Here’s the latest out of Atlanta…
- Jason Grilli’s return from a ruptured Achilles tendon and the 93-mph fastball he’s displaying in the Braves camp has generated trade buzz, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Grilli was enjoying a very strong season as Atlanta’s closer last season (2.94 ERA, 4.5 K/BB rate, 45 strikeouts in 33 2/3 IP) before hitting the DL in early July. Were it not for that season-ending injury, Grilli could very well have changed uniforms at the trade deadline since several teams were rumored to be interested in his services. Cafardo speculates that Grilli could be a fit for the Red Sox now, as manager John Farrell is a fan of the reliever and Carson Smith is on the disabled list.
- The Braves will be responsible for all of the $900K owed to the newly-acquired Tyler Moore in 2016, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports (Twitter link). Moore got his first taste of arbitration eligibility this offseason and agreed to the $900K deal with the Nationals well before figures had to be exchanged.
- Atlanta’s trade for Eric O’Flaherty may not be the only move the club makes to add a lefty reliever, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman hints. Alex Torres is the only other southpaw reliever still in the Braves’ big league camp, and the club isn’t even sure if Torres is a fit for the Opening Day roster.
But bigpapi said the sox bullpen was already to good to add any pieces, this article must be wrong
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way red sox suck
Lefties or no, Braves are a lock for 70 wins in that division and what else is expected? Good play. Simply good ball. Just not make too many errors or blow too many leads. Their 5 year losing cycle is a 10 year winning cycle. It’s there. The foundation is there and confidently built.
I like this comment. Yes 70 seems about right. I think Atlanta has put a decent team together at a basement price. Still could see an interesting move or two made.
Bazingaa, why do you chose to bully bigpapi? Why not let him post and ignore if you think it’s that bad?
Grili would be a nice backup for my Sox to store in AAA in case Smith isn’t ready opening day. Braves shouldn’t expect much in return though. I would expect them to cover his salary.
Keep dreaming.
This is the imposter bigpapi. Which is worse then the original one.
Yeah aside from the impersonation aspect this one goes too far, talking about a team paying the entire modest salary of a good player so you can acquire him and somehow put him in triple. I get a parody has to be exaggerated but I feel like this is too too much, even for bigpapi4etc.
Grilli may be old, but he’s been one of the most effective relievers in baseball for the past five seasons. He’s also exceptionally cheap for his skillset at $3MM this season with a $3MM team option for next season. The Red Sox may not have to give up a top prospect, but there’s little chance that the Braves (especially considering their lower payroll) will cover Grilli’s salary in a trade. They could easily hang on to him until the trade deadline and get greater value from a team in need.
Smith won’t be ready for at least a month and a half
That’s not what I heard. I read that he’s going to throw a bullpen session later this week and if all goes well will probably be on the opening day roster.
With Arenado established in Colorado and the wealth of pitching in Atlanta’s minors does anybody think they can pry Ryan McMahon from the Rockies or has Riley established himself the future at 3rd. I know there was talk of him maybe being a better fit in RF long term. I also feel Grilli would be more valuable to the Braves to keep til the deadline at least if not longer. A def leader in that bullpen for players like Simmons, Vizciano, & Withrow to learn from as they come up. I see Withrow supplanting Winkler as soon as they can send him down and I see Simmons taking over for Johnson around the deadline or so.
I am guessing like you, that Riley is probably more pegged for RF as Rio Ruiz is getting more buss about 3B as of late. Wouldn’t mind seeing a push for McMahon and/or Nunez (C) for some of our pitching prospects.
Grilli will most likely be a deadline play. He is cheap and effective with an option for ’17.
And see ZERO chance of hooking up with Boston on anything. Year and a half of a setup man is not enough value for what we could use out of their farm and no need for the overpriced 40 man roster guys.
Grilli would be a pretty solid addition. Some insurance if Kimbrel goes down or Smith takes longer then expected. And I believe this is the final year of his contract so if mid season the Red Sox are out of contention and he is performing a contender may wants to pick him at the trade deadline.
Grilli’s contract has a 3 million (250k buyout) option for 2017 which would add to his value if he pitches well this year.
Ah thank you, I thought there may be an option.
I just don’t see Boston paying the price for another closer, unless Smith is out for the year. He won’t cost like Kimbral, but I doubt Atlanta is unaware of what closers are going for. Why give up a solid prospect or two for a couple of week filler?
If the price is right, the Sox should pull the trigger. Having a bullpen of Smith, Grilli, Koji, and Kimbrel, could cover up a lot of the weaknesses of Boston’s 2-5 starters.
