The latest from the National League . . .
- Following Thursday’s departure of reliever Adam Ottavino to New York, the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders spoke with GM Jeff Bridich about the state of affairs in the team’s bullpen. On the heels of last offseason’s months-long reliever binge, which saw the club devote nearly a third of its payroll space to the most fickle asset in the game, Colorado apparently couldn’t save room for dessert. The club didn’t offer Ottavino a contract, preferring instead to take its chances with the current crop: “We need last year’s decisions to pitch better than they did in 2018,” said Bridich. “It’s not a lack of talent or a sudden inability to perform well. But they need to do a better job.” Bryan Shaw, Mike Dunn, and Jake McGee, though, did exhibit a sudden inability to perform well, as the trio combined for an ugly -0.7 fWAR in 118 combined IP. Wade Davis, too, was hardly himself in ’18, stranding just 66.9% of baserunners – down from an MLB-best 87.5% from 2014-17 – en route to his lowest career output. Scott Oberg, who began the year in AAA despite being arguably being the team’s most effective pre-spree reliever, again paced the returning bunch, limiting homers at an elite rate and continuing to maintain a stellar walk rate.
- President of baseball operations John Mozeliak provided injury updates on two key Cardinals during a Saturday chat with Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Outfielder Marcell Ozuna, who was bothered all season by a nagging shoulder injury that ultimately required surgery, hasn’t yet begun throwing, and the club “isn’t sure” if he’s taken hacks in the cage, either. Ozuna has spurned treatment at the club’s spring facility in favor of offseason rehab in his native Dominican Republic, which Mozeliak deemed “not ideal,” but the 28-year-old outfielder, who heavily regressed toward his established mean last season after a breakout 2017, has expressed no reservations about his outlook for the upcoming season. Reliever Luke Gregerson, who was limited to just 12 1/3 IP last season after a shoulder injury of his own, “hasn’t felt right” in offseason workouts, and the club isn’t anticipating much from him in Spring Training. The soon-to-be 35-year-old Gregerson has endured one of the game’s heaviest reliever workloads since debuting in 2009, accruing a staggering 611 IP over that span, and appearing in an MLB-high 623 games from 2009-17.
- Per GM Alex Anthopoulos (h/t to the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Gabe Burns on Twitter), the Braves have made an outfield acquisition their top priority at current, and a move “may be resolved soon.” The club, of course, has been linked to still-available A.J. Pollock (who would cost the team a second-round draft pick if signed) and the recently-departed Nick Markakis to fill its vacancy at one outfield spot. With an overflow of starting pitching talent in the upper minors, the team seems better positioned than almost any to fill its hole via trade, but has thus far shown little interest in doing so. The Blue Jay version of Anthopoulos was an ardent mover of minor-league assets, shuffling talent in all directions when circumstances dictated, but has been far more cautious in his short time with Atlanta. With a still-unsettled rotation mix, perhaps this strategy is prudent, but distancing his club from the ravenous NL East pack will almost surely require a return to old ways for the young Braves GM.
Just DO SOMETHING, AA. Tried of the vapid talk. Move your a$$.
Why do people want them to make a move just to make a move? Seriously.
It’s Jan 19th.
Nobody wants him to make a move just to make a move.. they want him to address two glaring roster weaknesses in the corner outfield and the bullpen. My concern specifically is the bullpen where we have seen a majority of the top tier talent already signed. Considering the major walk issues that the ATL relief group had last year, it would seem that this would be a huge priority.
But if it’s not the right fit, that’s making a move just to make a move. It’s still jan 19th with a lot of time left, and options out there.
I’m sure before pitchers and catchers report there will be some bullpen help.
But you can’t force it. Maybe they’ve made offers to players who rejected them as well?
Bullpen will have more experience this year, Oday is there, Venters is there, Viz to help the younger guys out. Sure, a piece or two is needed, but there’s also a new pitching coach to work on the walks as well.
I still think a lot of dominoes fall after Harper signs. There’s a chance (it’s small) Atlanta could sign him.
The walk issues are the result of youth. The guys in the bullpen are young and will/should progress. There is no reason to overpay for a closer at this point when in the season guys will become available.
O’Day, Venters and Vizzy should provide the young guys with the mentors that were obviously lacking last year with only Moylan there. If a 1-2 year closer is available I would say get him. I really thought Robertson was the best fit but geographically it wasn’t right for him. Now if a young guy like Leclerc becomes available that is a different story.
“
Nobody wants him to make a move just to make a move..”
