11:22am: A Braves official tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) that the prospect of the club trading Peraza is a “complete fabrication.”
8:26am: The Yankees have been scouting Braves second base prospect Jose Peraza, former Major League scout Jeff Wren (brother of ex-Atlanta GM Frank Wren) reports via Twitter. According to George A. King III of the New York Post, the Yankees have informed the Braves about their interest in Peraza, and King notes the Yankees are presumably interested in Peraza as a potential long-term answer at second.
Peraza, who turns 21 on April 30, was originally signed by the Braves for a $350K bonus out of Venezuela in 2010. He has steadily climbed through Atlanta’s farm system and broke out with a .339/.364/.441 performance over 499 plate appearances (304 at the high-A level, 195 at Double-A) in 2014. Speed is Peraza’s calling card, as he went 60-for-75 in stolen base attempts last season and is 178-for-220 in steals over his minor league career.
That big 2014 season earned Peraza a spot in several major top-100 prospect lists, albeit within a wide range. ESPN’s Keith Law had Peraza as high as #24 in his preseason rankings, while MLB.com had him 39th (and first among Braves prospects), Baseball America had him 54th and Baseball Prospectus ranked Peraza in the 92nd slot.
It’s worth noting that Peraza is a natural shortstop and only became a primary second baseman last year, as the Braves shifted him since Andrelton Simmons has the position locked down at the MLB level. The 2014 Baseball America Prospect Handbook praised Peraza’s hands and quick release and believed “he should be able to remain” at either middle infield position as he develops.
With this in mind, it’s possible the Yankees could see Peraza as a potential answer at shortstop rather than second base. Both positions are rather up in the air for the club — Didi Gregorius has gotten off to a slow start both offensively and defensively, while veteran Stephen Drew is considered a placeholder for either Rob Refsnyder or Jose Pirela. Refsnyder, however, has had defensive problems while Pirela is recovering from a concussion, King notes.
King speculates that New York could offer a package of two prospects for Peraza, one of whom could be catcher Gary Sanchez. The Yankees seem set on John Ryan Murphy as their catcher of the future in anticipation of Brian McCann’s eventual shift away from behind the plate, leaving Sanchez possibly expendable. Sanchez was himself a highly-ranked prospect prior to the 2014 season, which saw him post solid offensive numbers at Double-A, but his defensive prowess is a question mark and “his work ethic and maturity are concerns” according to the MLB.com scouting report.
As for the second minor leaguer in the deal, King doubts the Yankees would move Luis Severino, the club’s top pitching prospect. I agree with King — Severino and Peraza are roughly on the same level of value, so moving Severino and more would command a higher return than just Peraza.
That said, New York would certainly have to offer something significant to convince the Braves to part with Peraza whatsoever. Atlanta acquired a bit of young middle infield depth in the form of Jace Peterson this offseason, so it’s possible they could be more willing to move Peraza.
Why would Atlanta want Gary Sanchez? They already have their catcher of the future in Christian Betancourt. Makes no sense.
Even the ATL writers admit Bethancourt isn’t a lock to be a regular, mainly because his bat is kind of iffy. I agree it makes no sense for ATL to trade Peraza, though. They need bats bad and they don’t have any outstanding guys at 2B right now.
Bethancourts defensive prowess will give him a long leash. And ATL has a lot more MI depth than at catcher. 2B/SS Ozhaino Albies could be ever better than Peraza and he’s not that far back. Jace Peterson could give us the short-term fix that could allow us to trade Peraza for the right deal. That being said, they should not be trading him for Gary Sanchez. I would love to see Aaron Judge, but that seems far-fetched though NYY could be looking to sign some FA OF this offseason in Upton and JHey and could move some young OF to fill other holes. Gordon Blakeley and Coppy both came from NYY so they know their system better than most.
What would it take? Are the Yanks deep in the minors prospect wise at a position they can give up? Like a piece for piece type deal
Peraza for Aaron Judge, maybe?
I hope not!
Doubtful, I have a feeling the Yankees would move Severino before they moved Judge at this point.
