The Braves are reportedly still in the mix for Chris Sale, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Atlanta also made a run at Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray but found Oakland’s asking price to be prohibitive (Twitter link). Oakland did not ask for Dansby Swanson to be included in the deal, but Atlanta still felt the A’s were asking for too much in return.
A few more notes on the market for starting pitchers…
- The Royals are gauging interest in left-hander Danny Duffy, reports MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). Duffy had a breakout campaign this past season, tossing 179 2/3 innings with a 3.51 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 36.4 percent ground-ball rate. As Morosi points out, he could make sense for a team looking to augment its rotation but unwilling to part with the talent required to land someone like Chris Sale or Chris Archer. Duffy, however, is a free agent next winter, so he’d be a short-term upgrade rather than a long-term solution like those other names.
- The Astros are more likely to trade for rotation help than they are to pursue the remaining free agents on the market, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. Houston isn’t in on right-hander Ivan Nova and likely considers him to be too expensive, per Olney. The Astros are reportedly open to moving either Collin McHugh or Mike Fiers as they seek to create some roster/payroll flexibility, as Olney’s colleague, Jayson Stark, reported earlier today.
- Pirates officials are set to meet with free agent lefty Derek Holland at some point this week at the Winter Meetings, reports Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). The Bucs have been linked to H0lland on multiple occasions this winter as the former Ranger looks to rebuild his stock with a healthy 2017 campaign.
- The Marlins are showing some interest in right-hander Doug Fister, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman, but adding an established closer is the team’s No. 1 priority at the moment. This isn’t the first time Miami has been connected to Fister, but that fact that they’re still interested after adding Edinson Volquez to the mix is notable.
It’s kind of funny to keep seeing the Braves not happy about asking prices of young, controllable pitching after the Shelby Miller deal.
Not really when you consider they turned Miller into Inciarte and Swanson.
That’s exactly exactly my point. And now trying to trade for Chris Sale, they are balking at the price.
What’s funny is, they’re like a nat, just annoying, doesn’t have a playoff team, but want to go after every pitcher a contending team is looking at!!
First it’s Archer, then Sale, now sonny gray!!
They keep coming back saying it’s to expensive lol!!
To get a great pitcher, your going to have to give up a ton of talent!!! Think that Shelby Miller trade has got in there head, that they can find idiot owner/gm to bend over every year like arizona!!
Think there are figuring out, it’s just not that east lol
Yet all the contending teams are also saying those players are too expensive. So your point, as petty as it is, is invalid.
I feel like you could have used a few more exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s what you found wrong with that?
Ha, that is one thing I found wrong with it. The enthusiasm with which it was stated is what really got under my skin. Also: *gnat, *too, *you’re, *their, *they, *easy
Haha. I have to admit, I gave up reading it.
Not surprising at all — it just shows Braves know value and are discriminating shoppers. Great skills to have during the Holiday shopping season, don’t you think?
Braves know value – Isn’t this the same team that traded for Matt Kemp and signed Nick Markakis?
Oh good to see you’re still spouting nonsense. You still think I’m delusional about Freddie Freeman? Still think he can’t hit anymore? You have next to no credibility and yet continually speak as someone who does.
Are you talking about the deal where Atlanta got Shelby Miller who they turned into three players and the Cards got nothing.
Royals should deal Duffy. They will lose half of their core next year and the other half the year after. By dealing everyone, their rebuild will go quicker because they will have a lot of prospects that will fill roles and they won’t have to do a lot of outside additions. It’s not like they had a 3 year window and did nothing, they got 2 AL pennants and a World Series ring.
I agree!! I’d take that every 10 years lol
So as a stros fan, what prospects you think KC would want, from the Astros for Duffy?
A’s walk away from any deal involving Sonny that doesn’t include Inciarte
They just gave Ian Kennedy 50+ mil and Duffy loves it in KC. He’s said how much he loves playing their and his relationship with GM Dayton Moore. Duffy will sign an extension with KC this offseason unless a team pulls a shelby miller type retard move.
Why? Gray just had a plus 5 era this year. He looked terrible and all projections say this could continue. Braves shouldn’t give up a .290-.300 hitter for him. Gray at this point is simply worth prospects or avg major league talent, Not plus major league talent.
Personally I don’t want gray that bad. I wouldn’t hate it, but I don’t think we need to give up an arm and a leg for him. I’d say Smith and 1 or two pretty good prospects makes sense.
The As are under the impression that Grey had an off year and are not interested in there opinion of under valuing moving him for a cheaper value… Braves have set there own issues with the Miller trade last year that everyone and everyone’s uncle thinks Arizona over paid… no one wants that just got screwed designation dealing with Atlanta ……..
ATL needs to wait a little while longer and let some of these young prospects mature and boost their stock. I’m sure OAK is going after Albies and/or Ender when ATL would be more willing to move Mallex Smith and Sean Newcombe (and others).