Syndergaarden does.
The Braves see the walking issue as correctable through coaching, that why we have a new pitching coach. The bullpen can be improved throughout the season. The guys that usually start the year in the pen, are not always there at the end.
I believe you will see both Fried & Weigel in the bullpen, those two arms will be huge, if they are successful that makes 5-6 real lights out arms in Minter, Vizciano, Venters, O’Day, Sobotka, and then Fried & Weigel.
I think Fried & Wiegel can grow into a dominate force out the bullpen for years to come. But the others are all far from lights out.
Let’s see Sobotka do it again. O’Day & Venters are a year older. Minter & Vizzy gotta prove they can stay healthy.
I like Winkler, Biddle & Carle as well though I see long term success with the aforementioned RP over them. Maybe they can eventually be moved for value.
This isnt venters of 2010. I wouldn’t call him lights out.
Because this is the internet, the land of ‘act now, think after the argument’.
Because the right pieces were out there and now most are gone. We needed elite bullpen arms and he’s done nothing. It was our biggest weakness last year and not has been done to improve it. If bullpen pitching wasn’t being picked off one by one in this market, I’d be ok waiting. But now only 1 elite arm is on the market and he’s the most expensive one. We needed 2 elite arms and 1 strong arm for this bullpen in my opinion, it needed a complete teardown and rebuild
The pen will improve because of:
1) Coaching
2) Development of young players
3) Addition of O’Day, Max Fried, Gohara and other young pitchers getting some innings
I think a solid OFer is number 1 priority.
He “tried”. Haha
Really? Dude did a bit already
Just bc the moves were early don’t get salty
Longer you wait, the cheaper he gets….patience is a virtue, getting pollock and having to give up a 2nd round pick hurts less if you can save more waiting it out. It’s a gamble but losing out on him won’t break their season either.
Sox waited out Martinez last year and saved some bread. 200m projection…125m reality.
You would be a horrible negotiator. Thank goodness you don’t write the checks
I think dominoes will start to fall once Harper and Machado come off the board.
AA is gonna shock is all and sign Harper LOL!!
I know for a fact the Braves are involved. I don’t think we are favorites or anything but I know they have talked. Do you really think the Braves are waiting for free agents to fall through the cracks? No, they are waiting to see how much money they might possibly have. Either way, when Bryce signs, the Braves are gonna get active
For a fact huh? Prove it.
I write for an affiliate site of the Braves. Have friended some of the writers you probably have heard of for the Braves. I rather not say which ones though
The ones who seem to be always wrong. AA is always in stealth mode things never seem to leak when or where he is involved so sorry if we all fail to believe you.
Again, I didn’t say it was a done deal or even we were the favorites. Only a few people know that. I just said I know the Braves and Harpers camp have talked and indeed, he is holding up the Braves future moves
Just Google Olney and Harper mystery teams. It’s on CBS sports where you don’t have to worry about a pay wall.
JKunk there COULD have given you a source. He just wanted to sound mysterious or maybe make it sound like he knows something everyone else doesn’t.
Harper is not coming to Atlanta they would have to go above and beyond so much for him to even think about coming. He wants the most money in the biggest market he could find. He wants to be a superstar on every level. That’s where the Mets are stupid for not pudhing hard for him.
I believe the Cubs will move some salary to get him in because they know that increases their chances of keeping Bryant with him.
Been saying it for awhile bring Heyward home and get the Cubs to eat enough of the contract to make it respectable in correlation to other OFers. Or at the very least see if Cole Hamels can be had in a buy low deal taking back his contract for 1 year.
With Heyward our lineup goes backwards and creates another gaping hole..
When alot of fans don’t even want kakes back the writing is on the wall, we’ll give up a little defense for more pop for the remaining OF position.
If that was the case Castellanos would be here already. With Manny & Harper teams and agents are holding back because they know other teams will get desperate.
I don’t agree with the gaping hole in the line up. The point in getting him is the belief that the change of scenery & comfortability will bring him back to an All Star level. Say what you want but the talent is there. It just got to be brought out.
It would be like having 2 dansbys in the starting lineup right now and the trial period is coming to a head.This is dansbys last chance to prove he can hit in the majors or camargo will have his spot by June 1.
Jhey was given the same fair shake and it was determined he couldn’t hit ML pitching well enough or consistently enough with little pop. Dansby will either take the next step or be traded away just as heydog was.
(Strikeouts in big spots cannot consistently happen when your stats are very mediocre to begin with.)