That’s fine…we’ll take ALL the pitching.
I’d have to assume that those are probably the 2 guys they want to hold on more than anything, but I’d opine Severino would be the harder one to let go of.
Both are really high in the Yankees FO, but I think they would want the position player over pitcher. Pitching injuries seem to be at an all-time high.
That and as I mentioned in another post, maybe they go after SP in the FA market next offseason.
All could depend on next off season. Maybe the Yanks trade Severino and open up their wallets to get SP on the market?
In theory they could, but they need to stop dealing away their personally developed, controllable arms at some point, and Severino would be a great place to start.
I think the wallet is going to remain largely closed until after the 2017 season when all those big contracts come off the books.
Both are pretty close to unmovable I’d imagine. Severino keeps getting better and Judge is a young offensive OF, something the Bronx desperately needs. If they get traded, it’d likely not be for another prospect
Unmovable unless the right deal came. It was reported that the Yankees were the closest team to get Hamels and these 2 would have been part of that deal.
Judge is too good a fit for the Yankees, to trade him. And Severino is too good a player. He’s whaaay better than Judge/Peraza, imho.
I’d probably also add Bird to the list of players the Yankees would only trade if it was an obvious steal.
I think all three are being groomed to be the next “core” of the Yankees, starting in 2017. All three have the potential for greatness, and all three play positions that are going to be wide open in 2017 (sooner for Severino).
Severino for Peraza?
I hope the Braves have enough pitching prospects right now. They are loaded with young pitching from the majors down to the A level. What they need are outfield prospects.
Which would lead me to believe Judge for Peraza.
No
That would seem to make the most sense. The Yankees could pay fir an OF in free agency
Already stuck with the active 3 players they have for 1 more year (with only Beltran being a FA after next year). Unless they make Beltran a permanent DH , which would make no spot for A-Rod, assuming he is still with the team.
Maybe they trade Gardner instead. Who knows.
Yankees could land both Heyward and Justin Upton if they want.
They could, but they won’t, because they like Judge too much. They might give him up for Hamels, but they won’t give him up for another prospect.
Prospects are a fickle business. Odds are they’re gonna have to pay for a free agent RF even if they hang on to Judge. And a second baseman, even if they get Peraza. Even top prospects fail more than they succeed.
But, for the moment, Judge is a Yankee favorite. He’s a favorite with the fans, the Yankees’ scouts love him (obviously, that’s why they drafted him), the coaches all seem to like him, etc. Why let everyone down, just to get a prospect of equal value?
If the Braves are willing to take a different package, of several lesser prospects that add up to the same value, then that would be different. But not Judge, definitely not Severino, and probably not Bird either.
They could trade Judge and go hard after Heyward and Upton in the offseason. If Beltran continues to struggle, he will just be a bench bat. Stinks, but it’s already sunk cost.
To this point, Severino has largely been untouchable, and he should be. I could potentially see anybody else being listened to, but I’d think Bird could be a sensible piece to offer in a deal.(edit:this was a pure value idea,not a positional fit view).
Why? they have Freeman at 1st for many years to come
Fair enough, I was thinking purely from a value standpoint, not need standpoint. What positions do the Braves lack an answer to in the future?
I was thinking Gary Sanchez and another piece but this is just beginning stages. With McCann locked up and Murphy being presumably catcher of the future there is no place for Sanchez
There’s no place on the Braves for him either.
Peraza is pretty much untouchable too. The Braves have been looking for a leadoff hitter since Furcal left.
Gardner?
Gardner is worth more than Peraza, and I don’t think they’d trade him unless the return inspired awe, he’s one of the best defensive left fielders out there and has seemed to get better with years with the bat.
Nah, Peraza has a lot more value than Gardner. Plus, the Braves are rebuilding. They don’t want older players with big contracts.
Except Gardner’s contract is not a big contract, and I don’t see how you can already say Peraza has more value when Gardner puts up a 3+ or 4+ WAR every year (except 2012 when he only played 9 games).
