Atlanta Braves: Top 5 Bright Spots of 2016
Rebuilding season or not, falling short of the playoffs and finishing with a losing record probably means that more things went wrong than went right for a team. This series, however, will focus on those silver linings that each team can take away from an otherwise disappointing season.
[Related: “Top Bright Spots” archive]
Here are the biggest bright spots for the Atlanta Braves.
Note: Freddie Freeman‘s terrific season does qualify as a bright spot, as does Julio Teheran‘s to a lesser extent, but not major ones in regards to what was expected and how it affects the team moving forward. Since neither is expected to be a trade candidate, their performances don’t change the outlook for the offseason or for the 2017 season.
1. Ender Inciarte/ Matt Kemp/ Nick Markakis, OF
All indications are that the Braves expect to contend in 2017 and will be aggressive in their pursuit of two or three starting pitchers that could help send them in the right direction. Trading from a position of strength didn’t appear to been an option a few months ago. But thanks to the late-season success from their starting outfield trio, this is now a viable strategy. Here’s a look at the three potential trade candidates:
Inciarte: .863 OPS, 14 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 7 SB in 60 games; under club control thru ’20; entering first year of arbitration eligibility (Super Two).
Kemp: .914 OPS, 16 2B, 15 HR in 57 games; owed $47.25MM thru 2019
Markakis: .839 OPS, 16 2B, 7 HR in 60 games; owed $22MM thru 2018
The 25-year-old Inciarte is easily the most valuable trade chip of the three, although I wouldn’t rule out the Braves receiving a decent return for Markakis or Kemp. One of the strong motivators for the Braves in the Kemp deal was to rid themselves of Hector Olivera and his contract. Getting Kemp was an added bonus. They’d likely be more than happy to pay his close to $16MM per season salary and would likely be willing to eat a portion of that in an offseason trade if it brought back a starting pitcher who could help in 2017.
2. Jace Peterson, IF/OF
While Peterson’s season won’t likely have much effect on Ozzie Albies‘ arrival in the majors—you can probably pencil Albies into the starting lineup no later than June 1st whether Peterson is in the picture or not—his value to the Braves has increased greatly.
Since returning from a stint in the minors on June 10th, the 26-year-old has a .789 OPS with seven homers, 15 doubles, 44 walks and 46 strikeouts. In addition to functioning as a stop-gap for Albies, he could also push Adonis Garcia for playing time at third base, as well as give the Braves another option in the outfield if they were to trade Inciarte, Kemp or Markakis. That is, if he’s still in the organization on Opening Day.
Peterson’s trade value should be on the rise. Young, controllable players—he’ll be eligible for free agency after that 2020 season—who can play multiple positions (including short and center) and get on base at a high clip are at a premium. The combination of youth, talent and versatility makes him an asset for a contender or rebuilding team.
3. Mike Foltynewicz, SP
The open audition the Braves have been holding for starting pitchers in 2016 hasn’t yielded many answers in regards to who can help them out in the near future. Out of all the young, unproven pitchers who have been given the opportunity to make a start, Foltynewicz is the most likely to be penciled into the 2017 rotation.
In what might have been his last chance to prove that he could be a big league starter—many scouts believe the hard-throwing right-hander is best suited for the bullpen—Foltynewicz had more ups (seven starts with one earned run or less) than downs (five starts with five or more earned runs allowed). At just 24 years of age, there is still plenty of room for growth. Another step forward in 2017 and the Braves could have themselves a solid No. 2 or 3 starter.
4. Mauricio Cabrera, RP
It’s not out of the ordinary for a rookie to look much better than expected in the big leagues based on their Minor League track record. Small-sample success can be a matter of opposing teams not having enough information to formulate the proper plan of attack. Once the book is out, word spreads quickly and that players’ weaknesses are exposed.
