proof, but over the course of a career it can provide a quick and easy tool of evaluation. The sample size is large enough and the perfomance is different enough that I can feel confident calling Wickman the superior pitcher. Up to this point in their careers there isn't really a comparison.

WHIP is a nice stat, except for the fact that it treats all base hits alike. Wickman's ground ball tendencies limit his home runs allowed.

[glassbridge]

This is the best trade that Atlanta could have made. Obviously Wickman is no Mariano Rivera by a long shot, but he is going to prove to be a solid 9th inning man. You gotta admit, this is an improvement and the chances of Atlanta blowing 20 more saves this half has greatly decreased. However, I think He's only here through the post season. What should the next move be? Atlanta needs a lead off hitter, or do you think Betemit will take Giles' job? Will Giles be dealt?

[RotoAuthority]

It's a given Wickman pitched in higher leverage situations, but my point is that a Meadows type bum could probably do as well as Wickman given the chance.

If Wick's groundball tendencies limit his HRs allowed, why was he worse than both Meadows and the league average for '04-05? Fact remains: Wickman is a run of the mill reliever who's gained a reputation because of the save.

[Sunny Reiser]

So who closes for Cleveland now? Are they actually going to give Fernando Cabrera a legitimate shot? Or will it be Fausto Carmona?

[mrmoderate13]

"Fact remains: Wickman is a run of the mill reliever who's gained a reputation because of the save."

I would agree with that premise. But the almost one and a half run difference in career ERA between Wickman and Meadows indicates that Meadows has been a significantly worse pitcher over the course of their careers.

[RotoAuthority]

I guess so, but as of right now the difference is negligible.

[A2000]

The Braves have their closer, now they should shop around for other bullpen spots and a leadoff man. I suggest Scott Proctor of the Yankees for the other bullpen spot because:

A. Hes has good stuff.

and

B. Hes an inning eater.

For leadoff I would like to see the Braves add David DeJesus since the Yankees were stupid and picked up Aaron Guiel whos career is rolling downhill now. Marcus Giles has publicly said he hates batting leadoff and could be a good 7 hole hitter I believe. Marcus has not been as good since the 2003 season because he has been plauged with injuries since '03. He is valuable in the field and I want my Braves to keep him.

[Yu Hsing Chen]

The Yankees would want a above average corner OF or a half decent back end rotation guy right now, since the Braves obviously don't have the later and not much of the former either, I doubt they can get Scott Proctor right now.

[glassbridge]

Looks like the Wickman deal is working out for the Bravo's right now. After that game last night with florida the braves in all likelyhood would have lost the game in the 9th without Wickman. There was no reason for braves fans to hold their collective breath. For some reason, I don't think Betemit is going anywhere, although the Braves need a set-up guy. There's no other back-up infielder as versitile as he on the bench. Betemit isn't going to be happy anyway backing up somebody in New York because he's already said he wants to start but is content just getting to play. He won't be a starter for a while in New York. I don't think the Braves will take the chance of dealing him anywhere because of how injury plagued Chipper and Marcus have been. So the Braves are just gonna have to stick it out with a makeshift bullpen from the 7th inning on. And that also means that the braves are stuck with giles at lead off... unless they want to swap him and renteria in the line up. I feel that giles is more comfortable in the 2 hole.

[Ryan]

This deal, as a Mets fan, makes me sick. The Indians just GAVE away a closer that still has value. Sure, we can talk about his relative value in the AL vs NL, and that he is falling off, but we all know that the Braves will make him look like a top-tier closer again. Regardless, what kills me is that the Braves gave up a Single A prospect at a position they are set at (catcher). Are you telling me that's all the Indians could scrape up for Wickman? Any number of teams in contention surely would've given them a better deal for a servicable guy like Wickman. I hate the Braves...they always seem to gain undervalued players and make them look great.

[glassbridge]

The Braves aren't going to make Wickman look great. He's just a guy that knows how to get the job done, and he, on the other hand, is making the Braves arguably better. I think 14 consecutive division titles pretty much proves Atlanta management knows how to improve it's team. Maybe they won't catch the mets in the division this year, but they now have a better shot at getting to the post season. They knew what they needed and the got the best closer available--key word "available". You can't ask for much more in return for wickman than what the indians got. Maybe they could have sent a pitcher, too, because the braves are always stacked on minor league pitching. But a deal's a deal's a deal. And the Braves got a quick fix for what they needed. And who knows, maybe wickman will be back with the braves in 07.