Gardners contract may be “big,” but it’s plenty fair. Still torn on trading Peraza for him, though
It’s actually a fair trade. 4 years (well a little less now) of Gardner may well be worth 12-16 WAR. No guarantee Peraza even comes anywhere close to it even in 6 years of control.
I’m not denying that it’s fair. Just that I’m not sure I would want to do it.
You’re joking right? Gardner has much more value than Peraza. That’s what happens when you’re an all star on a team friendly contract and the other guys is just a solid, unspectacular prospect.
Peraza is an excellent prospect. It looks like he has great contact skills, a ton of speed/baserunning ability, and by all acounts his defense is excellent. He’s a SS who got pushed to 2B because Andrelton Simmons is blocking him.
That said, I think a Gardner/Peraza swap would be an interesting idea. The Yankees can play Chris Young everyday, or bring up someone like Ramon Flores, and next year they can just buy themselves one of Heyward or Upton.
Looks like Atlanta isn’t trading Peraza though, so forget it.
I think Gardner holds significantly more value to the Yankees than he does via trade,as he’s generally been overlooked by most people outside of the fan-base.He’s one of their most consistent offensive pieces,last year developed some power, and is very solid in the field defensively, ontop of being cost efficient. Not a worthy deal for NY right now.
Agreed, though for the record, I wasn’t saying it had to be a straight up swap.
Well Gardner isn’t an all star but I completely get your point.
They signed Markakis for a couple million less than what Gardner makes, so the contract isn’t huge. If they really wanted Gardner the Yankees would certainly eat some money if it meant them getting a prospect piece they highly desire.
I think there’s little to no chance the Yankees would eat money off of a fair contract to deal a player they love to have on the team to begin with. The whole scenario proposing they deal him is silly.
Gardner has loads more value than any prospect besides Kris Bryant and a few others.
Though Gardner for Peraza is stupid for both teams. Braves aren’t contending for probably 3 years and Yankees want to win games now. Not a good trade fit.
I think you have no idea how good a player Gardner is.
Bird isn’t going anywhere. He’s in line to replace Teix when his contract ends after next season.
I don’t really think the Yankees and Braves match up that well to be honest. The Yankees have prospects, but not at positions they would want. Severino would be the guy, but I don’t think the Yankees would want to do that swap and I don’t think the Braves would want anyone else the Yankees have. They would love Judge I bet, but he is about as untouchable as anyone in the Yankees system. Good idea, but probably not the right fit.
If they wanted Severino for him I think Id do it, but would probably think a long while first…his last start was dominate
Take back Brian McCann. Please.
Why do so many Yankee fans hate the guy? He had a 2.3 WAR last year (3rd best on the team) while leading the team in HR
He’s alright. Doesn’t really stand out to me.
I don’t get it either. He’s also a quality catcher with excellent pitch framing capabilities. Give me another 20+ homers with a slightly higher AVG this year and I’m happy.
Murphy is ready to be an everyday catcher. Far superior defense and more consistent offense.
Murphy wouldn’t even come close to putting up McCann’s offensive numbers lol
Believe it or not he could, he has much more upside then just being a backup catcher. If that was the case they would have traded Murphy instead of Cervelli.
Yes it’s solid, but he’s overpaid. That’s the issue. Same with Ellsbury. He’s great! But not worth 21m a year.
No
Why would the Braves want Sanchez? Bethancourt is 23 years old with 6 years of team control left.
Yeah makes no sense
The only thing I could speculate is that there’s been whispers that Sanchez could be moved to an outfield position due to his impressive arm strength and the questions he’s had with catching defense. Pure speculation though.
Looking at Sanchez’s stats, and the fact that we have Bethancourt, Yanks can keep him
it makes ZERO sense for the Braves to get another pitching or catching prospect in a trade. to me a trade of Peraza for Eric Jagielo (3B) and Jake Cave (OF) makes more sense than for a pitcher or catcher. both Jagielo and Cave are contact hitters with power and would fill a couple holes in the Braves rebuilding process.
Not close to enough for one of the best prospects in baseball.
