Email a copy of 'Calling Up Top Prospects' to a friend
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By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
Email a copy of 'Calling Up Top Prospects' to a friend
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Darren Heitner
Good quotes from Soz. He is 100% correct.
randy082054
If the Braves just want to win, as you say, why the heck did they trade Javier Vazquez for nothing?
iamgreatto
they traded vanquez for a top prospect/cabrera and financial flexibility. they took the 11 freed up from vazquez and signed wagner, saito and glaus.
randy082054
My point exactly.
aap212
That’s not your point exactly at all. They DID get something for Vazquez. A prospect for the future and financial flexibility for current needs.
randy082054
My point is that a top prospect more than a year away from MLB does nothing to help the Braves win in Cox’s last season. The Braves already had a competent closer in Soriano, and they paid more $$ for Wagner. Saito is just another middle reliever, albeit one with a major injury history. The same can be said for Glaus.
What the Vazquez trade amounted to was money. Just money. So, to say that they started the year with Heyward because of a single-minded focus on winning this year is disingenuous.
I’ll grant keeping him on the opening day roster is inconsistent with their profit motive. It floored me that they did keep him up, and long term, it’s a mistake money-wise in my opinion.
If the Braves really wanted return for Vazquez, trading him during the season would have been the way to go.
fred
The point is without trading Vazquez and freeing up that money they would not have been able to afford to signing those guys. This team did not have a good offense last year. Soriano I believer signed a 1 year 8 million and Wagner i believed signed a two year for 8-10 million. Your point would be valid if they traded him away and did not go and get other with that money that was freed up.
iamgreatto
current budget is a more pressing issue than 5-6 years in the future, and its more than likely hewerd signs a contract taking away his arbitration year and 1-2 years of free agency.
in the end they trade Vazquez for depth and prospects. in an ideal scenario they would have kept Vazquez and still signed the depth or found a taker for lowe, but like the phillies and lee they made the tough call.
Jason_F
As much as I’m sure the Braves would have liked to have thrown all of the money in the world at this year’s team, the reality is that there is no “single-minded focus on winning” for any team. Obviously, every team works on a budget. The Braves had 6 competent starters and the only one that garnered any significant interest on trade market (and was at the peak of his value, apparently) was Vazquez. Are you proposing that they should have kept all 6 starters? That wouldn’t make much sense. Also, they paid roughly the same for Wagner as they would have had to for Soriano, so what’s the big deal there (aside from draft pick lost)?
Ferrariman
have you seen the braves rotation? their probably the only team that can afford to lose vasquez and still be a top 5 rotation in baseball.
Britt
Oh man… Carlos Santana has been a joy to watch here in Columbus… I cannot remember the last time I have seen a young player who was able to see the ball so well. No disrespect to the organization here, but he is going to improve a lot faster under the knowledge of Mike Redmond and is going to impact the Tribe immediately.
ivdown
I really like Casey Blake, but Carlos Santana would be INCREDIBLY nice to have in the farm right now for the Dodgers…
Guest 3156
Blake has found the fountain of youth. THANK GOD, otherwise Blake would be hated.
aap212
The Mets aren’t cheap at all about these things. Mejia will be arbitration eligible before he’s major league ready!
damnitsderek
Hahaha that’s so sad because it’s true. It’s a good decade to not be a Mets fan.
Yankees420
If a team obviously isn’t going to contend or make the playoffs that year, then what’s the point of bringing up said top prospect 3 weeks earlier? If it’s a team like the Braves this year that stand a chance of making the playoffs but aren’t favorites for a spot, then it becomes a tough call, and only time will tell if they made the right choice.
Trious
There is NO REASON to bring up a top prospect until the 30 days are up
They will NOT have an immediate huge impact and your team gets him for an entire EXTRA YEAR when he is properly at his best EVER
damnitsderek
If the Rays don’t call up Jennings, they are clearly racists.