Queue S.W.A.T song “time is runnin out!”
Dansby’s numbers in clutch situations and his numbers after the 7th inning say he is coming around and patience is needed. His defense has improved immensely so you know the work is being put in. His problem is he was rushed and deserved more seasoning in the minors. He will come around.
From what I seen with Heyward has always been the same problem he is to busy trying to work the count and consistently gets himself into pitchers counts. In other words he takes to many pitches and when he is forced to swing its at pitches he can’t square up. He needs to be more aggressive.
“With Manny & Harper teams and agents are holding back because they know other teams will get desperate.”
@ steelerbravenation;
Don’t think so. The desperate team is known – it’s the Phillies. The White Sox have a line in the sand. From the coordinated leaks coming this weekend from agent-friendly reporters that get paid by clicks as well as Machado’s father, it appears that the 2 agents are working overtime to somehow drag the offers higher. There probably are some “mystery teams” and one could well be the Braves. But it appears that negotiations are pretty much stalled, and that franchises are not about to limit their futures for one player. If anything, I’d expect some of the few remaining teams to drop out and move ahead on other players via both FA’s and trades.
As for AA, he re-mortgaged the Jays future to make a last desperate run. When Shapiro took over, he admonished AA for doing it. AA resigned and went to work for the Dodgers as an adviser. Working with Friedman and watching Shapiro from afar trying to dig out from a bloated payroll for deteriorating players was a good lesson for him. The Braves won in 2018 with young players that will get better, and have even more ready to come up in the next few years. In maxing out his payroll for the next 3-8 years (assuming some sort of opt-out arrangement else an automatic steep increase in salary) he’d be replicating his Jays actions – which will be the end of his career other than consulting-type roles. The corporate owned Jays had to hire Shapiro above him to reel in AA, and the corporate owned Braves are keeping an eye on him – they have no intention of allowing a 4 year rebuilding effort to be scuttled before it’s even gotten out of 2nd gear.
I have been thinking this for over a month now… that’s y AA has not made any other moves after JD and Mac… Harper is going to the ATL…. then Manny signs with philly
A Godsend it would be.
markakis/ duval platoon
I’d actually be okay with that but most people on this site wouldn’t be too overly happy. I’m a big fan of Markakis. Its not the impact move I would necessarily hope for. But there is something to be said for knowing your going to get consistency and health on a daily basis
I wouldn’t be opposed to Markakis coming back at all.
Why is fWAR being used instead of rWAR? rWAR is more accurate as to how players performed, while fWAR is how they should’ve performed based on peripherals.
no, baseball reference WAR has too much variance in it’s defensive ratings and it’s worse on offense too because it’s lack of wRC+ (which is ,along with wOBA, the best descriptor of production) fWAR is more modern and mo better
Incorrect.
This should be so much fun watching this Ozuna saga play out this year. Spring Training should be interesting. I’m guessing there is ZERO chance the Cards try to sign this guy after 2019, nor should they. He’s got the work ethic of a sloth and the IQ of a door mat.
While I am fairly hopeful and optimistic that he will be better than last year, it is getting pretty old seeing this trend of “less than ideal” rehab and conditioning from Ozuna. The raw talent is undeniable, but gosh it seems like he’s limiting his potential with his work ethic.
I don’t like you but I will comment and say that I’ve been on the trading of Ozuna bandwagon for a while now. He won’t resign, so why wouldn’t we try and get a really good Left handed hitting OF prospect out of him.
LA, twins or Houston . LA would like him and twins and Houston need a bat and can mix in DH time
How long is “a while now?” The guy has been on the team for 401 days… Were you calling for his trade since he got here?
If he rakes, he’s staying…getting paid along the way.
Possibly the worst thing that could happen is if he rakes. Boras is his agent and Cards won’t pay. Besides, much like Pham before him, the Accountant has become tired of his b.s.
Best case scenario: Ozuna rakes, we enjoy the production, make a Q-offer, take the pick, and watch him decline while seeking a multi-yr.
With Mikolas and Goldy needing extensions, Ozuna can hit the road. O’Neill has nothing left to prove in the minors.
I would cool your jets on a Mikolas extension. Let’s wait and see if 2018 was a fluke or not.
He’s the safest bet in the rotation to produce. He lives in the strike zone and doesn’t get pounded for it.
He has to lose his pitches or his command to become a lesser pitcher. Emphasis on pitcher.
I expect at least a repeat of his 2018. He’s also not a max effort guy that increases the risk of an extension.