Luckily, the Yankees don’t want one of the best prospects in baseball. They want Peraza.
Even if it was a fair trade, the Braves already have a higher rated 3B prospect in Ruiz who will make it to the majors sooner. And most scouts think Cave is ticketed for a platoon/4th OF role. Braves are already overloaded with fringe OF prospects, especially at the upper levels (sans Mallex Smith and Braxton Davidson). But naturally you know that.
Sanchez for Peraza.
Not a chance
DJD is smart. I know he was being sarcastic. It’s basically wishful thinking.
What positions do the Braves lack a long term answer to?
Third Base. Outfield.
Perhaps a package of Jagielo/Cave could make sense?
Not enough….
That’s it? Jagielo and Cave? If the Yankees were asked to give up half their Double A team for a top 100 prospect, they probably would, as long as Bird, Judge and Severino aren’t on the list.
Well you’re acting as if they’re ho-hum nobodies and we’re dealing in mlb players. Jag particularly is an intriguing power prospect who most scouts believe has staying power at 3B. I can understand it not quite doing it though, it was just a starting point idea based on the needs I was given.
I think Rio Ruiz is pretty solid future 3B candidate
Between Ruiz and Dustin Peterson, I’m good with where we are at 3B. We NEED outfielders.
Outfielders
Braves are in the driver’s seat, unless the Yanks blow us away, this isn’t happening. And Sanchez has 0 value to us.
The Yankees don’t really have to trade for Peraza. Showing interest and being hot on someone are two different things. Plus the Sanchez info was just King throwing prospects out there with no real background on what the Braves actually need. The Yankees have never blown away a team with a package, so why would they now? So relax, for all we know this could be Cashman doing some due diligence.
Firs off it’s unusual for teams to trade top prospects, which almost never happens. However we have seen what John Hart is capable of in recent months, which is almost anything. Braves need outfielders more than any other position right now, putting Aaron Judge into the mix.
Pineda for Montero was kind of a prospect swap
Yeah more or less
Just because the Yankees are interested doesn’t mean the Braves are looking to trade the guy. The timing of this makes no sense for the Braves. I am a fan of Jace but why would you trade 6 years of control of someone you are incredibly high on in Peraza? I would be beyond shocked to see him traded to the Yankees without at least a third team involved that has a strong OF prospect they are willing to part with (since Judge is apparently untouchable).
If it’s not Peraza for Judge then we don’t match up.
Exactly!!
A 6 foot 7 275 pound left-fielder sounds AWESOME, but also very dangerous for an NL club.
Peraza and Judge are ranked similarly in most prospect ranking guides. Both teams consider each player untouchable. It would be a fair trade to both sides.
Regardless of where they rank, Peraza is the “need” for the Yankees, and just like the Braves did with Kimbrel, if the Yanks want him, they’ll need to overpay to get him.
i.e. Cole Hamels and the Sox.
I actually don’t think it’s a desperation situation, at least at this moment, for NY, it’s more the team just likes him more than what they have and are doing their due diligence,with serious interest.
Don’t mean to imply that it’s desperation on the Yanks behalf, merely stating that Yankees are the ones doing the scouting and they’ll be the ones that have to meet the demands.
I’m a Braves fan, but if they were scouting Aaron Judge, then I’d be saying the exact opposite.
I don’t understand why anyone would have to overpay for Peraza. It’s not a desperate situation.
The Braves have made teams pay high prices for any player they wanted via trade, and most of those players were on expensive contracts. They will most definitely ask a hefty price for Peraza.
By no means am I implying that the Yankees will pay the price, merely saying the Braves will ask for the moon as they have no real reason to move him.
Peraza is not a need for the Yankees. Refsynder has a lot of talent and even if he doesn’t work out, there are plenty of other 2B that the Yankees could trade for without overpaying. It’s not as if the Yankees absolutely need that particular 2B and will give Hart everything he wants for him.
Peraza can also play SS. He’s been moved to 2B because of Simmons.
