Let's Make A Deal: Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Double A catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is a rare player: a bona fide top prospect at the position.  The Braves might be able to maximize his value not by switching Salty or Brian McCann to first base, but by trading the minor leaguer.  Saltalamacchia is off to a hot start after a lost '06, and one team especially interested in acquiring a young catcher is the Tigers.

As a 22 year-old in Double A, Salty is at the perfect stage in his career as the Tigers would be able to exercise Pudge's 2008 option and have Saltalamacchia ready to take over in 2009.  So what do the Braves need?

So far Atlanta is getting on base well and hitting for power, and whatever regression Kelly Johnson experiences will be matched by Andruw Jones hitting his stride.  With a healthy Chipper Jones and an improved Jeff Francoeur, this team can hit.

John Schuerholz already went all-in to improve the bullpen, leaving starting pitching as the most glaring weakness.  It's looking good on the front end - two possible aces plus a solid third in Chuck James.  Still, giving 40% of the starts to Kyle Davies/Mark Redman/Lance Cormier is undesirable.

David O'Brien says there are no good pitchers on the trade market for Atlanta, but a month or two from now some opportunities will probably appear.  One nice fit could be Carlos Zambrano; Michael Barrett is a free agent after this season.  I'll discuss Rich Harden in another post, but the A's have Kurt Suzuki waiting in the wings. 

Back to the Tigers - I doubt Justin Verlander or Jeremy Bonderman can be had.  Could Nate Robertson plus a good prospect be enough to snag Salty?  The 29 year-old southpaw doesn't reach free agency until after 2009, and he's been a healthy 32 start guy.  Bring him over to the National League, and we could see the Ted Lilly/Bronson Arroyo/Kyle Lohse effect.

The White Sox have A.J. Pierzynski signed through 2008, which gels nicely with Saltalamacchia's ETA.  If Mark Buehrle has another solid month or two, the Braves might covet the lefty and his playoff experience.  Plus, an acquisition and possible extension could keep Buehrle away from the NL rival Cardinals.  Moving Salty to the Marlins for Dontrelle Willis could work as well.

Really, with a commodity like Saltalamacchia, one could devise many different scenarios where he's swapped for a frontline starter.   

Comments

[TheHall]

how about the Yankees? I would love to aquire this kid.. maybe give up bronson sardhina, clippard/ohlendorf and a low level minor leaguer?

[mraver]

I doubt Salty gets moved during the season, but this winter I think it's a real possibility. The Braves have a few starting options outside of Davies/Cormeir/Redman, particularly Villareal and Lerew. And Given the strength of the pen and the lineup, I don't think a WC is out of the question even if they have to rely on Davies and Cormeir for 150 innings (Redman, OTOH, is just awful).

Also, the Braves don't have a history of making blockbuster deals mid-season, and you'd have to figure dealing the hot-hitting Salty would qualify as something of a blockbuster. I think they're much more likely to wait until this winter, see where they are with Andruw Jones, and decide whether they need a CF or an SP more. This would jive more with their history of acquisitions like Drew and Hudson.

If anything gets done mid-season, look for Escobar to be dealt for a mid-level, soon-to-be-FA starter that'll get them to the playoffs but won't be outstanding.

[was385]

The Braves don't trade for prospects and we have better guys than Clipper Already. If the Braves trade Salty it will be for a major league starter or left fielder.

[mymrbig]

If they weren't in the same division, the Marlins might be a good fit. Dontrelle is getting expensive and he's not a true #1. Even if the Marlins were to drop out of the race, I can't imagine a trade of this magnitude between these teams.

If Houston continues to struggle, there is some possibility there. The big problem is that Houston doesn't have too much to offer in return. Houston has at least one prospect catcher (name is escaping me), but he's no Salty. Still, hard to find a good match here.

If the Brewers can't hang in the race this year, maybe they could look to move a starter for Salty (Capuano?). This would have the added benefit of opening a spot for one of their many talented prospect pitchers.

