Needs and Luxuries: Atlanta Braves

If the Braves want a 1 year stopgap, they can probably have Mark Kotsay for free.

id like to see dejesus on the braves. i miss those rumors.

I like dejesus a lot. would love to see him throw into the NL East battlefield.

Nope, I'm a Giants fan trying to pawn off a bad salary!

:)

Well that explains that! You keep your bad salaries -- throw in Lowry & maybe we'll consider it.

What ever happened to the Dejesus rumors?

With all the starters competing for a job my suggestion is a trade for Joe Blanton.
We can offer what really no other team can offer. MLB ready talent.
an offer of Brent Lillibridge, Brandon jones, Joey Devine should do it. The A's would love this trade because Lilli takes over for Crosby, Devine a young closer that makes Street expendable. Brandon jones also happens to be a 5 tool player.

With Joe Blanton on the Braves we have NL EAST champs written all over us.

I am not too concerned with the Braves offense, so I really don't see CF as a big need. I would not mind seeing Wren move a guy like Reyes in a package for a Blanton. The Braves have so many outfield prospects and SS prospect Lillibridge. It really wouldn't be emptying the farm to move any package with 3 of them for a frontline starter to keep the rotation in order for the next few years.
Furthermore, most of the team is pretty young. It is a team that I would imagine growing together, and ready to win for the next five years.

Andy Braves Fan, you nailed it! We have OF prospects all over the place and not all of them are going to be able to play for the Braves, and lillibridge is totally blocked at the ML level. Why not trade some prospects who are going to be stuck in the minors for front line SP.

Im a little hesitant to trade Lillibridge. If KJ and Escobar go down at the same time, we got Infante and who to fill in? If we cant get a #1 type starter then I say we go to battle with what we got. I really believe we have a team right now that can win and go deep in the playoffs.

Seems a little bit light on the pitching side (sorry, but Glavine's run in the NL east last year is the real him right now). I think adding more depth to the starting pitching, while keeping the current offense in tact would be a wise move. The Braves are serious contenders.

I'm really not too concerned about the starting pitching. Smoltz and Hudson were great last year, and they'll be better with more run support. Glavine, while not quite his old Cy Young self, can still throw 40 more innings than Chuck James, last year's #3. With Chuck pushed back to the #4 slot, there will be less pressure on him and I think he'll improve. The #5 slot has plenty of competition between a lot of good young guys with potential, plus a slim chance for a bigtime payoff if Mike Hampton can actually pitch. Another starter is not what we need.

Lillibridge is probably still around as protection in case Tex leaves after this season. Stick Lillibridge and Escobar at SS and 3rd, and move Chipper to 1st where his aches and pains won't impact him as much.

I like having a ML-ready minor leaguer who can be called up to fill in in case of an injury anyway. Look how it worked out with Escobar.

Paging Dr. Saltalamacchia!

The Juice - please elaborate on what "Glavine's run in the NL east last year is the real him right now" means. I think the season that he had last year is terrific as a #3 starter. The case has already been made a million times about his last outing and how it bumped up his ERA by 0.30, but even the quickest glance at his game log last year and you'll see that his two worst games of the season after that we're against NYY and DET.

glavine was quite solid for us last year. i was pleased with his season altho many mets fans hated him.

he did a good job given what i expected of him. not everyone can be johan. for his salary, he did a fine job.

I would rather have corey Patterson than Mike Cameron. Patterson probably is a better candidate for a one year make good contract, so we would not have to commit to him for two years. He has more range than cameron, and plays oustanding d all around. Obviously, he is not a good hitter, but if we did plug im in the 8th spot, he could create some havoc because he still has 30 steal potential. I think that he would be a fine low risk move, a type of move that the braves could do without giving up too much(4-5 million) or commiting for too long (Cameron for two years really does not help us out since Schafer has a very good chance to be ready as our starting CF in 2009.)

And I would try Jones and Lillibridge for Blanton, and would throw one of our younger arms in the mix, not devine. And by younger arms I mean some one other tha Rohsborough or Locke.

I'd say that at the MOST Reed Johnson is a .280 hitter with a .350 OBP. Looking at his range factor, he's below average, and back surgery isn't something you just sort of walk off.