True. But we have Didi for that, Ian Desmond will be a FA, etc. An unproven prospect, even one with a lot of potential, is never a “must have” for another team, especially a team with as many resources as the Yankees, because there are always other options.
Didi has been absolutely awful this season. He makes bad decision and can’t hit at all. Whoever gets Desmond will be overpaying. His numbers have been in a steady decline for the past few years. Peraza could slide into the SS position and be much better than Didi defensively while providing more upside offensively. I understand money is not an issue for Desmond but I find it would be a smarter move by the Yanks to overpay for an Upton type and trade for your SS.
I agree, but the Yanks are the ones looking so they want him as SS.
If he’s not the need, then why are they scouting him? Teams don’t tend to scout players they don’t need and/or have interest in.
The Padres didn’t overpay much when you realize Carlos Quientin and his salary went to the Braves
Ummm…yeah. About that. Braves saved 54 million, got rid of the worst contract in their history, received a #1 prospect, another top prospect, Maybin, and a draft pick.
It was a serious overpay.
As soon as Melvin was attached to the deal it was destined to be rather lopsided
Severino for Peraza is more than fair also (heck I might not even do that if I were the Yankees).
Have to agree with this. Braves don’t need Severino (no way I’d trade a near-major league ready position player for a pitching prospect anyway), Sanchez could provide more depth in a position where the Braves are lacking, but we do have 6 years of control on Bethancourt and Peraza’s value > Sanchez anyway. I’d have to think it’s Aaron Judge the Braves would be most interested in.
i think they need to check Refsnyder out…. he may be the one with the concussion.
I would not mind Gardner who would seem to fit Harts timeline of when he wants the team to compete, so the Braves could avoid overpaying for a player like Alex Gordon in free agency. Would the Yankees make Gardner available?
Personally, I’d be shocked if they did, baffled even. He’s more valuable to the team than Peraza, and likely holds more value to the Yankees than he would on the market,last year he even developed some power. But, if you want to offer an awe-inspiring deal, Cashman likely has his ears open.
“Would the Yankees make Gardner available?”
After all that’s happened since the offseason began, Nothing would surprise me anymore.
The Yankees should have traded Gardner instead of Prado but chances are they may have had to send more money in the deal. Only reason why the Yankees might have been more hesitant on trading number Gardner is if they think he can duplicate his power numbers from 2014 which so far this season he might. Prado would have slotted in well in the number 2 slot, Gardner might be a better defender but the versatility of Prado equalizes that. If Chris Young is a comeback candidate I would say Gardner might be very available in a month.
Maybe but he would cost WAY more than just Peraza. Especially seeing as he’s locked up to a very team friendly deal.
He cost “WAY more” because he’s a very good player who got a pretty good contract and puts up a 3-4 WAR every season. I don’t see how you can say Peraza is worth more when he hasn’t even stepped foot in the majors yet.
Exactly. And Peraza’s not even a stud prospect. A solid, unspectacular prospect for a all star on a team friendly deal makes no sense.
Bro, step back and think for a minute. The Braves aren’t trading a 20 year old kid with solid potential for a 31 year old on the decline. They’re building for 2017, not this year.
I would say every single top 100 prospect has solid potential, but I can bet you a vast majority of them will not match up to what Gardner has done.
Plus it’s not like Gardner is a FA to be. He’s under control for the next 4 years. If this was a straight up trade, the Yankees would have been hosed.
“They’re building for 2017, not this year.”
Then why did they sign Nick Markakis?
Didn’t they sign Markakais for a 4 year deal?
You sure you’re a Yankees fan and not Red Sox?
As a Braves fan, we are rebuilding and if Hart traded away our #1 prospect for a C prospect with ” maturity and defensive” issues when we have Bethancourt, a superb defensive catcher, I’d stop supporting them…especially given the problems we’ve had at 2B these past few YEARS.
Bethancourt has a great arm, but there are still questions about the rest of his defensive attributes behind the plate.
That sounds a lot like Sanchez. He’s a great power prospect with a rocket arm, but questionable defensively beyond that, although he’s reportedly looked much better this season already.