Really, lots of possibilities. The big question is whether Salty can stay behind the plate. I think the Braves should trade sooner rather then later, because if Salty needs to be moved to a corner IF or OF position, it will hurt his value. He's still young enough to grow a few inches, which would probably take him out of the realm of being viewed as a major league catcher.

[astrosfanfromNY]

The Astros would be a good fit for Salty, as they have no true catching prospects anywere near ready for bigs. Thier #1 draft pick last year, Max Sapp is in Low A ball and the next best option is Louis Santangelo at Corpus Christi.

[jea]

Why woould the Braves trade Saltalamacchia for Buehrle, who's a free agent at the end of the year? They probably don't have the budget for the huge salary he'll command. If they're going to trade Jarrod, there have to be better deals out there than that. He's far more valuable than a rental player.

[ZachAttack]

I would love to trade Salty fo Capuano.

[Yars]

The Braves need another starting pitcher. Mark Redman is awful. Don't be surprised if they release him by mid-May. The NL East is going to be very competitive this season & Atlanta knows this. Their back end of the rotation needs improvement. Hudson is solid, Smoltz is above average, Chuck James is good, but the #4 & #5 spots are pathetic. Kyle Davies has yet to prove he can win at the major league level, & Lance Cormier is mediocre, when healthy. The Braves need to hope Chipper stays healthy, & Andruw's bat warms up. They also need to address their LF situation. This experiment with Diaz/Langerhans platooning ain't cutting it. 1B is also a problem. Scott Thorman/Craig Wilson platoon is putting up pathetic numbers so far. I know the season is still early, but pretty soon, it won't be so Braves Nation can't keep using that as an excuse. In any case, I am happy with Kelly Johnson at 2B. He definitely has one of the best eyes in the game. If he puts up .280/20/60 with a OBP of around .400 with 100+ runs scored and solid defense, I will be one of the few that will not be shocked. In short, for Atlanta to stay in the thick of the NL East race with the Mets & Phillies, they need to pray that Chipper stays healthy, they do something about LF & 1B, & they look for another starting pitcher.

[xxxJamesxxx]

No way they trade him for less than a marquee minor leaguer at a position of need or an above average major leaguer who is at least 2 years from free agency.

[was385]

I don't think the Braves need to address first. Once Wilson is out of the platoon it will be fine.

[Vuchato]

I could see a deal with Tampa, they've expressed interest in the past. Atlanta's expressed interest in the past, and we probably need at least one more outfielder. I wouldn't feel comfortable with both Lillibridge and Jones(Brandon) starting.

[gatling]

I think Tampa is a likely spot for a Salty trade. The Braves will need a new CF for next year, and the Rays have a glut of OF's. Rocco Baldelli would look good in CF for the Braves, he's locked thru 2011 and for an affordable price, $25.5 million over the next 4 years. While this doesn't solve the Braves need for SP, they have almost $30 million coming free with Andruw, Smoltz, Wickman, and Wilson coming of the books. Could we see another Cubs pitcher heading south for big money this offseason? It's plausible, and probably the best move Atlanta could make pitching wise. If the Braves are going to spend $20 million a year on someone, I'd spend it on Zambrano instead of Andruw based on age and need. Matt Harrison should be up next year, so a rotation of Z, Hudson, Hampton, James, and Harrison would be very good, possibly the best in the NL.

[was385]

Smoltz just signed a contract extension today. 14m for '08, 200 inning vesting option for '09, and team option for '10. They will have around 18 mil coming off the books though.

[beeniez]

"Smoltz just signed a contract extension today. 14m for '08, 200 inning vesting option for '09, and team option for '10. They will have around 18 mil coming off the books though."

Yayyy! I'd cream my pants if Zambrano signed with the Braves. Smoltz, Hudson, Zambrano, James, and who the hell cares would be an amazing rotation. The Braves need one more good starter and they're set for at least a Wild Card spot.

