Headlines

  • Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear
  • Astros Promote Brice Matthews
  • Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow
  • Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers
  • Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help
  • Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Braves Notes: Pagan, Cabrera, Offseason, Albies, Prospects

By Steve Adams | March 31, 2017 at 11:00am CDT

The Braves are still interested in free agent outfielder Angel Pagan, reports Jim Bowedn of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, citing a club source (Twitter link). Atlanta has been tied to Pagan at various points this offseason. The 35-year-old Pagan has reportedly been holding out for a Major League deal that’ll pay him in the neighborhood of $5MM, however, which seems unlikely at this juncture. Fleet-footed Emilio Bonifacio has won a spot on the Atlanta roster as a backup outfielder, but Pagan has quite a bit more experience and could serve as a backup at all three positions, deepening the Atlanta bench, if the two sides are ultimately able to agree to a deal. Pagan hit .277/.331/.418 in 453 plate appearances with the Giants last year — a solid effort, especially when considering the pitcher-friendly nature of AT&T Park.

More on the Braves…

  • Flamethrowing setup man Mauricio Cabrera will begin the season on the 10-day disabled list, reports MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). While that’s an unfortunate blow to the Atlanta relief corps — Cabrera posted a 2.82 ERA and averaged 100.1 mph on his fastball in 38 1/3 innings as a rookie in 2016 — the good news is that there’s no indication of any structural damage in the 23-year-old’s elbow. Bowman suggests that Cabrera is simply dealing with some arm fatigue that requires some additional rest. Bowman first noted last week that Cabrera was in jeopardy of opening the year on the shelf.
  • David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution conducted an excellent Q&A with always-candid Braves general manager John Coppolella. Within, Coppolella discusses his team’s offseason moves at length, as well as his team’s top-ranked farm system and the impact of SunTrust Park on the timeline of his team’s rebuild. Coppolella notes that the decision to add R.A. Dickey, Bartolo Colon and Jaime Garcia on one-year commitments was made in an effort to spare the ’pen and avoid the same cavalcade of roster shuffling the Braves had to go through in 2016 just to get through the season. “There were so many times last year where our pitcher would be knocked out before the fourth inning and you absolutely decimate your bullpen and end up having to make three or four roster moves each day,” Coppolella explains. “We rushed some pitchers up here who weren’t ready and, candidly, some who were just not good.”
  • Also in the Q&A, Coppolella touches on the late acquisition of Brandon Phillips and how that will (or won’t) impact the timeline for top-rated infield prospect Ozzie Albies to crack the Majors. “We expect a big year for Brandon and also expect it will have very little impact on when we call up Ozzie,” says the GM. “Ozzie is going to tell us when he is ready, and he needs to play, be completely healthy, and dominate Triple-A.” Coppolella also suggests that Albies doesn’t immediately need to be locked into one position upon arriving in the Majors due to his athleticism and versatility. “Ask the Cubs about Javier Baez,” says Coppolella when explaining how a versatile young talent can mesh with veteran pieces.
  • Coppolella also discusses Atlanta’s wealth of top-tier pitching prospects. While he neglects to single out specific arms on which he’s especially bullish, Coppolella assertively states that in terms of potential top-of-the-rotation arms, the Braves stand alone: “…with all due respect, we can confidently say we have more than any other team — and it’s not even close.” Those who have yet to read O’Brien’s Q&A in its entirety — even if you’re not a Braves fan — are highly encouraged to do so.
Share 0 Retweet 2 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Angel Pagan Brandon Phillips John Coppolella Mauricio Cabrera Ozzie Albies

Tigers Sign Bryan Holaday To Minors Deal
Main
Mariners, Gordon Beckham Agree To Minors Deal
View Comments (13)
Post a Comment

13 Comments

  1. olereb

    8 years ago

    Tell it like it is Coppy

    1
    Reply
  2. metseventually 2

    8 years ago

    Cool take Pagan, my third favorite Met behind Dickey and Colon….