Except Bethancourt has shown no offensive upside whatsoever to this point
He’s fast, which is unique in a catcher, and should be good for 30 doubles and a maximum or 70 K’s this season. Not awesome, but he has his upside. I doubt he’ll lose the starting gig this season no matter what.
True, doesn’t sound like the prospect is any better, and maybe we could help him DEVELOP those skills instead of sending the message that he isn’t good enough. Just saying we’d better get a couple of TOP prospects if we trade our #1 prospect. And he’s talked about having “lead off hitter” skills. ATL hasn’t had a lead off hitter since Brett Butler, and at 2B no less! Two of the biggest flaws ab this team. Trade him and Hart is without a focused plan for rebuilding this team.
I saw nothing mentioned here that would be even close to the value the Braves would need to get back to give up a top prospect. They already have a really good 23 year old catcher.
sorry and I could be totally wrong but i dont see the braves moving peraza for anything less than sanchez severino and a couple of players off of the major league roster not named arod ellsbury or garrett jones
Peraza is not worth both Severino and Sanchez for the Yankees, let alone more players ontop. Severino alone is comparable to Peraza in value.
Yes….you are very wrong. Sanchez + Severino >>>>>>>> Peraza.
No way in the world do I support any trade involving Jose
Peraza as a Braves fan. It would make no sense to deal him with the amount of
work that has been done so far. If you want Aaron Judge or Severino, make a package
with another player we have, not our top prospect who will hit leadoff for
years to come for the Atlanta Braves.
I’d rather have power hitting corner OFer than a 2B prospect. Braves don’t really have any prospects that fit that mold.
Braxton Davidson should develop into that but I’d much rather a Judge type player.
He doesn’t turn 19 until June. He’s way out from making the majors.
You wouldn’t even get Severino or Judge for Peraza, let alone a package of lesser players.
“Complete fabrication” ?????
I recall a similar statement when rumors swirled of ATL shopping Kimbrel
Braves could shift Refsnyder to OF, and take Jake Cave as an MLB ready leadoff, CF bat. Both are solid prospects who could slot in the lineup in 2016. Or Braves may like Ramon Flores and the numbers he is putting up. Yankees actually have a bunch of upper level OF guys and no place to play them.
Didnt the A’s say the same thing about Donaldson before he was traded away?
A future of C-Bethancourt, 1B-Freeman, 2B-Peterson, 3B-Ruiz, SS-Simmons, OF-Judge/Mallex/B Davidson is much more attractive to me than C-Bethancourt, 1B-Freeman, 2B-Peraza, 3B-Ruiz, SS-Simmons, OF-Peterson/Mallex/B Davidson
Definitely depends on is Judge goes Mike Stanton or if he goes Wily Mo Pena.
That is quite a weird rumor…:D A Yankee “fabrication”?
he prospect of the club trading Peraza is a “complete fabrication.”
And wishful thinking.
The idea that anyone in the Brave’s org is untouchable at any price is a complete fabrication.
Wait…. wasn’t Kimbrel untouchable?
Who would they trade to get this shortstop because I thought they wanted to get tulo as well.
Yankee off day fodder.
A prospect from the Yankees? Yeah, no. They never have one. Don’t trade with them.
This mindset isn’t very up to date. Their system is much better than it’s been the past few years and it’s on the upswing.
Okay, I’ll be waiting then!
This isn’t how the Yankees usually do business. The last few years, the trades the Yankees have made have not been the stuff of rumors prior to happening.
I want a job where I get paid to make things up
me too!
I get that Refsnyder is struggling defensively and I get that Pirela has a concussion but Pirela will heal eventually and Refsnyder could improve in the field. Also, Severino and Sanchez are two of their top prospects. No way are they going to trade two of their top prospects for one top prospect in the Braves organization in Peraza especially with what i have just said about Refsnyder and Pirela. Realize Peraza is not a proven player which means the chances of one of two prospects working out (Sanchez or Severino) is higher than one prospect working out (Peraza). The Yankees could be creating a real log jam at second too.