Atlanta's Offseason Needs

Could the Dodgers look to Vazquez if he is available? Obviously Lowe would be out of the question, but what about Vasquez, the Dodgers could use him and the Braves could trade him????

I think Wren first looks to trade Lowe's contract. That money would then be used to get a RH power bat.

If he's unable to do so, I think he resorts to trading Vazquez. Something like Derrek Lee or Adam Dunn (I know he's not RH, but I would take his 40 HR). Both will be in the last year of their respective deals and the money is comparable to Javy.

As for the closer, I would resign Gonzo. Prior to his injury, he was a dominate closer. The question is, can he get back to that form?

I think that the plan with Atlanta needs to be pretty simple from here, they're in a good position.

They have an abundance of quality starting pitching, so they should really look to shed some payroll from there, ideally by trading Derek Lowe.

They really need to add an outfielder and/or a first baseman for the middle of the order that's on a short-term deal, presumably they would prefer to give a long-term deal to a first baseman, with an eye on having a McLouth/Schafer/Heyward outfield.

They also need to add a closer, they have some good relievers, specifically Peter Moylan, Kris Medlen, and Eric O'Flaherty.

Medlen could likely make for a solid closer if necessary, but maybe they should offer Gonzalez and/or Soriano arbitration, because having one of them back on a one-year deal wouldn't really be a bad thing, they're both great relievers.

Please trade for Matt Capps. I don't care what the Pirates get, just as long as that bum is out of town.

Agreed Ian. If Wren tries to trade for Capps my huge support for him will fly right out of the window. Capps is awful. The guy has ONE pitch.

As for all the other stuff, I think this is like the 5th different post on what the Braves should do. I'm so tired of it, ready to get to the action already. Hot Stove Season > World Series.

The Braves should try to resign Gonzo to a 2-3 year deal. Offer LaRoche the same. If they accept good, if not, you get 3 draft picks right?
After Lackey and any other pitchers are signed, you try and trade Lowe and if all else fails your trade Javier.

"Please trade for Matt Capps. I don't care what the Pirates get, just as long as that bum is out of town."

Actually, Capps was pretty similar in 2009 to what he was in 2007 and 2008, according to xFIP.

FIP 2007-2009: 3.16, 3.28, 4.90

xFIP 2007-2009: 4.04, 4.24, 4.33

He had some nasty luck on mistakes outside of the strike zone this year though.

Dominate: verb
Dominant: adjective

Sign Dye and Abreu. Use Lowe as a closer?

"Use Lowe as a closer?"

You figure out a way to dump Lowe, and otherwise you dump Kawakami or Vazquez.

I'm sorry, but you don't take a starter that you owe $45M over the next three seasons and convert him to the bullpen.

First Parrothead, THE DUDES NAME IS AUBREY HUFF not Hill, thats the third post I've seen you mess up. I think the braves need to offer arb to Gonzo, LaRoche, and Soriano. I can't imagine both Gonzo and Sori accepting, and if they did would it be so bad??

Ben I've got no clue why you and Tim keep harping on keeping the depth, we have 3 aces (4 when Hudson signs, and 5 if Lowe returns to form) if the other 2 spots where crap we'd have pleny of depth, but they aren't going to be because we have Kawakami and Medlen. If we trade one pitcher we still have one replacement, and if 2 go down we have stop gaps like Redmond, Reynoso, Cofield, and Diamond who all pitched well last year, and if we had to we could use Reyes for a couple starts while someone healed. The issue is that lineup, we need Cameron and LaRoche, that would give us an improvement offensively and defensively. Then you trade a few prospects to fill out that bullpen. I don't care if its Kawakami or Lowe, but you guys are silly to keep suggesting they should retain 6 above average starters.

Dominate: verb
Dominant: adjective

Posted by: SunKing1056 | November 03, 2009 at 09:58 AM
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LOL!! For the life of me, I can't figure out why people get these two words mixed up.

There is no way I would trade Vazquez. He is paid less than Lowe, is younger and is a decent pitcher. He always eats innings and gives you a shot to win. Plus Lowe is coming off his worst season since 2004, but would likely be more attractive trade bait

Posted by: Aaron Koontz | November 03, 2009 at 10:28 AM
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Your reasoning is kind of backwards. The reasons you mentioned are why Vazquez would get more via trade than Lowe. A playoff contender would be more likely to give up a lot more for a strikeout pitcher signed to an inexpensive 1 year contract than they would a guy like Lowe who is owed 45 million.

If the Braves trade Lowe it will be a strict salary dump. They won't get anything in return except salary relief. Trading Vazquez could actually get them a middle of the order bat.