Not sure Grilli’s entering into his age 39 season. He’s also had so pretty mediocre seasons mixed in there. I’d take a pass and go with the kids.
Grilli will definitely garner much attention today, but triple the value in July if he is still healthy and building on his already impressive resume while playing on a team that everyone knows is looking for future assets. I could see Atl hanging on to him and accepting the highest bidder near the trade deadline. But I could also see one of the major over-spenders overpaying for him rather soon. I’d love to see Grilli go to a contender early on to establish himself, but I imagine this trade will take place this summer.
Plus the Braves first half is going to be rough. No cupcakes in the early schedule means if Grilli rises to the occasion his value will be worth more. Granted I bet they are more willing to pull the trigger after what happened last year. Almost ready to deal him, at optimal value, and then he gets injured.
I have to say, I am curious what some other fans may think of the following possible trade proposals:
Red Sox Receive:
Jason Grilli (Contract is 2 years, 6 million)
Tyrell Jenkins
Zach Bird
Braves Receive:
Christian Vazquez
Michael Chavis
OR
Red Sox Receive:
Jason Grilli
Tyrell Jenkins
Williams Perez
Braves Receive:
Brock Holt
Wendell Rijo
What do you guys think? Opinions, thoughts, ideas, etc. from either teams’ perspective are greatly welcome and appreciated…
I tried to make both trades fair, in terms of value, but as a fan we all know sometimes bias can cloud your judgment even if you think you are being reasonable!! lol…
From the Braves perspective, and as a fan of the Braves I am leaning towards trade number one…The Braves really need a catcher of the future, and I believe Vazquez could be the guy…
Here are the major problems with your proposal.
1) Tyrell Jenkins is, to date, a major factor is the Braves future rotation plans. Granted none of the major pitching prospects we have are “untouchable” but Tyrell Jenkins I think is too close to the majors to be a trade candidate. I could be wrong, but it’s my opinion than him being part of those deals is almost an instant no.
2) Including Jason Grilli (at the moment) will not warrant you as large a return as it will closer to the deadline. Most teams will be interested in Grilli but won’t be willing to give up much in return for him due to the fact that he had that injury. On the other hand, if we wait until closer to the deadline then the return for him will be greater than it will be right now. PLUS we will be in a better position to cover his loss since Simmons will be back and will have worked into the bullpen. Yes it’s a risk to keep Grilli since he could get injured but he’s such a low cost to us that it makes no sense to sell low on him.
3) Your second proposal will be shut down instantly. It makes no sense for us to trade for them. Rijo profiles as a 2B and we’ve got Albies or Swanson already about to take over that position. Rijo doesn’t have the arm strength to really pull off 3B either. Not to mention he lacks the power that you typically want from someone who plays the hot corner. Same goes for Brock Holt. He came up playing 2B and a SS. He doesn’t have the arm to stick at SS. He’s played 3B but doesn’t really play it well enough to play everyday. He’s a utility guy at best. That’s all he is ever going to be. We’ve got Jace Peterson already on the roster who can fill that role. We’ve also got Adonis Garcia who can pencil in as a utility player should we find someone better to man 3B on an everyday basis. So this second proposal . . . is just no. Braves would give giving up FAR TOO MUCH for an average utility guy and a 2B that we can’t use.
4) As for your first proposal it is better than your first but still not something that I am jumping at. The reason is that Michael Chavis is a LONG way from being ready and doesn’t seem to be as good as Austin Riley who we already have in the minor league system. Riley hit 12 HRs last year in just over 200 PAs where as it took Chavis over 400 PAs to hit 16. Not to mention the huge difference in their SO totals. I’ll stick with RIley and give Rio Ruiz, who is already on our roster, a chance to fill in as a stop gap player until Riley is ready. As for Christian Vazquez… I’d love to be able to trade for him. He seems to be an EXCELLENT defensive minded catcher. He gets rave reviews from the entire Red Sox pitching staff as someone who knows what he’s doing and calls a good game, but it’s that same reason that I don’t see that sort of trade working out. Yes they have Blake Swihart currently behind the plate for them, but he’s young as well (23 years old) and if the pitchers work better with Vazquez than they do Swihart…. Swihart could be gone. Swihart struggles with pitch calling in a game whereas Vazquez excels at it. Ryan Hanigan is the backup currently for the Red Sox but when Vazquez comes back from his Tommy John’s surgery… look for that to change. Too many questions surrounding the Red Sox and their catcher for them to ship Vazquez off at the moment.