TODAY: A deal bringing Floyd to Atlanta could be completed tomorrow, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports. Crasnick notes that Floyd hopes to be ready to throw MLB innings by May.
YESTERDAY: The Braves are close to a deal with free agent Gavin Floyd, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). While the two sides are nearing agreement, nothing has been finalized yet.
Yesterday, it was reported that Floyd was close to inking a deal with an unknown club. Floyd missed most of the 2013 season after having Tommy John surgery in May. In 168 innings with the White Sox in 2012, he posted a 4.29 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.
The Orioles were among the clubs with interest in the right-hander, but they were ruled out yesterday. The Twins also had interest back in November.
Floyd is represented by Moye Sports Associates, according to the MLBTR Agency Database.
Nice!!!!! Always liked this guy.
Why have you always liked this guy?
He’s handsome
If he’s healthy he’ll likely give you 80% of what Hudson would’ve for much less $
I was thinking closer to 75%
If he’s healthy? He can be 110% of what Hudson would’ve been. But its a big if.
What Gavin Floyd are you watching? The guy has posted a sub 4 ERA once in his career and a sub 3.80 FIP 3 times (the most recent occurrences being 2008 and 2010, respectively). Hudson doesn’t get as many K’s, but it’s not like Floyd blows them away either at 7.06 K/9 for his career vs. a 6.06 K/9 for Hudson. If both are healthy, my money’s on Hudson to outperform Floyd for 2014.
I actually like this signing. Low risk, high reward.
What reward? Only once his career has he posted an ERA below 4. He’s a very average pitcher.
What you fail to realize here, is average pitchers are important pieces on MLB rosters.
Which is what the Braves typically do and where does that get them??
I listened to a podcast the other day about the extensions upcoming for the braves players. All of them said that Heyward said he would only sign an extension if he could get 20 mil a year. The Braves will not give him that and I personally don’t think he has shown he is worth that at this point in his career. Hope he has a great year in case they need to trade him next year. However I am hoping he signs an extension. (Don’t see this happening.)
Heyward is no where near worth that or will ever be worth that. He is the Frenchy and Freeman is the McCann of this braves generation. Decent comparison except Heyward has bit the injury bug more than Frenchy, but Heyward can at least hit a ball that moves sometimes. Freeman will be the one to get an extension, and soon I hope before his potential really starts showing through as it did last year.
Comparing Heyward to Frenchy? That is smart….
Heyward will be a free-agent at the age of 26. That’s very rare for someone with his talent. So it wasn’t an unreasonable assumption to make by TC, considering prices are going to keep rising. He knows that if he has two more solid seasons that he’ll definitely approach $20M per on the market.
The details aren’t even released…and even at 5mil it a modest risk, modest reward….likely have a mid to lower 4ERA at best. Not much.
Good innings eater, enough said.
I would sure as heck hope it is nothing more than a minor league deal. Nothing I see there that would make me think he could make the rotation as it sits.
Yea I’m not impressed with Floyd at all.
I have to agree with this. Coming into the current rotation I would put him as the 5th starter, so I am hoping this is just for some depth. Not the veteran starter I was hoping for.
My contract prediction:
1 yr, 3 million with 2 million in incentives. Club option for 2nd year
A complete waste of money. Gavin Floyd is your typical league average MLB starting pitcher. He’s not better than any of the guys the Braves already have, Just don’t understand this move.
So, I bet you didn’t like the Freddy Garcia signing last year.
No I didn’t and yes Garcia did well. But Garcia had also been a great, not good, but a great pitcher at 1 time. Floyd never has been even a good pitcher and is coming off TJ surgery. What exactly is the point of this signing when we have Medlen, Minor, Beachy, Teheran, Hale, Wood already, not to mention if one of the guys, like a Sean Gilmartin, in the minors impresses in spring training and makes a push for a starting rotation spot?
When did having a lot of pitching depth become so horrible?
I never said it was horrible. I also never said this signing was horrible. Just said that I didn’t see the point behind this signing because Floyd’s upside is of your typical league average pitcher. Love the Mat Gamel signing because Gamel has major upside potential.
yeah, being released by 3 major league teams is unlimited potential.
Gamel has been hurt and missed the last 2 years but go back and look at his Triple-A numbers from 2011. Twice he was ranked in the top 100 on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list. His career minor league slash line is .304/376/.498 including .301/.374/.512 in Triple-A.
We also signed Mitch Jones who had like 400 HRs in the minors. Minor numbers don’t mean anything if you can’t suceed at the ML level.
I don’t know if you’ve know this or not but Mat Gamel has never been given a chance in the majors because of injuries and because of the Brewers having players blocking him. The most PA he’s had in the majors in a season has been 148. Other years he had 2, 17, 27 and 75.
We also signed Mitch Jones who had like 400 HRs in the minors. Minor numbers don’t mean anything if you can’t suceed at the ML level.