I know the contracts are a big difference, but I do actually think making a good trade for Vazquez would be as hard as making one for Lowe. Vazquez's NTC really complicates trading him, we can't trade him to anyone in the west and he doesn't have the same appeal to AL teams as he does to NL clubs. So if we don't want to face him 3-4 times a year, that leaves Houston (broke), Saint Louis (doesn't need pitching), Chi Cubs (doesn't need pitching), Pittsburgh (rebuilding),Cincinati (trying to get rid of expensive veterans), that leaves Milwaukee as the only truly logical suitor, and thats not a good way to bargain. I can only think of maybe Baltimore, Toronto, and the Mets as other teams that would have any interest. Lowes contract is definitely a problem, but Vazquez's NTC coul prove just as tricky. I say move KK for a high upside reliever, he would be the easiest to move.

reasonably, the braves are going to have to do one of 2 things if they want to trade lowe:
1. take on a bad contract themselves
2. send some cash to the the trading partner.

bottom line: if the braves can get rid of lowe and only eat 4-5 million annually of his contract, that will give them roughly 16-18 million dollars to sign an outfielder, first baseman, and some bullpen help. it could become 5-7 million more if they decide to trade/non-tender kj and church.

my suggestion (a sensible one and not my crazy lowe for bradley swap), would be to find someone to take lowe, re-sign laroche (8-9 mil. per year) and gonzo (2/14), trade church and kj for a right-handed power arm, and sign xavier nady to a 2/10 million dollar contract. the braves, if they ink gonzo and laroche, will have plenty of ex-pirates that could ween the x-man into playing in atlanta (laroche, mclouth, gonzo).

I'll go right out and say it: I don't think FW finds a taker for Lowe. Therefore, I believe trading Vazquez (coming into his walk year and off a career year) may be the best/most likely scenario. Does anyone think Vazquez for Lee (Derek, not Carlos) is feasible? He solves the RH cleanup hitter void, matches Vazquez in terms of $$ owed, and still would allow enough space in the budget to resign Gonzalez and possibly go get a Cameron/Nady for the outfield...

It's a "strong possibility" that we can't retain at least one of these guys?

For gods sakes! If Wren doesn't re-sign one of them, I will lose all faith in him.

Nady is exactly the kind of low-risk/high reward player the current baseball economy rewards: he could be had for around $2-3 million and could return to 20hr/.800 OPS form. Is he the "right-handed bat" he so desperately need? No. However, he could be an excellent piece that pays high dividends for minimal investment.

NOBODY knows what the Braves are going to do this offseason probably not even the brass. IMO the WHOLE offseason revolves around which SP that they move. IF they can find a sucker to take Lowe off their hands then there is a chance of a Bay/Holliday signing if they can't trade Lowe then you are loooking at teams that want Vazquez in a trade to get the hitter they want.

One more thing, this isn't English class. If there is a typo or a misspelling leave it alone unless you can't make out what they are saying. Baseball discussions not let's see who has better writing skills!!!

i really like the Lowe for Lee idea. Carlos or Derrick sounds great and would each solve a few issues (RH power, 1B or OF).

"Would the Braves be interested in GMJ?"

No. I know Lowe's got a bad contract, but GMJ is actually a bad player. Lowe is good but overpaid, GMJ is awful and overpaid.

When will the people here realize Vaz is not going to be shipped. First of all Bobby LOVES him. Second of all Wren and Vaz has expressed a real mutual interest in signing an extension. Third (although probably the most pointless) Vaz LOVES Atlanta.

It is also not true that shipping Lowe will ultimately just be a salary dump. He still does have a lot of value since he has a WS ring. He is 1 year removed from one of his best years as well. Also look at this. Hudson had some similar struggles coming to ATL. they are both sinker ball pitchers who came from California. It is not very humid there. Georgia is not terribly humid but is far more than California and they have struggled with there grip. If your cant grip a pitch you struggle to pitch. Look at where some of his bad starts are Washington, New York, Baltimore, Florida. They are all really humid areas.

GMJ = overpaid Garret Anderson.

Posted by: travis0548 | November 03, 2009 at 02:11 PM"

Garret Anderson is now heart broken.

And no Braves fans, the Dodgers do not want KJ.. Especially for Sherrill.

1) Put Lowe on outright waivers, anyone that wants him can have him. (Whoever loses out on Lackey will take Lowe)

2) Resign LaRoche 2 year + 1 option year 8MM per season.

3) Offer arbitration to Gonzo and Soriano - if they take it, great, if not, we will happily take the picks.

4) If they don't take it, make a trade for Soria and have him close for us for the next 5 years.

5) This off season, get a stopgap player in LF, I know, I know, I know. Save your Lowe money. Crazy. Mid-season, make a trade with TB for Crawford pending him signing an extension with us, give him 5 years 85MM.