As cool as it would be to go out and get a 'solid' CF like Cameron, I dont see it being worth it. Mets fans talk about how miserable it was to watch him, I just watched him during b's games & he put me to sleep. Talking about giving up more system grown players for another lefty is nonsense too. What would be the huge deal going in to spring training with jones, diaz, jeffrey; with anderson and lilliWHO competing for the forth spot. Giving up devine, jones and others for blanton. that's not a good move.

The Braves will sign Patterson. He will take a one year deal with a club option, if that is even needed, and he is from Georgia. He is very cheap and could have a solid year in ATL...seems like the perfect fit for me, because they only need him to hit 8th...so there isn't a ton of pressure to perform offensively. He covers a ton of ground too...he is a plus OF, even in CF.

I also think that Patterson is a good fit. But I don't know if he will take a 1 year deal. But if no one is giving him much of a listen it might be good for him to rebuild his value in the NL.

BraveSluggas: Thank you for finally saying that Hampton shouldn't get a slot. I'm so sick and tired of hearing about him and he's been nothing but a bust for the Braves. It's time we stopped relying on him and call the deal a bust!

Speaking of spots in the rotation, I thought Buddy Carlyle was picking up steam towards the end of the season. I'd certainly put him in my rotation...

I would love Balldelli but most likely it will be cameron which is still okay. I think a package of Brandon jones and Prado could get baldelli. I suggest the braves take the risk and just go for it this year. They are all set and Baldelli wold just cap it off to make them the definitive favorite in the east.

Sometimes some of you make no sense. Why would we trade our 5-Tool OF of the future for an older, injury prone, lower upside version of the same?

There's nothing to really even debate here, this team is set, guarantee it. The only thing that might happen is a trade of relievers for prospects. For instance, Blaine Boyer and Tyler Yates are both out of options. Clearly they don't both belong in our MLB bullpen, as they would block younger and better pitchers. I have a feeling we see Boyer traded or released, unfortunately. I would like to see the Braves hang onto Yates and use him in less clutch situations to try and rebuild his value; he does have lights out stuff after all. But, we simply don't have room for him. With the trade for Ohman, we're going to open the season with Ring as the primary lefty, and Ohman as the lefty specialist (Ohman's splits againse left-handers are absolutely stunning. He hasn't allowed a run off the bat of a lefty in the last 3 years, and consistently holds them to averages under or around .200). Soriano, Moylan, and Acosta are also locks. I think it would be foolish of the Braves to deny Devine a spot in the pen at this point, and so that leaves only 1 spot for our 3 guys without options: Bennett, Yates, and Boyer. Frankly, I think Bennett gets that spot. Yates and Boyer will be traded I fear ... I'm guessing to the Reds, and I don't know why. I just see it happening for some reason.

I don't see the Braves going out and acquiring another CF at this point. Talks have died down, and we've seen so far that Frank Wren is usually pretty open about his plans and what he wants to see happen. It's been over 1 or 2 months since we've last heard him say he's still looking for a more experienced CF option, I have a feeling we're set. And that's fine with me, I'm under the impression that the Braves have the following contingency plan, in this order:

1. Take a good look at Lillibridge, Schafer, Anderson, Blanco, and even B. Jones in CF some this spring training, just to get a feel for where everyone is at.

2. Anderson will win the job out of CF as the semi-regular CF, and be expected to bat 8th. Schafer will be sent down to AA with the hopes that he will have a tremendous first-half (much like Yunel Escobar had a tremendous first half in AAA last year), and if so, he will be called up and will start seeing semi-regular playing time in CF, unless Anderson surprises people and plays so well that he actually blocks Schafer for 2008.

3. Should Schafer struggle (hey, even Salty struggled in AA his first year because he put so much pressure on himself knowing how close he was to the majors), the Braves will leave him in AA to keep maturing, and possibly call up Lillibridge to begin platooning in CF, or playing everyday if Anderson can't hold his own.

4. Speaking of Lillibridge, he will begin the season in AAA ... I'm unsure about how the Braves will play him. If they're trying to build up his value for a potential trade, I think he stays at SS. If the Braves are unimpressed with Schafer and Anderson in ST and feel they might need Lillibridge in CF at some point, I can see Lillibridge getting playing time at both SS and CF.