In the case of Cabrera, his weakness was that he could not throw strikes consistently enough with a fastball that regularly exceeds 100 MPH. Since 2015, his first year as a full-time relief pitcher in the Minor Leagues, he combined to walk 57 batters in 82 innings (5.7 BB/9) between High-A and Double-A. In the majors, where he’s been since the Braves called him up on June 27th, he’s walked only 14 hitters in 34.2 innings (3.6 BB/9) en route to a solid 3.12 ERA with four saves and eight holds in his 35 appearances. If he can throw a 102 fastball for strikes and employ a secondary pitch or two that somewhat resembles the fastball coming out of his hand, extensive scouting reports probably won’t help much.
While their have been a few expected bumps along the way, the 22-year-old has earned a shot to challenge Arodys Vizcaino (any any other competitors who are brought into the picture) for the closer’s job in 2017 and should at least be penciled into a setup role.
5. Ozzie Albies, 2B/SS (MiLB)
The 19-year-old Albies, who spent the entire 2015 season in Low-A ball, was on the doorstep to the Major Leagues before fracturing his elbow earlier this month. We’ll never know whether the Braves were willing to add him to the 40-man roster and start his service time clock as they did with Dansby Swanson. GM John Coppolella suggested the team didn’t think he was quite ready, but it wouldn’t have been a major surprise. He would’ve been the 2nd player in team history from Wilemstad, Curacao to debut at age 19. The other was center fielder Andruw Jones, a five-time All-Star who won 10 Gold Glove awards as a Brave.
A jump over High-A and to the upper minors wasn’t much of a challenge for the switch-hitting Albies, who finished the season with a .778 OPS, 49 extra-base hits (33 2B, 10 3B, 6 HR) and 30 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A. The fast-rising prospect should make his MLB debut early in the 2017 season, teaming with Swanson to form one of the more intriguing young double-play duos in baseball.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Wieters, Cardinals, Leon, Twins
Some news items from the latest Full Count video clip from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal…
- The Orioles are meeting with Matt Wieters‘ agent Scott Boras this week to discuss a contract extension, though Rosenthal is doubtful Wieters will remain in Baltimore. The Nationals will have interest in signing Wieters if their own notable free agent catcher (Wilson Ramos) leaves, and Rosenthal also cites the Mets, White Sox and Braves as possible candidates to pursue Wieters. The Braves have perhaps a bit of a geographic advantage, as Wieters is from South Carolina and played college ball at Georgia Tech.
- The Cardinals aren’t likely to lose draft picks as punishment for the data breach of the Astros’ computer network. The league would have to negotiate a reduction of draft picks (and, perhaps most importantly, the Cardinals’ available draft bonus spending pool) with the players’ union since the draft rules are part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Rosenthal believes that the league could instead punish via the Cards via other methods, such as a fine.
- Nobody saw Sandy Leon‘s slugging breakout with the Red Sox coming, including the Nationals, who dealt Leon to Boston in a minor cash deal in March 2015. Rosenthal notes that the Nats are hardly the only team who missed on Leon — literally any club could’ve claimed him when the Sox designated the catcher for assignment in July 2015.
- Cubs senior VP Jason McLeod (whose mother is from Samoa) is the only known minority candidate in the Twins‘ front office search. Rosenthal figures more are probably in the mix, given that Minnesota has hired the same search firm used by Major League Baseball itself last year to prepare female and minority candidates for baseball operations jobs.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/17/16
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Rangers outrighted left-hander Michael Roth to Triple-A after he accepted the assignment, club executive VP of communications John Blake tweets. Roth was designated for assignment earlier this week. The southpaw appeared in just one game for the Rangers this season (allowing six ER over 3 2/3 relief innings) while posting a 2.97 ERA, 2.24 K/BB rate and 5.8 K/9 over 145 1/3 innings at Triple-A, with 23 of his 28 outings coming as a starter.
- The Braves selected the contracts of utilityman Emilio Bonifacio and third baseman Rio Ruiz from Triple-A Gwinnett, the team announced. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and righty Rob Whalen were shifted to the 60-day DL in corresponding moves to create roster space. Bonifacio was outrighted off Atlanta’s 40-man roster earlier this summer, and the veteran has appeared in just 15 games for the Braves in 2016. Ruiz, 22, is getting his first taste of the majors after hitting .271/.355/.400 with 10 homers and 24 doubles over 533 Triple-A plate appearances this season. MLB.com ranked Ruiz as the 15th-best prospect in the Braves’ system.
