Approximately a dozen teams have expressed interest in Braves left-hander Jaime Garcia, but the club isn’t ready to sell, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (on Twitter). Thanks in part to Garcia, who fired seven one-run innings in a win over the Diamondbacks on Sunday, the Braves (45-45) are at the .500 mark for the first time since April 17. Overall this season, the 31-year-old Garcia has logged a 4.33 ERA (4.25 FIP), 6.88 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 54.7 percent ground-ball rate through 106 innings. As an impending free agent, Garcia and his $12MM salary may well end up on the move in the coming weeks if the Braves don’t make up more ground in the National League playoff race. The team has a realistic chance to contend, though, as it’s a manageable 5.5 games out of a wild-card spot.
More from Atlanta’s division, the NL East:
- “A fair amount of inquiries” have come in on Mets closer Addison Reed, relays the New York Post’s Mike Puma, who adds that the team would like to keep fellow reliever Jerry Blevins (Twitter link). While Reed is the superior pitcher, the right-hander’s contract will expire at season’s end, making him an obvious trade candidate; conversely, the Mets will be able to maintain control over the left-handed Blevins by way of an affordable club option ($7MM) next year.
- Speaking of the Mets, they’re “close” to promoting their best prospect, Triple-A infielder Amed Rosario to the majors, a source familiar with management’s thinking told Bob Klapisch of The Record. One reason it hasn’t happened yet pertains to clubhouse chemistry, according to the source; specifically, the Mets have been reluctant to call up Rosario because they’re walking on eggshells around veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, who Klapisch writes has “quietly seethed” since they shifted him from shortstop to second base last month. At the time of the move, Cabrera did publicly complain and ask for a trade, but he quickly walked back those comments. Despite that, seeing Rosario at short wouldn’t sit well with Cabrera, suggests Klapisch. It’s worth noting that Cabrera wouldn’t do his Mets future any favors by pouting over a Rosario promotion. With an $8.5MM club option (or a $2MM buyout) for next year, his time with the club could be on the verge of ending.
- The division-rival Marlins and Nationals had “substantive talks” regarding Miami relievers AJ Ramos and David Phelps before Sunday, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. The Nationals might be out of the running for those two after acquiring Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle from the A’s, but Eddie Matz of ESPN.com could see the Nats further bolstering their bullpen before the trade deadline.
At this point it’s time for the Mets to move on and either trade or dfa Cabrera and let Rosario play
Exactly, why be held hostage by him, it’s not like he’s a top 5 player in MLB.
You can see the difference between the Red Sox eating Pablo’s contract for a huge amount of money and the CHEAP WILPON’S who owe Cabrera very little and are afraid.
It’s time for Mets’ fans to take a stand and stop supporting the Mets financially.
Too bad they stopped posting on MLBTR as they are already trolling the NFL rumor sign and wearing their green jerseys and helmets (lol).
Yeah, the difference is the Red Sox put up with the disappointment of Panda for 3 years while the Mets have dealt with this for, what? 2 months? So to be like Boston, you get to keep Ramirez for two more years!
except cabrera is way cheaper and more valuable than sandoval.
here, have a downvote.
I agree.
Move him for a Bag of Balls !
Nets fans are freaking spoiled
*mets
Don’t you hate when you try to talk trash but then get auto corrected ?! Lol
*jets
Nationals are only now addressing the bullpen issues that were obviously present during the offseason after we signed Melanceon
should the nationals go after a back end starter with joe ross now on the dl?
Nah. The Braves can’t catch them with the strength of the rest of the team and you only really need 3 starters in the playoffs
yea but your 4 and 5 guys become long relievers in the playoffs
It would be tough but they could catch them.
Tough and highly unlikely, but certainly not impossible…
This Braves team just refuses to quit and go away…It’s hard not to like their persistence.
They need more 2 arms ain’t going to fix it
Good morning, RiverCats. Welcome to the Nats bullpen discussion that’s been going on for 7 months. Go back to sleep.
The whole NL East is selling besides the Nationals. But who seems in the best shape to get good quickly after the Nats age out in a few years?
Depends on when. Could be any of Mets Phils Braves. Braves have a lot of 2nd tier prospects, Phils have some good prospects and money and may fit the Nats time table perfectly and Mets have pitching and money and that could be enough.
Braves have a lot of first tier prospects!!! 9 in top 100 according to mlbpipeline!! 7 in top 50 according to Keith Law!
Those are highly ranked tier 2 types. I’m mostly talking about Allard, Wright, Maitan types that aren’t as close to the majors. Braves are stacked with great prospects, and should have a very strong team of above average players.
I probably grade prospects different than most and typically temper expectations from my own team to avoid bias.
What do you define as selling? I see Atlanta trading some as a selloff, but also trading for building momentum and 2018.
Trade Garcia…NOW!
Unless they are worried about who is replacing him from AAA they must be hoping his stock increases or a team gets desperate.
Braves aren’t getting a good prospect for Garcia and they don’t have much need of someone’s top 30-50 prospects as they have had to drop a few of those guys so their minors aren’t over crowded.
