The Braves have re-signed veteran infielder/outfielder Emilio Bonifacio to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Last we heard, the Braves had designated Bonifacio for assignment last week, so it appears he got through waivers.
The Braves signed Bonifacio to a big-league deal last offseason, but he didn’t make the team, as the Braves opted for Jeff Francoeur and Drew Stubbs as backup outfield options. Bonifacio collected 82 plate appearances for the White Sox last year, but he played for the Braves for part of the 2014 season. For his career, Bonifacio has batted .259/.316/.337 while playing seven different positions and for eight different teams.
No
With this rag tag bunch we will see him at some point this year.
Please no… This means no Mallex. They signed as an emergency backup in case Inciarte is legit hurt…
They keep saying be patient, the future will be great. There is no catcher for the future and we have no power
I agree but I do see 3 catchers of the future that may be available come the trade deadline. Susac now that Belt signed an extension, Sanchez because McCann has him blocked and Contreras from the Cubs. I know that inter division trades don’t happen very often but we did make a deal with the mets last year do maybe Plawecki could come into play.
Sanchez would be an ideal fit and both teams line up nicely for a trade. I don’t see the Cubs moving Contreras. Schwarber is probably going to be the DH when and if the NL adopts the DH. If not, I don’t think he has the defensive chops to be an everyday catcher. Contreras’ backup with OF being his primary position. Especially, after this injury. The Red Sox will probably make Vazquez available. His bat could be servicable in the NL. Wieters will be a free agent after this year. Plawecki is raw but would also be a good fit. IMO the Braves should have gone after Nottingham this offseason. Maybe the Brewers would be interested in flipping him yet again. I still see Sanchez as the best fit though. The Yankees are lacking in quality LHP starters. If Torrens comes back from labrum surgery and pick,s up where he left off I could see Cashman flipping Sanchez. Something like Sanchez for Allard straight up, or Sanchez/Refsnyder for Newcomb, or Sanchez/Lindgren for Fried/Ruiz.. Prospect for prospect trades are rare. I understand that but speculation is still fun. Thoughts?
The Braves have multiple prospects with power potential including Riley, Davidson, Ruiz, Peterson, etc. Even Herbert has some pop, and he is the top ranked catcher in the Braves system. While speed and contact has more dominance up and down the Braves minors there is no power outage.
And if Herbert or another catcher doesn’t work out then the Braves will have to make a trade or sign someone. It’s not like they were going to build the entire team through their current prospect pool.
Herbert got drafted out of high school last year and was hurt shortly after he got here. There is no reason to not go after anybody by the time he is ready the guy u pick up may be ready for free agency. Also the same with Riley there is no reason we can’t snatch up a guy to play til he is ready. Beltre IMO is perfect and if we have to overpay than I am fine with that. And yes there is a shortage of power in the minors.
I don’t even care about the power. I see the prospect accumulation and now see it’s time to sprinkle in veterans to teach the young boys how to play. Ala Pendelton, Liebrandt, Belliard, Bream, Pena and Berenguer did in 91.
None of those guys were star players but they were professional and taught the young guys how to win.
I don’t disagree with most of what you wrote (though Pendleton was a star player while with the Braves). I do disagree with overpaying for veterans at this point or even next season. There are mentor options that won’t break the bank. And that means if a prospect reaches the majors at a faster rate than expected than they won’t be blocked by someone that is expensive to remove. If that mentor player is also the key difference in a potential playoff spot, then that is a different story. But the Braves are a ways off from that being an issue.
The Braves don’t have a lot of power in the minors, but my comment was in response to the claim that there was no power in the minors. That’s clearly wrong. They are obviously putting higher emphasis on other areas, but it’s not like they’re avoiding power like it’s a disease.
I have a different plan I would like them to implement. We have slot of money coming off the books so I would like to put some of that towards Beltre who we would have to overpay with dollars and probably years as well which I wouldn’t mind cause it gives Austin Riley time to develop. Plus Beltre is a leader that can do what Pendleton did for the earlier Brave teams.
I would also like them if they can’t pull off a trade for a catcher of the future type to go after Cirvelli. He is a free agent at the end of the year.
And also I think either Jake Peavy or James Shields could be a valuable mentor to the pitching staff. I would prefer Peavy but that is just me.
LINE UP
1. Mallex CF
2. Swanson SS
3. Freeman 1B
4. Beltre 3B
5. Markakis RF
6. Olivera/Inciarte LF
7. Cirvelli C
8. Albies 2B
BENCH
Flowers C
Jace SS/2B/3B
Garcia 3B/OF
Inciarte/Olivera OF
Moore OF/1B
ROTATION
1. Teahran
2. Sheilds or Peavy
3. Wisler
4. Blair
5. Folty
BULLPEN
1. Grilli RHP
2. Withrow RHP
3, Simmons RHP
4. Winkler RHP
5. Gant RHP
6. ManBan LHP
7. Paco LHP
That’s ehat I would like for 2017 in the new ballpark.
I like it except Banuelos should be in the rotation. Once he gets his velocity back he should be a TOR arm. I am not a fan of Folty in the rotation. I think he has closer written all over him. Rotation of Teahran/(solid trade mentor type like you suggested but Peavy is no longer a TOR arm)/Blair/Banuelos/Wisler. For the #2 I would suggest Ross from the Padres or Kazmir if he opts out of his Dodgers contract. Blair, Banuelos and Wisler are interchangeable.
I would tweak your lineup a little bit as well. Switching Swanson and Inciarte. Possibly moving Markakis down to #6 as well.
I like ManBan in the rotation as well if for anything else I would say because we need a lefty in the rotation. But I don’t know if he loses something 2nd time thru the lineup and he always seems hurt. But I could see Folty in the bullpen. And if the Rangers do wind up signing Beltre than maybe we could match up with the Rangers on s trade for Gallo. Who I would love even better than Beltre would be if we could actually get our hands on Headley. But I don’t think the Yanks have any interest in moving him.
Point is we still got a lot of work to do and the future does look bright.
Looks like Inciarte to the DL and Mallex comin up after today’s game. Which I don’t mind to see what he got. If he struggles send him down when Inciarte comes off the DL and if he doesn’t we have an exciting player for what will be an otherwise long year.
well end up needing a real ace, Teheran could be #2, plus where’s Vizcaino, the best RP we have?
I hear u on Peavy not being a TOR arm and I agree. I was just looking at a free agent mentor type that we could spend money on that wouldn’t be too expensive and wouldn’t need a crazy amount of years to commit to. I wouldn’t mind Kazmir and I am sure there will be many more types like that to choose from.