Gamel has been hurt and missed the last 2 years but go back and look at his Triple-A numbers from 2011. Twice he was ranked in the top 100 on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list. His career minor league slash line is .304/376/.498 including .301/.374/.512 in Triple-A.
Some teams can afford to keep him on their 40-man others need that spot for other players they are hoping will be better.
Hale isn’t going to be in the rotation he’ll be a trade bait or spot starter if that. Wood is a trade bait but could work his way into the rotation. Beachy they have no idea how his arm will hold up. If i remember correctly Gilmartin didnt exactly impress people in the Minors this season so its still to be seen what he can do. That leaves Medlen Minor, Teheran. I see no problem signing Floyd to fill a void in what could be a pitching shortage if things dont pan out in the above mentioned cases.
Teheran was terrible in Triple-A in 2012 and then posted a great year in the majors in 2013. Who’s to say Gilmartin couldn’t do the same thing? Hale may very well only be a bullpen pitcher. Wood is going to be an elite starting pitcher in the majors for a long time. Braves would be stupid to trade him. Beachy is a question mark.
The difference being Teheran was jerked around between Gwinnett and Atlanta in 2012. Gilmartin shot up to AAA and got lit up and hes 2 years older than Teheran. Like I said its still to be seen what he can do. Everyone knew what Teheran was capable of that’s why no one was overly concerned with 2012. Lastly, I’m all for keeping Wood cause I actually like him and rather him be given a spot in the rotation but Wren is covering all of his bases here and you can’t fault him for that. Floyd is low risk with upside.
Hale is RH
Ah yeah thanks fixed 🙂
Ah yeah thanks fixed 🙂
Hale is RH
Sean gilmartin had a down year in triple A. So the braves are just getting some insurance if prospects don’t pan out.
Not sure what your definition of good is. He ranged from 4.1 to 2.5 WAR from 2009 through 2012. All the advanced statistics show he has been a better than average pitcher.
Not sure what your definition of good is. He ranged from 4.1 to 2.5 WAR from 2009 through 2012. All the advanced statistics show he has been a better than average pitcher.
“You can never have enough pitching”. You’re a Braves fan and haven’t learned that? Just like Mat Gamel, this is another low-risk, high reward investment for Wren that will keep us afloat if and when the injury-slash-slump bug bites again. Just because you sign a guy to a small contract doesn’t mean you prevent a young guy from competing with the possibility they could win the rotation spot. That’s exactly why you don’t see Wren going after someone (i.e, Arroyo, etc.) that wants a 2-3 year deal that would get a rotation spot and block someone like a David Hale, Alex Wood, Gilmartin, Beachy, etc. Floyd is an innings eater that could be valuable.
Never been successful? He was a 17-game winner in a hitter’s ballpark in the AL. He also threw 187 IP or more 4 consecutive seasons. Give the man some credit.
That 17 win season you speak of was in 2008 and that was the only year he was impressive. I watch a lot of the White Sox games and he is what he is. You’re typical league average starter. That 2008 year was also the only year he went over 200 innings.
Tim, you claim that there is no point – having not known the financials of the deal because they haven’t been released – to a low-risk, high-reward potential deal that provides some pitching depth in a young rotation. Only Minor eclipsed 200 IP and you can be sure youngins like Hale, Gilmartin, and Wood won’t be if given the ball out of ST (Teheran got 185 IP, so you can expect similar treatment). Yes, he’s coming off TJ surgery, but the guy put up decent, not spectacular numbers in a hitter’s ballpark in the AL. If he’s pitching like he was, we should see his numbers decrease in the NL, where the hitting isn’t as good in a more pitching-friendly Turner Field. That’s the point.
Truthfully I’m not sold on Hale or Gilmartin, I am intrigued about Alex Wood (Yall he is a local kid to me I want him to do well and win the #5 spot). I think we should use Hale and Gilmartin as trade fodder to upgrade our depth or upgrade at 2b or CF if we can somehow (it would be tough going though!)
“Typical league average MLB starting pitcher”
Middle of the road still means better than the bottom half. Not everyone can be top of the line, otherwise there would be no such thing as top of the line.
For the money paid, if they get that “league average” guy you refer to, that’s a good deal.
So I guess a trade for Samardzija or Price is out the question. Low-risk, sort-of high reward.
I think if we got price, we would have to lock him up past the two years, and that would not happen with the money we have.
We’d have to give up multiple guys we don’t want to in Lucas Sims, Jason Hursh and more. We’re not at the time to really be able to deal without taking a massive hit if they were dealt, though they’re still awhile away.
I don’t dislike it but I’m also not really impressed either. If he’s fully recovered he’s probably good for 4.00 ERA over 200 innings which is valuable in its own way, but at the same time the Braves have plenty of young pitchers who are worth a shot in the 5th spot. Hopefully it’s a minor league deal, though my hopes of that happening aren’t super high.
