Braves To Acquire Javier Vazquez

ATTN: Towers.

WAKE UP! Braves are over your boy Peavy. stop playing hard to get if you really want to move him.

You can only discuss Javier Vazquez seriously, he is no joke.

He isn't very good either.

"With Ramirez and Beckham do they need another young middle infielder guy?"

Ramirez is overrated, as he doesn't take walks. I haven't checked the numbers, but I don't think his defense is all that well regarded in the infield.

As for Beckham, when did people suddenly start believing that every 1st round draft pick will become a major league regular? Beckham could crash and burn, just like any other prospect. You can never have too many young, cheap, up-the-middle players.

Yeah, his numbers don't impress but they would almost surely improve moving to the NL, and Jo Jo Reyes and Lillebridge are glorified AAAA players, if there are no serious prospects, I'm all for it

This report is very limited in revealing what Atlanta is willing to give up, but if it's just Lillibridge, Reyes, and a prospect of similar caliber; pull the trigger. This would make no sense for the White Sox though.

hmmm, seems to me like kenny is gathering prospects.... but for what?

If the two key pieces of the deal are Lillibridge and Reyes, then the White Sox are really screwing up.

You're telling me that first they dealt Nick Swisher for nothing, and now they're going to deal Vazquez for a little?

We're talking about a hitter who last winter landed three top prospects, and a guy who was considered a solid #2-3 starter coming into 2008.

It's not like Vazquez is seriously overpaid or anything.

The guy had a 127 ERA+ in 2007, and still struck out 200 batters in 2008. And he's pitched at least 198 innings for the past nine seasons.

I'm sorry but if the White Sox deal Vazquez and Swisher for Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez, Jhonny Nunez, Brent Lillibridge, Jo-Jo Reyes and a low level prospect, then Kenny Williams' competence should be seriously questioned.

And this is all coming from someone who considered Williams to be a creative and pretty good GM.

I'm just confused.

seems to me like jermaine will find his way in this deal

Williams traded for Danks, Floyd, and Quentin so I'm not convinced he is a bad GM, but this does NOT make sense for his club unless they're trying to get their payroll down to the Diamondbacks level.

If the Sox need a cf/lead off hitter maybe they are interested in Blanco or Josh Anderson?

Ramirez is overrated, as he doesn't take walks. I haven't checked the numbers, but I don't think his defense is all that well regarded in the infield.

I didnt realize hitting .290 with 21 hr and 77 RBI's as a rookie with no minor league experience was overrated. BTW he was at a position he never had played at 2B. myrbig, know your facts before you say dumb sh*t like that.

sniff, sniff.

Oh i smell a salary dump. Really Lillibridge and Jo Jo Reyes?

Kenny Williams fleeces us for Floyd and Gonzalez but gets this from the braves?

I want an inquiry!!

As much as some people think Vazquez is bad, fact is he's pitching a lot of valuable innings that won't be easy to replace, especially with young guys like Danks and Floyd probably pitching career highs last season. And not to mention the peripherals are always there, so he's a good candidate to turn it around. The Sox would be foolish to dump him.

I'm just about as big of a Gordon Beckham fan as you'll find, but I'd be amazed if he was ready for the bigs at any point this season. I think some time during 2010 is certainly possible, but even that is certainly not guaranteed.

If the Braves are taking on the whole contract, this is about the return the White Sox should probably expect. 3 borderline prospects and the 20+ million in savings certainly seems like a pretty good return.

Trading Javy is pretty much addition by subtraction as bad as he pitched down the stretch. The guy CAN NOT pitch in the clutch, and has never pitched well on a winning team in general. His best days were with the Expos. Too bad they are gone.

jo-jo reyes was once atlantas no 1 prospect kinda like gavin floyd, danks, quentin. if everyone hasnt figured out that kenny williams goes for these SPECIFIC guys, then there is no hope for you. Also, when the sox signed dye, it was after a injury plagued season in oakland, he aquired jose contreras for ESTABAN LOAIZA (bad spelling i know) and that was when jose had a 5.00 era and afterwards led us to a world series win, he resigned fan favorite mark beuhrle, signed sparkplug AJ Piersynki to uplift the team and without him we would not have won anything, Folks, Kenny has earned our trust and I say we let him do whatever he sees fit

I have a feeling Dye will be squeezed in the deal too. Vasquez is a good #3 or #4 for us, but he eats innings, which is to me, way underrated! Beleive me, if we get to the playoffs in '09, we better have that bullpen as fresh as possible...remember the playoffs, Braves fans?

"I have a feeling Dye will be squeezed in the deal too. Vasquez is a good #3 or #4 for us, but he eats innings, which is to me, way underrated! Beleive me, if we get to the playoffs in '09, we better have that bullpen as fresh as possible...remember the playoffs, Braves fans?"

Are the Braves really willing to take on 25+M of salary?

I should qualify a little. I think Ramirez is plenty solid and has lots of promise in the future. But his 2008 performance is overrated. 21 HR and .290 AVG is great. But .317 OBP is horrible. His SLG helps balance out the OBP and probably makes him an average player at 2nd. Saying he is average in his first season in the majors isn't a knock on him, in fact it is remarkable he performed that well given his limited experience against elite competition. But I think a lot of casual fans overvalue his 21 HR and .290 AVG and think he was more valuable than he actually was.

Lillibridge has potential? To do what, bat .200 with absolutely no power?

Don't go fooling yourself. The Braves are desperate for SP and he's an option. They take on all the contract and the White Sox dump salary. That's all it is. And I realize Kenny Williams has made some shrewd moves but Jo Jo Reyes, there's no way he fixes him, IMO.

Terrible move for the Braves!!