His mechanics are not only repeatable but seem effortless to watch. I’d endorse an extension today.
So, you just assume the hitters can’t adjust to him? You fully expect a top 6 CYA season? Coming from a guy who had to pitch in Japan for 3 years? You go ahead and give him that extension. I’ll pass until I see him finish 2019.
I knew Ozuna was going to have some time to get back to “normal” – but if it’s true that he hasn’t thrown or taken swings yet then wow …. just wow
? Mark in left field for early season now, big ? Mark in RF, can Bader maintain his sophomore season, 2nd base, Wong can’t hit, and Carp goes to third … not to mention that our big “to do list” was to fix a bad bullpen, and that fix was one bullpen arm coming off an injured season (I love miller btw) …
How are the Cardinals not trying to improve their team when the rest of the central is doing so – not to mention we finished third last year and our closer is now a FA .
Deep sigh, I’ll just continue to keep my fingers crossed
Didnt you know, getting goldy fixes everything. Or that’s how mo wants it to seem. Definately some question marks still.
Wow. Didn’t realize wong was a 3.5 war player(gold glove caliber def helps). If he could get his .obp to like .350 I’d be pumped. Maybe with ozuna as a ? O’Neill gets some regular ABs, he raked in minors last year, and hoping his k rate was exaggerated by how he was used.
I’d be intetested in your hoped for transactions going forward.
Regarding relievers in Colorado, Rockies need to develop their OWN relievers, as paying HUGE money for pitchers who can’t get their breaking ball to work are easy pickings in Denver. Ottavino did, but Davis was given I believe $58 million and sucked rotten eggs, as did a whole bunch of the Rockies bullpen. If your pen is gonna suck, better that they make the MLB minimum instead of flushing million dollar bills down the drain. I pitched in the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, same altitude as Denver. My breaking ball was my money pitch, got hammered. I know of which I speak. Thin air is not easy to pitch in, and it has been proven since the Mike Hampton trade 20 odd years ago. When CY YOUNG winners can’t pitch there, quit wasting huge dollars there. Make sure anyone you trade for has a PROVEN track record at altitude.
Bridich has no idea what he’s doing and these terrible reliever signings, along with Desmond, cost him a chance at Harper.
He doesn’t sign these dudes for the money he gave them and instead pieces together a competent & respectable pen as you suggest with better offensive output than Desmond (both of which could have been done easily for much, much less) and he has the money to make a serious run at Harper—he just so happened to have a RF opening and major holes in his lineup—AND pay Arenado whatever it takes.
He had a very reasonable window to knock off LAD and run the division for a couple years with Story, Arenado, a big free agent signing and a killer young rotation, but he blew it bc he thought Mike Dunn, Ian Desmond and Wade Davis were sound purchases.
I have no idea how he still has a job.
Lol osuna won’t rehab in the states. Someone has something 2 hide.
Right! Same thing I said
That’s a stretch. He’s from there and spends three quarters of the year living and working in another country, why wouldn’t he want to go home and see his family and friends? These guys are people, not robots.
While I hate to see Jose Martinez of the Cards leave he might be a good fit for the Braves albeit his defense is suspect his bat is not. Granted makes more sense he gets traded to an AL team but the Braves could focus on other needs with his acquisition.
Sorry for double post not sure what happened
Don’t want him if he can’t play defense
To many options out there that are similar in the bat & can play defense.
Don’t want Pollack at all. Would maybe call DD up & see what JBJ would cost. I am sure they would be open to freeing up his salary. If he can be had for a minimal return I think that wouldn’t be a bad option. His defense is great and he would have to be at the very least serviceable with the bat.
Millions of dollars at stake so who you going to trust. The best sports medicine physicians and rehab therapists in the world or your hometown Dominican witch doctor?
Hope Ozuna isn’t working out with Miguel Sano. Woofing cheeseburgers and drinking beer isn’t going to get it done.
Beer? I assumed he was drinking gravy.
Cardinals should:
Release Gregerson!!
Sign a outfielder like CarGo, Austin Jackson, Gerardo Parra, Cameron Maybin or Curtis Granderson!!
Rather give O’Neill a chance than any of those mentioned personally. Guessing starting LF after ozuna leaves if he fairs well this year.
I wouldn’t mind Maybin coming back to the Braves as a 4th OF. If they get a starting caliber OF.
Gregerson is another waist of Cardinal money by John Mozeliak.
Cardinal Fans day…..What’s New with That!!! Fowler, Leone, Gregerson, Cecil and on and on.