As for the rotation, it's essentially set. The Braves will give Mike Hampton every chance to crack the rotation. Obviously, they won't just hand him a spot. He'll have to come back healthy and actually earn some innings in ST. Assuming that happen, he'll be in our rotation as the 4th starter.

With Boyer either traded or released, I expect the Braves to hang on to Bennett as our long-man, with the potential to move him into the rotation if others struggle or fall with injuries. He's out of options, and I think a lot of people are very high on him. But clearly with our other pitching acquisitions, nobody wants to rely on him as a definite lock for the rotation just yet. The Villarreal trade all but sealed his position in our pen. I expect it to look as follows:

CL Soriano
SU Moylan
MR Acosta
MR Ring (primary lefty)
MR Devine
MR Ohman (lefty specialist)
LR Bennett

So with Smoltz, Hudson, Glavine, and Hampton locking up rotation spots, and Bennett in the pen, the Braves need to choose between James, Reyes, and Jurrjens for the 5th spot. There are a lot of positives and negatives to debate here. For Reyes, he has great stuff and finished 2007 well, but he also showed he lacks polished command. I think a start in AAA would be good for him. Jurrjens has stuff that is comparable ... maybe even better than Reyes, and he also has much better command of that stuff. However, he completely skipped AAA last year, and ended 2007 on a couple of rough starts, after a very good stretch before that. I could see him either locking up the 5th spot, or going to AAA. And then there's James. The only negative here is I'd hate to see 3 soft-tossing lefties in a row with Glavine, Hampton, and James. However, I can't see the Braves sending James down to the minors at this point. There's no guarantee Reyes or Jurrjens would do better than James (after all, we only have their minor league numbers to compare really, and James blows them out of the water, not to mention he's got 2 years MLB experience).

My gut feeling though? Hampton can't pull it together, and opens the year on the DL. This shifts James into the #4 spot, and Jurrjens locks up the 5th spot because he's more MLB ready at this point than Reyes. In 2009, Glavine leaves and Reyes takes his place in the rotation, unless Reyes busts (ala Anthony Lerew), in which case Bennett moves up the ladder, unless other young guns like Tommy Hanson are knocking on the door by 2009.

The lineup will feature Escobar leading off, and Johnson batting second. Johnson's great patience/power combination will be better suited in the 2 hole, where he can allow the speedier Escobar to steal if he chooses, as well as drive in more runs with his 20 HR potential when there are men on base, as opposed to there being none when he's the leadoff man.

1. SS Escobar
2. 2B Johnson
3. 3B C. Jones
4. 1B Teixeira
5. RF Francoeur (vs. LHP, McCann vs. RHP)
6. C_ McCann (vs. LHP, Francoeur vs. RHP)
7. LF Diaz (Jones occasional PT, but Diaz gets a shot to be an everyday player)
8. CF Anderson

Oh yes, and I expect Diaz to finally start getting more playing time. His defense was actually pretty darn good last year, and he just hits everything. It's a crime he's been in a platoon with lesser players the last 2 years. I don't expect him to start 160 games, because I know I would like to see Brandon Jones as well, and I'm sure the FO feels the same way. But I don't think it will be a strict platoon either. I expect about 120 - 140 starts from Diaz next year though.

You see...that last comment is why I was happy to see Tommy come back to us. Even if he's simply a .500 pitcher with a 4.50 ERA at this point Chuck can learn off of him -- which many people have compared the two. It doesn't look like we're going to be getting rid of Chuck so let's go ahead & make him a better pitcher.

If Hampton's healthy he'll be in the rotation. You can't imagine we're going to be paying a guy starter's salary to be a bullpen arm.

ColoradoBravesFan,

I'd double check one more time. Here's where I got mine:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?statsId=6612&type=pitching3&three=1

Will Ohman vs. Lefties (2005 - 2007)

AB.....AVG.....SO.....OBP.....SLG.....OPS.....R
254....185......88......289......315.....604......0

Yeah you're totally right. I can't believe I didn't notice this before, but my ESPN source claims Ohman hasn't allowed a run to lefties in 3 years, however he's given up 8 HR's to lefties in the last 3 years ... how does that work?? Haha, ESPN. Either way, assuming the other stats are right, I like his .185 average against lefties.