1)Compare his stats with Jair Jurrjens. Vazquez is nowhere close to Jurrjens.

2)Realize that he is a 4th or 5th starter at best. So this doesn't contribute a thing to the goal of getting a 1 and 2 starter.

3)Understand that the Braves would be giving roughly 10% of their salary to a 4th or 5th starter. I never saw that on Wrens checklist for the offseason.

Beckham is not THAT far away. he's beign fast tracked and has shown that he's handled every level with fairly good success. Sure he might not be there till 2010, but why block him with a guy like Lillibrige? Why woudl the Sox want to create a situation like the Braves have?

And i would hardly call Williams trading for prospects as "stock piling." The way the Sox minor leagues look right now i think it should be considered, "replinishing."

Dang ...

No more chokes in the AL Central.

Vazquez is a nice fit for Los Bravos ... They still don't have a clear #1 option though

Jeff - what stats are you using to compare Vazquez and Jurrjens, exactly? Because the stats I'm looking at tell me that he allows fewer base runners per inning and strikes out more batters than Jurrjens did -- in a tougher league, no less. Not to mention he has a proven track record of pitching 200+ innings every year. He's not a #1, but to say he is a back of the rotation guy, especially in the NL, is asinine.

i love the word Asinine.

in the NL he could be a good #2 pitcher...i guess there trying to kill us for Dye otherwise he'd def be in the deal.

where?

@shamrock i meant.

Good bye "JAVYYY"

and for the record being, someone said Ramirez is overrated..... do you follow baseball?

For the Beckham bashers:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081124&content_id=3690319&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

He outproduced almost every top draft pick in the AFL. He will be up by 2010 and may be up halfway through 2009

The White Sox will receive as many three players in return. Infielder Brent Lillibridge is expected to be in the deal, and the White Sox also are targeting a young starting pitcher. Left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes, who was among the pitchers under discussion, is not in the trade, a source said.

A baseball source told ESPN's Peter Gammons that the deal will include four other players, including reliever Boone Logan, who would also go from the White Sox to the Braves.

Among the players expected to go from Atlanta to the Chicago organization are Jo-Jo Reyes, Brett Lillibridge and another top prospect.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3740201

My hope is that the 'another' from "another top prospect" implies someone at the same level as Lilli/Reyes. Good move if so, Braves.

Adios Jomerun Javy!

"Escobar was one of the central peices in the proposed Padres deal. If Lillibridge goes to the Sox, do the Braves have another SS option besides Escobar? If not, does a Lillibridge deal mean no dice with Peavy? "

Posted by: jrfukudome | December 02, 2008 at 05:26 PM

No because Wren already has made it clear that if escobar was traded, he would look on the open market (via trade or free agency) for a replacement.

"ESPN Sportscenter just said Gammons said it was a 5 player deal. Wonder who all is included??"

Posted by: jlowrance | December 02, 2008 at 05:27 PM

I have a feeling Dye is being included in the deal and if so, I think one of Schafer or Hernandez will also be in the deal.

A Message to ALL:

This trade would simply be to free up some money in order to make a big splash in the Free Agent Market. Also, Reyes would be another young pitcher, giving the Sox MULTIPLE trading chips. A combonation of Richard, Broadway, Poreda, Reyes, Marquez and Nunez along with prospects maybe Getz, Fields, Anderson or Owens could possibly land a player that easily replaces Vazquez or gives the Sox their CF/ leadoff hitter.

5 players? Wonder what Wren did now...

You don't have those guys Brian.

Not yet anyways.

Braves easily still have the goods to pull of a Peavy trade. Lillibridge is of no use to the Padres if they got Escobar. It just removes the option of Morton/Reyes and leaves them to settle for Morton. This is assuming the Braves are still willing to part with 4 prospects. This shows Towers that we don't necessarily need him.

"San Diego Apartments, how Can I help you?"

"Yeah, this is Jake Peavy, aparment #314. Looks like I need to come in and sign that year extension after all."

...

Way to blow this one Padres.

"Boone Logan: Makes a cheap wine like malt liquor enjoyed by high school students across the country"

The latest from Rosenthal:

"The White Sox will receive as many three players in return and also could part with left-handed reliever Boone Logan. Infielder Brent Lillibridge is expected to be in the deal along with a young starting pitcher and possibly Class A catcher Tyler Flowers. Left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes was among the pitchers under discussion, but is not in the trade, sources said."

soufside4life

hahaha i know, thank god he's gone =)
that makes me smitten

that's the only bullpen pitcher that was complete sh*t in the '08 season

Jerry Reinsdorf dumping more salary as his notorious frugality continues. I'm sure the economy has him in a panic and looking to cut costs anyway he can.

Even though, probably a good move as Swisher and Vazquez were not pulling their salary weight. If the Sox are able to acquire Baily for Dye they would have a young and talented starting rotation and for the most part on the cheap.

Wow if Wren traded Flowers for this pile of crap I will not renew my season tickets.

I think the White Sox included Lilli in the deal because he can play center. He hasn't played there recently, but does experience playing center back in college. I also hope this "top prospect" being tossed around isn't of any significance.

Okay.

If the deal is Vazquez and Boone for Lillibridge, Flowers and say, Charlie Morton, then that is actually a fair deal for the White Sox. I had been thinking that they needed a plan for catcher when Pierzynski left, and if Flowers can't stay behind the plate he's still a solid hitting prospect regardless.

good, i'm sick and tired of reading how flowers is one of the top three catching prospects in baseball.

That's all the assurance I need. Jake Peavy won't be traded unless he expands his list of teams he would accept a trade to.

Well nevermind apparently Jo Jo is still a Bravo