Poll: The Braves’ Outfield
The Braves will enter the 2016-17 offseason with a pair of veteran outfielders — Nick Markakis and Matt Kemp — under contract through 2018 and 2019, respectively, as well as a pair of fleet-footed defensive stars — Ender Inciarte and Mallex Smith — that the team has hoped can become long-term pieces. And, in looking at the potential logjam, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that it’s “likely” that veteran Jeff Francoeur will be back in the fold with the Braves to once again fill a bench role.
With a quartet of outfielders that could factor into the starting mix, there figures to be plenty of chatter about the Braves trading an outfielder this offseason, so let’s take a look at the possibility of each…
Braves Acquire Josh Collmenter
5:31pm: David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that Collmenter is actually more likely to help the Braves’ Major League roster and could even draw a start for the Braves on Saturday. With right-hander Williams Perez sidelined by an elbow impingement after a pair of rough starts earlier this month (via O’Brien on Twitter), it seems that Collmenter will be a depth piece at the big league level.
Collmenter entered the season with exactly five years of service time and won’t reach the requisite 172 days to move up to six years of MLB service time, so he can be controlled through the 2017 season via arbitration if the Braves wish.
5:23pm: The Braves announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Josh Collmenter from the Cubs in exchange for cash. The longtime D-backs hurler joins fellow righty Joe Wieland as the second pitcher picked up by the Braves today in exchange for cash.
The 30-year-old Collmenter was the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day starter as recently as 2015 but lost his rotation spot after a poor start to that season. Collmenter thrived in a bullpen role for his final 52 innings in 2015 and remained in the ‘pen to open the 2016 campaign. (The offseason additions of Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller and the return of Patrick Corbin from the disabled list all but closed the door on a return to the rotation.) In 22 1/3 innings of relief work this season, however, Collmenter labored to a 4.84 ERA and was ultimately released by the D-backs. He went on to ink a minor league pact with the Cubs and posted a 2.25 ERA across 16 Triple-A innings with his new organization, though his 9-to-8 K/BB ratio wasn’t especially encouraging.
Collmenter, like Wieland, will give Atlanta some pitching depth as the team’s Triple-A affiliate continues on in the playoffs. But, like Wieland, he’ll also be able to elect free agency at season’s end if he’s not added to the 40-man roster, so his time with the Braves organization could potentially be quite brief in nature.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Braves Acquire Joe Wieland From Mariners
The Braves have acquired right-hander Joe Wieland from the Mariners, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that the Mariners will receive cash in return. The 26-year-old Wieland was outrighted off Seattle’s 40-man roster (for the second time this season) in late August, so he won’t immediately require a 40-man spot from the Braves.
Wieland once looked like a potential back-of-the-rotation option for the Padres, logging a 4.55 ERA across his first five MLB starts on the heels of some promising minor league work in 2011-12, but he underwent Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter and struggled with his recovery before being traded to the Dodgers as part of the Matt Kemp blockbuster. Seattle acquired him this past offseason in exchange for minor league infielder Erick Mejia, but Wieland’s struggles became more pronounced than ever early in his Seattle tenure, and the Mariners outrighted him to Triple-A in early May.
Wieland opened the season with a dreadful 17.31 ERA through his first 13 1/3 innings, prompting that initial outright, but he actually recovered after that unthinkably poor start. From May 4 through Aug. 6, Wieland posted a 3.67 ERA with an 83-to-23 K/BB ratio in 90 2/3 Triple-A innings before having his contract once again selected to the Major League roster. He made one start for the Mariners at the big league level, surrendering six runs in five innings, before being optioned back to Triple-A and eventually outrighted off the 40-man a second time.
Per Bowman’s tweet above, he’ll provide the Braves’ Triple-A roster with some additional rotation depth throughout the remainder of the postseason. While he could potentially serve as rotation depth for the big league team as well, Wieland has enough Major League service time to elect free agency at season’s end if he’s not on the 40-man roster. In 52 2/3 MLB innings, Wieland has a 6.32 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 40.6 percent ground-ball rate.
