NL East Notes: Hart, Nationals, Amaro

If the Mets wanted a creative way to free up payroll space for more lineup improvements, they could explore trading Curtis Granderson, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News opines.  While Granderson only hit .227/.326/.388 in 654 PA last season, he still slugged 20 homers and Martino argues that the outfielder could draw interest in a market short on impact hitters.  While it could well be that Granderson’s bat would perk up in a more hitter-friendly ballpark than Citi Field, I’d think that it’d be a tough sell to find significant trade interest in player who turns 34 in March, is owed $47MM through the 2017 season and has shown signs of decline over the last couple of years.

Here’s some news from around the NL East…

• Braves president of baseball operations John Hart spoke in broad terms about his team’s Winter Meetings plans with David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  The Braves are looking to make moves to help in both the short- and long-term, particularly aimed towards the opening of their new ballpark in 2017.  “I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I said we’re not taking a look at ’17,” Hart said. “But we haven’t made a move yet that would give anybody any reason to think that we’re even considering doing a strip-down…If you weren’t convinced before [Nick Markakis signed], we’re certainly paying attention to ’15 and ’16 as well as keeping an eye on ’17.”
• With so many rumors circling around the Braves, O’Brien (Twitter link) would be “surprised” if the team didn’t make at least one deal during the Winter Meetings.
• The only notable hole on the Nationals’ roster is at second base and that spot is more likely to be filled via trade than free agency, Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider writes.  This doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a quiet Winter Meetings for the Nats, however, as trade rumors have swirled around some of the top players, several of whom are entering their last season of team control.
• Though it’s been an uneventful offseason for the Phillies thus far, GM Ruben Amaro tells Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News that he has had several productive discussions about possible moves.  “I’m actually probably optimistic about what’s been going on, dialogue-wise, some of the things we’ve discussed externally and internally,” Amaro said.  “It’s been a very, very active communication market so far….It’s fortunate we’ve stayed out of the rumor mill, because I prefer to do things quietly. And it doesn’t do anybody any good when it’s out there. I like when it’s quiet. I like the dialogue we’ve had in the last several weeks.”