    Reply
  3. bravesfan

    8 years ago

    At this point, i see no need for us to waste money on Pagan. We have guys that will get us through the year. Don’t spend extra money on what’s honestly gonna be a wasted year. With that said, still excited for the year. I think we will perform better than most people expect. Prob not playoff worthy, but a thorn in some teams side for sure.

    1
    Reply
  4. steelerbravenation

    8 years ago

    Don’t agree I say sign Pagan because Kemp & Markakis will need days off and how many times by the trade deadline you see a bench player moved. I look at Pagan as a trade deadline asset. Even if we were to just move him for organizational depth.

    Reply
    • bravesfan

      8 years ago

      It’s just, a good portion of our starters could be bench pieces lol so a good bit of a the team could be considered trade deadline assets by that standard.

      1
      Reply
  5. steelerbravenation

    8 years ago

    Exactly my point

    Reply
  6. 66TheNumberOfTheBest

    8 years ago

    Which Braves prospects profile as TOR arms?

    I’ve not heard that before, in fact, the opposite…that ATL has a lot of quantity but there are questions about the quality.

    Reply
    • bravesfan

      8 years ago

      It’s easy to throw that title on some of the players we drafted out of high school. Their ceilings are usually really high and scouts seem to always do that. We also have 2 or 3 that they believe will be tor type arms, which they truly might be. Either way. The fact that we could make a legit argument that we have maybe 6 TOR prospects seems to be far more than any organization, which is what coppy is saying here. .

      Do I agree that they will be or are properly rated? Not really, but I do think they are really strong pitching prospects.

      Reply
      • chesteraarthur

        8 years ago

        Who are these 6 prospects? They have a bunch of pitchers with control issues that could possibly figure it out. How many pitching prospects have failed because of that control issue though? They have a collection of what is probably the most volatile type of asset in baseball.

        They could get lucky and have a few of these guys figure it out, but the odds on that are pretty low.

        Aaron Judge could be one of the better hitters in the AL if he figured out his contact issues, but do we really think that’s gonna happen?

        Reply
    • tharrie0820

      8 years ago

      fried and Allard I’d say

      Reply
      • chesteraarthur

        8 years ago

        Fried hasn’t pitched above A ball, where he was still posting a bb/9 above 4.

        Reply
  7. bbarker17

    8 years ago

    Over his last 12 starts in High A, including the post season, he put up 12.3K/9 and a 2.7 BB/9. This was also his first full season back from Tommy John and you know they say control is the last thing that comes back. Him, Kolby Allard, and Mike Soroka (the latter two – 19 years old) will be bumped up to Double A to start the year. While they certainly have or have had their share of control issue guys, (Weigel, Newcomb, Simms, Jenkins, Wentz, Blair, Ellis, Bird) Fried, Allard, and Soroka all are solid #1 potential guys, Soroka, maybe ess so than the other two, you could say projects more as a #2, #3. The chances of at least one of them turning into a certified ace is about 50%. 67% you get a #1 out of that group. Max looked more than on his way this spring.

    Reply
  8. bbarker17

    8 years ago

    That’s my sincere outlook. I worry about Sean Newcomb and Lucas Sims ever finding their control and competing in Triple A. Let alone a sleight of starts in the majors. Weigel has the velocity and resemblance of secondary stuff, but he’s had control issues in the past. I guess this year will prove if it’s behind him. My hunch is they bumped up Allard and Soroka this offseason because they weren’t so sure on Wisler, Blair, Newcomb, Sims, or Weigel competing in the majors,

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

    Astros Promote Brice Matthews

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Recent

    Royals Receiving Interest In Catching Prospects

    J.C. Escarra Drawing Trade Attention

    Cristian Javier Begins Rehab Assignment

    Multiple Teams Showing Interest In DJ LeMahieu

    Rafael Devers Suffering From Disk Injury In Lower Back

    Mets’ Dedniel Nunez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Seattle Mariners

    Reds Activate Jake Fraley, Option Christian Encarnacion-Strand

    Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

    Cubs Select Brooks Kriske

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version