Hang on until midseason with what you have, then make the 2nd half run with Crawford and Heyward.

Midseason lineup.

LF - Crawford
2B - Prado
3B - Chipper
C - McCann
SS - Yunel
1B - LaRoche
RF - Heyward
CF - McLouth

1) Vazquez
2) Hanson
3) Hudson
4) JJ
5) KK

Pen:
- Soria, Medlen Oflar

"You think the Braves have enough pieces in the farm system to get those two guys? Both who would command top prospects..

I see you still have Hanson, Heyward, and Medlen on the team."

I don't think that the Rays or Royals could realistically ask for Heyward/Hanson in exchange for Crawford or Soria, respectively.

I wouldn't expect Medlen to still be around, he's the kind of piece that could entice both teams, but realistically, I don't think that Heyward and Hanson would get dealt for anyone, those kinds of players just don't get traded anymore.

the untouchable prospects: heyward, hanson, medlen, freeman, and i really dont want to see kimbrel get traded either because of his hard fastball and the potential to be a dominant closer in a few years
now with that said, everyone else should be fair game for the right price
what the braves should do this offseason:
1) get rid of KJ and church and preferably get something in return if possible...experienced/decent bullpen arms maybe?
2) trade lowe for jose bautista(blue jays) chase headley(padres) delmon young(twins) corey hart(brewers)...may have to throw in a prospect...idk but they are all young and have great potential...or maybe trade lowe for a good dependable arm in the bullpen for cheap and go after one of the big names: holliday or bay
3)offer arbitration to gonzo, soriano, and laroche and if they deny, we get draft picks so its a win-win situation
4)if laroche denys the arbitration offer which i think he likely will, attempt to sign him to a two year 16 mil contract with a club option for a 3rd year in case freeman isnt quite ready yet and if he denys that as well, then go after a guy like russell branyon or nick johnson on incentive based contracts and if that doesnt work either, then trade for a second baseman(uggla preferably) and move prado to first but i really hope that will be a last resort

so, let's be honest. wren dug himself into a $60 million dollar hole by signing lowe to do what many, many cheaper options could do. the payroll is tight and if the braves want to be able to add pieces to be competitive over the next three seasons (not just this one), getting rid of lowe this offseason is a must. for every year that he gets older, there are going to be fewer and fewer people that will be willing to take him off our hands. this team could definitely run down the phils if it can free up the money to add the final pieces.

give away lowe if necessary. the bravos need that cash, not just next season, but the two following if they're going to compete like they're capable. other than that the rotation is the deepest in baseball. ride it into october.

look, even with the first half struggles, the braves were 5th in avg and 6th in runs scored. we don't need a monster bat, but a reliable 20 homer guy in left.

laroche was the difference maker. re-sign him.
the offense turned it on in the second half and he was a big reason why. keep gonzo.

carry 3 catchers. sounds crazy, but ross should take over norton's vacancy. he's a good hitter and shouldnt be riding the bench when we need a hit late in the game. sammons would be the defenseive back-up.

i meant to say diaz had the highest obp, slg, and avg of any STARTING postion player. my bad

blurba way to completely ignore the fact that Diaz's stats are heavily padded by facing a ton of lefties throughout the year. His numbers versus righties are not all that impressive. The third spot should remain with Chipper, if they want to make a move then McCann is the only other person that makes sense

you're right, bravesfan. my bad. i needed a rant. but still, you're point about his splits actually further proves my point. diaz would be an ideal #3 hitter against lefties. .464 obp, .640 slg, .412 avg. he's a complete hitter that not only drives in runs, but sets the table for 4,5, and 6. i'd really like to see him at the plate as much as possible with runners on. he earned that chance last year, even if its only against letfies.

a few things after reading most of your comments...

McLouth needs to be moved out of the 1 hole. His average does not warrant him being there and he has enough power to generate more runs with guys in front of him.

Lowe (if we can't get rid of him.. and I can't see that happening for anything worthwhile) should be moved into the 2 or 3 slot in the rotation. Vasquez, Lowe, JJ, Hanson, Hudson.

Norton needs to quit playing baseball.. at least at Turner Field.

I'm not big on either Gonzales or Soriano because of the inconsistency. I'd like to try Medlin as the closer and see if that works.

Diaz has earned his spot in right or left, depending on whether or not we can add a big bat that isn't an old GA or Ryan Langerhans-esqe hitter.

The team has great upside and I like sticking with Prado at 2B. If we could get something for KJ and Church, do it.. things arn't working out for them in ATL and maybe they'll be like French and hit it big in another market.

Just some thoughts.

did i mention that i hate phillies fans..?