The Braves will not look to upgrade their rotation even if Brandon Beachy has Tommy John surgery, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports. "Right now, we plan on going with what we have," says GM Frank Wren. "We like what we have."
Ervin Santana, who recently signed a one-year deal with the Braves, could join their rotation about two weeks into the season. (The Braves also recently lost Kris Medlen to Tommy John surgery, which led to the Santana signing in the first place.) Mike Minor is dealing with shoulder soreness, could be ready around that time or shortly thereafter. And the Braves could also add Gavin Floyd, who himself is returning from Tommy John surgery, in May. Due to days off, the Braves won't need a fifth starter until April 12, when Santana may be ready anyway. Until then, Rosenthal reports that they'll go with Julio Teheran, Freddy Garcia, David Hale and Alex Wood.
I bet money they go after another starter.
Trust me, they’re not. There’s no one available that we would be an upgrade from the young arms that could have a decent ceiling (Wood, Hale).
Wood and Hale have nothing to do with them going after another guy. They are gonna trade one of their out of option RP and probably another lesser prospect for an out of option/6th SP on another team like a Tom Milone of the A’s or Zach Britton of the O’s
Teheran, Santana, Garcia, Hale, and Wood is the rotation until Minor is ready. Gavin Floyd will be an option in May, which gives the Braves 7 starters for a 5 man rotation. The young guys (Hale and Wood) the Braves have are just as good as current bottom of the rotation guys like Britton or Milone.
Sure, Samardszjia.
Pssh…I am not drinking the Epstein kool-aid. I wouldn’t want to give much of anything knowing he’s going to want serious money for an extension that he hasn’t shown to be worth. I’d just give it to Minor.
They aren’t. Went over budget to get Ervin and they’re not giving up prospects for a one year rental.
Liberty Media already said they are in “win now” mode so they will open up more if need be plus the guys I’m talking bout bringing in are out of option/6th man type guys.
Over budget? That’s misleading though because they’ve never stated how much they can/cannot spend and you have to figure that if Medlen/Beachy do miss, much of their contract would be covered by insurance, I would assume, that could offset Ervin’s $14.1MM which was never offered to Hudson.
They did go over budget. Schuerholtz had to go to Terry Mcguirk and ask him/Liberty Media for an extra 10 million to get Santana.
My point is that the budget is such an arbitrary number. It’s not like they’re penalized for doing so. They set their own budget, and are almost always profitable by year’s end. I can see no reason for the same this year.
According to DOB, insurance isn’t available on one year deals, so neither Medlen or Beachy’s money will be covered.
In essence they gave up a prospect for Ervin Santana.
A high draft pick for one year rental
That they will get back when they give him a QO next year
Perhaps, assuming he has a good year. The Braves needed to make a move for a starting pitcher, but Santana should not be confused for an elite pitcher. He likely wil not win more than 10-12 games this year. The Braves rotation as it now stands is not good enough to top the Nats in the NL East,
14 million buys you a middle of the rotation starter these days. Nobody thinks he is elite
How does that work
Braves offer QO, he rejects bc last real chance for a long term deal, team that signs him forfeits pick, braves get compensation round pick
Thanks for the info — I was confused about that too!
The regular rotation of Teheran/Minor/Santana/Wood/Floyd won’t be that bad….they just need to get through the first couple of weeks with that weak rotation. Hopefully the offense comes out firing.
Exactly. They cannot play catch up. If they stumble out of the gate they’re done.
I noticed your GLARING omission of Garcia from your rotation.
I think he meant starting in June.
I was being sarcastic. And, 14 Rocks is a she.
Good thing due to off days they can run a 4 man rotation for the first few weeks, they also have maybe the easiest schedule early season
Compared to Gonzalez/Zimmerman/Strasburg/Fister/Detwhiler? Don’t think so. Need to be realistic about this rotation.
I think Beachy will not require TJ surgery and will get healthy, remember we have about 2-3 arms in ‘recovery’ mode. I shudder about seeing Hale in the rotation, just the upside isn’t there…
He really hasn’t been 100% since the first TJ, so I’ll believe it when I see it.
I wouldn’t be so sure on this. Even if Beachy does pitch this year, I wouldn’t expect him to do it well. Best case scenario here is he gets shut down for 6-8 weeks and he makes a debut in late May-early June but I wouldn’t be hopeful here. Even if there is no damage I would not expect him to pitch for the rest of ST.
Not exactly Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz.
Well, to be fair, no team in baseball has a Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz rotation now. Braves fans were spoiled with that embarassment of riches.
“Right now, we plan on going with what we have,” says GM Frank Wren. “We like what we have.” I guess that’s that, then! =P
Man I bet they regret not resigning Paul Maholm, especially after how low his pricetag with LA was
He wasn’t even in the rotation at season’s end last year, so I doubt it. Maholm’s just a warm body, not someone that’s irreplaceable.
-C
“Right now, we plan on going with what we have,” says GM Frank Wren. “We like what we have.” The key phrase in that sentence is right now, they’re most likely going to be singing a different tune come June.
But a rotation of Teheran/Minor/Santana/Floyd/Wood might end up being stronger than people think
I could them picking someone off the waiver wire.
Samardzjia is still available. He is a solid starter, and he could be in rotation for several years. Downside is that he would cost them some talent, and the Braves farm system is not the best. They need to decide if they want to contend against a good Nats team this year or not. The present pitching staff will not do that.
He isn’t worth the price the Cubs were/are asking.
Neither was Santana, but it is all relevant depending upon your needs.
There’s a big difference between Santana and Samardzija. Santana cost the Braves a 1 year contract and a pick; Samardzija would cost the Braves MLB talent, prospects, and money. Santana is worth the 1 year contract to the Braves because they’re not tied down long-term; Samardzija wants top rotation money and the Cubs want top rotation talent therefore making the commitment from the Braves far greater.
Yes, such a deal would require a bold move by the Braves, but when was the last time that the organization did anything really bold? It is not in their DNA.
If you remember from earlier in the offseason, the Cubs were reportedly asking for JUpton or Heyward as part of a deal for Samardzija, along with one of the Braves top prospects. That’s not a bold move that’s an idiotic move, and if that’s what they were asking for before, imagine what they’re asking for now with the known injuries to Medlen and possibly Beachy.