There’s a risk dealing for Gray that there’s not nearly as much of with Sale, even if sacrificing years. What is Gray’s 2016 mirrors 2017…?
badco44. The Dbacks were foolish enough to make the trade. Just because one organization was foolish enough to donate their entire system for 1 player, doesn’t mean everyone should expect the braves to give up their system for 1 player. What we learned from the Dbacks is you don’t make trades like that because it doesn’t make sense.
Gray isn’t worth what people are asking for. Even in his best years, I’d argue he still isn’t worth it.
I don’t think the braves should deal Newcombe. I’m ok with Smith,
The Pirates are asking for Giolito and Robles for Cutch after a massive down year. You think the A’s are going to ask for less because of one down year? They’d be better of keeping him and hoping he bounces back to form. Then trade him at the deadline or next offseason. They aren’t giving out discounts; that’d be stupid.
which projections say gray could continue to have an era over 5?
So here’s what happened, braves took advantage of a really stupid Dbacks office. Now the rest of the league thinks that the braves should be that stupid and give up their entire farm for pitching.
Braves do not NEED these guys and SHOULDN’T give up this talent for them. Great pitchers, but none of them are worth wiping out your farm system. It’s probably best for everyone to simply not trade them and continue on with life. haha
Sale is a huge difference maker. The Miller trade doesn’t have anything to do with it, he’s just worth a lot.
Agreed – Miller trade is an exception, not a rule. When having active discussions, I don’t think that trade comes up once if not only because it’s not possible to trade current year’s draft picks and that trade wouldn’t happen under today’s rules.
ATL took advantage of a good season by Miller, and an ARZ squad desperate to contend paying anything to do that, after getting rejected going after Jose Fernandez. Miller is a much better pitcher than what we’ve seen in 2016. He’ll rebound.
The Miller trade absolutely has something to do with it. and you’re out of your mind if you think otherwise. Organizations place value on their players based on what other “like” players have gotten in return. Ie. if shelby miller got this in return, Sale should get the world. It set a bar that is outrageous. Good for the braves for taking advantage, but my god, other organizations need to come to reality and stop asking for our entire system for one player.
Honestly, I’d say the sox are better off keeping him unless they can trade for some already proven MLB talent.
Other gms/fo members, at the time, were mad about the miller trade and said/alluded to the fact that it had no actual bearing on market prices. Whether that is true or not, I’m not sure, but there were people who were unhappy that the dbacks gave up that much at the time
As a Braves fan, I think people overrate the return the Braves got for Shelby Miller and Gene Speir. If Pollock avoids injury and Miller duplicates his 2015 season the Snakes make the playoffs. Blair has not panned out. Swanson and Inciarte are forecasted at less than 4.0 WAR.. D-Backs didn’t do so bad and will probably have a winning season before the Braves. Inciarte will not stand up and he is such a whiner. (Not winner)
Bryce Harper, Victor Robles, Lucas Giolito and Tanner Roark to Angels for Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.
Where is Albert gonna play in Washington in that scenario?
Wow the angels would get one year of Harper
Yes but save a gazillion dollars. Get two starters and another great outfielder. You sound jaded.
wtf, if any team wants Trout then you better believe any and every team is going to have to overpay big time. You don’t just trade future hall of famers before they’re even 25 years old. A trade for Trout wouldn’t make sense because an oppossi.g team would just have to give too much. The pirates are asking for guys like Turner and/or Giolito and thats for a guy whom the majority of people on here think is on the decline. You better believe a trade with the Nats is gonna start with both Giolito and Turner plus other top pieces. And I’d love to hear how the best player of this generation is not worth that much. I’d love to hear you say how those prospects will “potentially” be better than the guy that IS already the best.
Yankees acquired a young hall of famer from the Red Sox for next to nothing.
Gray for McCutchen? The A’s could keep him or make it a 3 team deal.
As a Braves fan, i hope the Dbacks win the division next two seasons so all you kids would just STFU about the trade last year.
I think the Braves are delusional, they expect to rip every team off just like they did the Dbacks. They keep asking for the best pitchers on opposing teams and are reluctant when they hear that the opposing team actually wants quality
back from them. This isn’t Mlb: the show where you can just turn on the force trade option lol.
So how do you know they are trying to rip anyone off exactly? Do you know what Oakland asked for? How about what the Braves offered? Funny how every single team that has checked in on Sale, Archer and Gray has balked at the asking price, yet the Braves alone are the delusional ones?
That is why you just ignore people like him. They think they are smarter and better than GMs in baseball. Internet GMs are the best tho…they know more than people inside the organizations.
I’m really starting to wonder how much the Braves are really interested in adding a torp pitcher and how much they are trying to *look* like they are adding a torp (for pr reasons).
They never were. Copper is no different from Wren. All talk!
How about a deal where Danny Duffy and Yordano Ventura go to Atlanta and Julio Teheran, Josh Collmenter and Sean Rodriguez go to Kansas City.