[gtliles]

I know only pitchers are being tossed around here, but one name to consider is Curtis Granderson. The Tigers have a similar situation at CF as the Braves have at catcher (good young big leaguer in Granderson plus elite prospect in Cam Maybin). Furthermore, ATL has a hole opening up in center next season, while Detroit is in need of a catcher to replace Pudge.

[was385]

Why do people think Granderson is good? The guy hits for a fairly low average, OK power, not much speed, and struck out 175 times last season. He just is not that good and we could go inside our organization for someone better than Granderson (Lillibridge, Jones, etc.). Granderson is one of the most overrated players in baseball. The Braves could find better value for Salty.

[gtliles]

I would agree that Grandy's average is low, and he gets K'd a lot, but I'm skeptical that anyone in ATL's system is better than him. His first year in the bigs, he hit league average OBP and SLG, and his fielding is damn-near flawless. I'd anticipate a healthy jump up in most of his hitting rates if he moved to Turner and the NL.

[Torchy]

I just want to point out a few things. 1) The braves will not trade prospects to division rivals or the Yanks unless the return is ungodly. 2) Smoltz is likely the only one of the 4 mentioned above who will stay. That is assuming that both Wickman and Jones don't take major pay cuts to stay. 3) The braves may have quite a bit coming off the books, but they also will have hampton coming back (hopefully) making their rotation almost 1/2 of the team's payroll. I just can't see JS going out and plopping down another $20m on a #2 or #3 pitcher.

What this all comes down to is the braves looking for 2 outfield positions (CF and LF), a #4 or #5 starter, and perhaps a lefty specialist for the pen.

I'd predict Baldelli, Brandon Jones, Glavine (yea i said Glavine), and something no one expects.

[was385]

I don't, he does not fit in in Atlanta at all though. The Braves want someone consistent at the plate and that is not Granderson. Granderson is sufficiently average and over a K per game is not consistency. It would make more sense just to keep Salty and convert him to left because he is a better bat and move Gregor Blanco to center who can at least get on and put the ball in plat at the bottom of the lineup. Tigers fans severely overrate him. I would not want him on my team.

[was385]

I believe Glavine is under contract for two years with the Mets.

[gatling]

"

I believe Glavine is under contract for two years with the Mets.

Posted by: was385 | April 26, 2007 at 09:12 PM"

Nope, Glavine has a player option for next year at $9 million. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him come back to Atlanta to finish up his career.

[bravesbeast]

It is very simple, the Braves are going to let Salty have the chance to earn back his stud prospect status, and then they are going to use him as trading chip to get a good young player at a position of need. That would be an outfielder, a starting picther, or a first baseman. Baldelli is definantly the most frequent reference, as that trade would make the most sense. If the astros want salty, what will they give us in return. Pence is what we would want, but he has a better value than salty. And nieve or rodriguez is too little compensation. as a result, I think we should definitly use him as trade bait, and if no great offer comes, move him to first and build around him, mccann, and francouer for the future.

[bravesbeast]

and just for the hell of it, salty for andrew miller

[bravesbeast]

and just for the hell of it, salty for andrew miller

[Baseballfan79]

I think the fish can get more then that for Willis, alot more if they were to move him.

Plus I cant see them moving a 25 year old starter, best lefty in the NL, to a team in their division. Specially when their stadium bill just passed the florida House legislature.

But Salty is a nice prospect and I think he will become a heck of a player.

[was385]

Willis is a pretty overrated player I think. He had one great year and the funky leg-kick makes him recognizeable but he is more of a number 2 starter.

No, Willis isn't even the best lefty in his division. Cole Hamels beats Willis.

[thenockmlb]

I really hope you aren't insisting a Zambrano for Saltalamacchica trade.

[thenockmlb]

How about Salty for Jacq... never mind.