When he’s healthy, his stats have been exactly in line with Tim Hudson’s stats. The Braves can replace Hudson with someone who pitches just like him for a portion of what he’s getting paid. Yet, my fellow Brave fans are still mad that they won’t trade the farm for a rental in Price. Face it, Wren is smart not to give up all of his elite pieces for a guy who would leave via free agency in two years. If you want a Teix 2.0 trade, you’re going to be disappointed.
For people who keep saying, “The Braves are just going to win 94-96 games again and do nothing!!!!!” You do realize the only reason why they won that many games in the first place was because they held onto their homegrown talent, right? Look at St. Louis and how they do things… I’m just happy the people raging over depth signings aren’t the actual GM. We’d have a team full of wash ups making $30M+ a season lol.
Gavin Floyd is nothing like Tim Hudson. Tim Hudson is a complete stud while Gavin Floyd just once in his career has posted an ERA below 4.
Will you calm down with the whole “ERA below 4 just once!” stuff?
Yes but comparing Floyd to Hudson is ridiculous. Hudson in his prime was a Cy Young contender. Floyd has never sniffed the Cy Young.
OK, but will a rotation with the pieces we have now plus Floyd be one built for the postseason?
Like the 2013 Tigers and Dodgers? Or the 2012 Nationals? 2010 and 2011 Phillies? I suppose not….
Wait…..what?
(Looks up stats) Oh…..ok.
Who knew that a player could be represented by a mere comma?
Signings like this really make me miss Ted Turner’s back pocket…
Hopefully, this doesn’t end their pursuit for Jeff S or Kyle Lohse.
This is a great signing only and I mean only if Beachy is 100% healthy cause that makes him compete with woods for the 5th spot
When I first saw this I was intrigued, then I saw the news about the TJ surgery. So even if the Braves do sign him he won’t be ready to take the bump until the break imo. I know they say May but I’ll believe that when I see it. Even if he was ready in May it’s going to take a while to build his strength up again. A low risk signing perhaps but I don’t think he will be much if an impact this season.
To say the Braves have a two year window is making a ton of assumptions. Nobody knows who they will sign and who they won’t sign. Kimbrel has 3 years left, Simmons 4-5, Gattis 5, Teheran has 5…Uggla leaves and its an improvement, I’m sure they will sign a few of their guys long term but not all of them. Wood and Carpenter have shown they can be legit ML starters when the time comes. Yes, as their team is constructed right now, they have 2 years. But, you can say that about almost every team. The Rays continue to lose players and continue to be good. Teams like the Yanks sign players to long deals and that doesn’t help because they just get old and expensive. No team except maybe the Yanks and the Dodgers could sign Medlen, Heyward, Freeman, Kimbrel, Simmons, Gattis, Beachy, Teheran, Johnson to long term deal. Thats a bunch of young players that will be in their prime when they hit FA and will cost a ton of money.
Hopefully the Braves can be smart and keep the right guys and replace the ones that leave with young, cheap talent. Its just the way it is.
VERY well said, I applaud you
Braves are bargain hunting, Gavin Floyd and Mat Gamel. I like it.
I hope this was just to replace Freddy Garcia/add extra depth, and not a sign that they’re not going after a good veteran pitcher for near the top of the rotation
whats taking so long frank get this deal done
What a depressing thread. I like the signing, assuming the cost is right. This used to be a place where you could discuss baseball. Not just people bringing up random plays/players from several years ago to back their opinion on a current roster….
Low risk move. It’s not that big of a deal, is it?
If this is less than 5mill with incentives, its a good depth move…
It’s simple. Would you rather have Alex wood go out every 5th day and pitch 5 innings. Or have a proven starter who will pitch better in the NL and give up 4 runs a game an use wood in the pen. Dominant. Yea we still have no ace and an ace will put us in the World Series but I’d rather win our division and lose first round In the playoffs then come in 3rd place and not make the postseason. We did it last year with 5 #3 starters. Still better then giving up prospects for smardzja.
Alex Wood in all the starts he made (10 or 12 or how ever many it was) only had 3 starts that were less than 6 innings. I’d much rather have him in the rotation dominating every 5th day than having Floyd out there every 5th day giving up a guaranteed 4 runs a game.
who is this Hamilton guy that we just got? first baseman, are we trading freddy?
Minor league deal. Don’t pay it any mind
The Braves don’t necessarily need an Ace. They were one less hanging curve away from a Freddy Garcia start being better than a Kershaw start. They’re fine with the in-house options and Teheran still has the room to grow into the Ace everyone thinks they need.
Floyd is a solid innings eater. It’s not like Cellular is exactly pitcher friendly when it comes to HRs, so I suspect Floyd’s HRs and ERA will both drop a good deal going to the Ted and the NL. I still suspect they’ll add another veteran who can come in and challenge Wood/Hale for the 5th spot out of camp.
Ya aprendera mas en Atlanta con nuestro coach de pitcheo.
Me imagino una ganga.