They should ship Garcia – Viz (when healthy) – and another prospect for someone’s ORG top 10 prospect.
why would any club do that?
I like the Garcia for Profar (or someone similar) idea. change of scenery for a young player is the way to go.
Because ORG top 10’s aren’t always that good. A fallen from grace or sell high type would fit perfectly. Something like a Travis D. Or Alex Jackson type.
Honestly both trading Garcia and not trading him don’t make sense to me.
I think they need to ride this wave out as close to the deadline as possible…Then, they should see where they stand, and act accordingly.
After all, right now with today’s win, the Braves are only 5.5 out from a Wild Card spot…
They have some reinforcements on the way, in terms of bullpen help, and a couple of starters who may contribute as well. Heck, even a September call-up for Albies and Acuna could really light a flame for this team…
Albies
Acuna (maybe)
D.Peterson
Caleb Dirks
A. Minter
A. Morris
Lucas Sims
A. Albers
S. Rodriguez
Among others could all each help in their own way. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what the Braves do at the deadline.
My only hope is that they DO NOT trade either of Acuna, Albies, Allard, Minter, or Soroka as they are all close to being ML ready and excluding Minter, Albies is the oldest at 20 years old…
Akeel Morris already up, he pitched today. Albers has pitched surprisingly well at AAA along with Dirks in limited time.
Exactly, but then again waiting could also hurt his value as well when teams are already interested. The Braves will definitely get better than other teams in September due to call ups, but Acuña just made AAA. I don’t expect him to immediately perform this year against ML pitching, although nothing has stopped him yet.
We gave up 3 of our top 30 prospects just to acquire J. Garcia (granted, none in the top 15). But to turn around and flip him now would seem kind of pointless considering we’re right at .500. I mean, if someone got desperate and overpaid, I would understand. But to get back about the same value as we paid for him would be mostly pointless unless we traded for a better starter.
Right now, Garcia is probably the #4 Braves starter, ahead of Newcomb and behind Dickey.
The reason that the Braves dealt away those prospects were because of three reasons 1) roster crunches in the minors 2) multiple prospects that were similar 3) lack of high upside. The Braves made the deal in hopes that besides providing good starting pitching that they’d have the opportunity to deal him away if the team felt it wise. A young prospect with promise in the low minors is better than three upper level prospects almost in a rule 5 situation.
Whether Garcia ends up being dealt for a change of scenery type player or a young guy a few years away that is raw but has upside, Garcia has more or less lived up to the plan.
After getting Doolittle and Madson, the only relievers the Nationals should be going for are a closer and possibly a long-reliever. Neither Phelps or Ramos fit the bill in those regards.
actually, they both fit the bill in those regards. Phelps is a Long reliever and Ramos is a closer.
Nats haven’t expressed much interest in Ramos – nor should they IMO. He’s not the proven, lock-down guy they could really use in the 9th. I don’t see him as a significant improvement over what they now have.
45 ip in 42 appearances this year doesn’t look like much of a long-reliever. Although I do see where he was a starter a couple years back, and pitched longer than just an inning last season.
Ramos is a closer, on the Marlins. But a WHIP over 1.3 with a BB/9 of 5+ the last two years isn’t that great for an actual contender.
I’d rather see the Nationals get a legitimate lock-down closer..
I wonder if the Braves are willing to give Garcia a QO if he keeps it up?
Would be the worst possible move. Hold onto him, pay more for next year and block another starter spot for guys that are make or break (Sims, Wisler, etc), AND turn down prospects thing he’s a piece of a playoff roster.
It worked wonders for the Phillies and Hellickson…
The thing about Garcia is that the braves could (buy) a good prospect by paying some/all of Garcia’s remaining contract.
Most midseason trades come with offsetting cash. Braves have to be hoping his value increases because if they have been offered a decent prospect for him already he should be gone
Here’s my thoughts… even if the braves are somehow in the mix for the wildcard come near the trade deadline, I think we should trade him. Here’s my logic, got to think with all the pitching prospects in the minor and some in AAA that are actually doing quite well, we have someone that can step in and perform well enough. It’s not like Garcia is putting up some outrageous numbers… Solid… but nothing you can’t hope one of our prospects can do once called up. I just don’t think he would make or break a postseason run for us not to mention we all know once (if) we get to the postseason, we won’t last long.
Aim for a top 30 organizational prospect or two (if we are lucky). Try to keep it as close to MLB ready as possible. Pitcher or position is fine… AAA prospect, or AA prospect that is performing well. I think this fits well for our rebuild. If you look at our minors, our lower class teams are a little pack full of prospects… Need some guys near MLB ready. At this point in our rebuild, I feel like that’s what we need.
To be honest I am not sure that a young prospect in rookie ball isn’t better than someone close right now. No need to further the major league roster crunch. Definitely don’t need someone who would need 40 man roster protection because they need protection from the Rule 5 draft.
Unless it is someone like Profar who is a buy low candidate who very well could step into the 25 man roster and help the team (and personally I am NOT a huge fan of Profar, just saying someone similar).