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Braves Interested In Juan Rivera?
Juan Rivera is in a tough place - he doesn't have an opportunity to prove he can be a healthy and effective outfielder despite heading into his contract year. He's been very respectful to the Angels about his situation though. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times recently speculated that Rivera would have a starting role on teams like the Braves, Mets, or Giants. Rivera's best year was '06, when he hit .310/.362/.525 in 124 games. But then Rivera broke his leg in winter ball in December of that year and it's been a long time coming back. Ken Rosenthal suggested Sunday that Reggie Willits was not available but the Angels want to trade Rivera.
Yesterday evening, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the following regarding Rivera:
After talking to a couple of people today, I think there’s something to the Juan Rivera thing. I believe the Braves do have interest, just not sure if there’s a match….
Rivera would be a nice addition for Atlanta, though Matt Diaz deserves his shot in left field. But Rivera could also push out Scott Thorman and serve as Mark Teixeira's backup.
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The Angels don't have a need for Rivera and won't resign him when he becomes a FA. It would be in their best interest to deal him now and get something back for him, even if it is a low level prospect or two.
Posted by: UConnHuskies | March 11, 2008 at 09:12 AM
Would Rivera start over Church? Obviously he'd fill in for Alou when he inevitably gets hurt and is out for 50 games, but I don't think he'd start in a healthy Mets OF.
Posted by: stellar | March 11, 2008 at 09:33 AM
Don't really get where he starts for the Braves, but they might have use for him as a bench guy. OTOH, they won't be willing to give up much besides out-of-options filler, and I imagine the money would be an issue, too, if he's making more than a few million.
Posted by: mraver | March 11, 2008 at 09:37 AM
I'm not really sure I understand why the Braves would want the guy. They have a 4th (and 5th, when infante gets back) outfielder, and they have a backup 1B. Would they just be trading for versatility so they could carry another pitcher or something?
Posted by: FineHamAbounds | March 11, 2008 at 09:48 AM
I think the idea is that Rivera is far better than Infante and probably better than Diaz.
Posted by: Tim Dierkes | March 11, 2008 at 10:03 AM
I honestly don't believe this rumor. I mean, sure Diaz is hit or miss, but you are talking about a guy who should at least hit .300 with 15-25 home runs with 500 ab's. I see no room on the Bravos for a guy like Rivera who has not played in a year with 1 year/$2.025M for a contract. I don't know where DOB is getting this, but I sure don't see it while the Braves are trying to budget signing Texeira.
Posted by: Andy Braves Fan | March 11, 2008 at 10:36 AM
"I think the idea is that Rivera is far better than Infante and probably better than Diaz."
Far better than Infante, yes, but I don't think he's better than Diaz. At best, he's just as good as him, but Diaz has proven himself to be a high-BA hitter without injury issues. And with Josh Anderson looking good in ST and probably landing the 4th OF job, and I don't see why we'd need a guy who'd almost never get into games as a 5th OF. Infante can play all over the IF and OF, and even if he's not as good as Rivera, he's not going to see much action outside of pinch-hitting and late-game substitutions. Why bother?
Posted by: FineHamAbounds | March 11, 2008 at 11:08 AM
I think the concern is that Infante could be out until May and the Braves may not want to keep Thor as their backup 1B/LF. The Braves have apparently soured on Brayan Pena, who sounds like a Scoscia kinda player -- plays several positions, not much power, high BA, never strikes out or walks.
The Braves have a few other out-of-options guys, one or more of whom might interest the Angels -- there's also Jeff Bennett who has options and could be a swing man.
I'm not sure I see the match either, but it's not a nutty idea.
Posted by: ink-stained scribe | March 11, 2008 at 11:23 AM
I agree it is not a nutty idea, and I would love to have rivera in the fold. Go back and look at what he did in 06. He could be an option as our fourth outfielder so that anderson and Jones could get more seasoning in the minors, and he could even be a platoon for kotsay in center. I do not think he would be the utility guy that infante is because i am not sure rivera could play all the other infield positions besides first, but i am sure we would carry lillibridge or prade until infante returns. I like the deal, and as far as a deal goes, i do agree that a match is tough to find.
Posted by: bravesbeast | March 11, 2008 at 12:31 PM
..and then look what he did at every other level his entire career. 2006 just screams 'career year' to me.
Posted by: wcw | March 11, 2008 at 01:07 PM
In 06 he wasn't a 4th outfielder. Those numbers would have started in ANY major league outfield. He had an All-Star season.
The guy is good. Prior to his injury he was having issues getting playing time. Last year was the fluke broken leg. Someone is really going to score when they trade for him.
What the Angels don't need is probably worth discussing:
1. Outfielders
2. Backup infielders (already have Izturis/Aybar/Quinlan/Wood/Figgins for SS and 3B)
3. First baseman/DH
4. ML Starting pitching
At the ML level Rivera could return a very nice reliever. Can always use depth in the bullpen.
More importantly I would rather the Angels trade for minor league prospects. Rivera won't bring in enough to impact the ML team. However, he could be very useful for helping the team down the road.
Posted by: bjsguess | March 11, 2008 at 01:07 PM
Tim, do you really think Rivera...a Rivera who has missed an entire season...is better than Diaz? I won't disagree that Rivera's best year(coming in his 27 year old season) looks better but if you look at their career numbers, they're pretty comparable with Diaz enjoying a sizeable BA advantage. And one can't overlook the effects of a year off.
Posted by: Devlsh | March 11, 2008 at 03:32 PM
Rivera finally got a chance to play at 25 in Montreal. His first full year in the bigs he posted 307/364/465 line. That isn't bad.
Then he gets traded to the Angels who play him sparingly the next year. He hits 270 and projects out to 25 HR's (if he was a full-time player).
Then the next year comes and he puts up very nice numbers with an OPS close to 900.
In the off-season he breaks his leg in Winterball. Now he is back healthy and fully rehabbed. At age 28 there is no reason to think that what happened two years ago was a fluke. He was following a natural progression as a hitter PLUS he finally had the chance to play consistently.
I would bet on Rivera hitting 290 with 25HR's as a minimum if he gets the chance to start every day. That's Jose Guillen numbers at a fraction of the monetary cost or headaches.
Posted by: bjsguess | March 11, 2008 at 03:41 PM
I concur with those that say that Rivera is an excellent ballplayer. Regretably he broke his leg just when he was to break-in as a regular. It really makes me wonder why the Angels signed Torii Hunter to that huge contract, that made no sense.
Maybe the Braves are looking for further down the road... as in next year. I doubt that they will be able to re-sign Mark Texeira (Boras client) and Scott Thorman certainly does not seem like the answer at first base.
Posted by: HoratioAlgae | March 11, 2008 at 11:08 PM