Coppolella On Braves’ Offseason Plans, Prospects, Olivera, Kemp
Braves GM John Coppolella took over his club’s Twitter account today to address the organization’s direction. While he expressed disappointment that the win-loss record hasn’t shown much improvement, the focus obviously remains on the future for Atlanta. Still, he continued to suggest that the expectation is for the on-field product to begin improving in the near term … and also left no doubt that he follows Braves fandom rather closely on social media.
Here are some of the key points, with all links to Twitter:
[Related: Braves Depth Chart]
- Coppolella predicts that the Braves will be quite active in free agency, saying that the team has “more money to spend than in the past 10 years.” Atlanta has never been one of the biggest spenders around, so it’s not exactly a lofty bar, but with only $50MM on the books for 2017 (before arbitration raises) there ought to be some added freedom this winter. Coppy adds that he’s interested in making “major [free agent] signings” to bring in “impactful” players, with a focus (whether in free agency or trade) on adding “at least two” starters and bolstering the catching unit. The latter area, at least, is one of some depth on the coming market.
- The upcoming crop of open-market starters, of course, is about as thin as we’ve ever seen. But that remains a need for the Braves, with Coppolella saying he was disappointed in the lack of progress from the club’s young rotation members. He adds that “opportunity time is over in 2017” for those pitchers, who will “have to earn a rotation spot once [the Braves] add free agents.” One still-youthful staff member, Julio Teheran, has turned in an outstanding year. While Coppolella did not address the topic, I’d note that it’ll be interesting to see whether there is any chatter regarding the talented righty, whose stock is firmly on the rise. He has often been mentioned as a trade candidate, but with Atlanta looking to add at the major league level, the time for a deal may have passed.
- There isn’t a general need for arms, Coppolella insisted. In addition to noting the many minor league talents who are in the pipeline, he says that the “bullpen is likely the least area of concern” entering the winter.
- Looking back, Coppolella acknowledges that acquiring Hector Olivera “still haunts me.” That deal obviously did not pan out on or off the field, and Olivera’s contract was sent to the Padres in the deal that netted Matt Kemp. The Braves GM copped to being “shortsighted” in commenting recently on Kemp’s poor conditioning, saying the veteran has been “terrific” in all regards since coming over. As for a trade that has gone in Atlanta’s favor, Coppolella expressed surprise at Shelby Miller‘s struggles with the Diamondbacks and said that as many as twenty teams attempted to acquire him last winter.
- The Braves did not promote young infielder Ozzie Albies to the majors this year because they “didn’t feel Ozzie was ready,” says Coppolella. But he notes that the youngster “will get an opportunity to fight for a [major league] job” this spring despite being passed over. Generally, Coppolella added, the organization expects to “continue to push players and provide opportunities.” He hinted that service time won’t be a factor in determining when the club’s touted minor league assets make it to the bigs.
- With a laundry list of interesting young arms on the farm, Coppolella singled out towering, 22-year-old righty Patrick Weigel, who he says has a “chance to be a frontline starter.” The 2015 seventh-round draft pick has posted 149 2/3 innings of 2.47 ERA ball at the High-A and (briefly) Double-A levels this year, with 9.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, leading Coppy to name him the most improved minor league pitcher in the organization. The GM cited outfielder Dustin Peterson as the recipient of that honor on the position-player side after his .282/.343/.431 batting line and 12 home runs over 578 plate appearances at Double-A. Peterson came over as part of a group of increasingly interesting prospects in the Justin Upton trade, with lefty Max Fried also drawing praise from the organization’s baseball operations triggerman.
- All said, it promises to be another interesting winter in Atlanta. It’s generally a quiet time right now on the rumor front, but Coppolella says the club is already holding talks on prospective offseason trades. Primary attention seems to be going to the major league roster at present, but Coppolella suggested that he will continue to focus on infusing young talent to the system, writing that the organization “will always try to trade for draft picks” when possible.
Puig-Braun Blockbuster Nearly Occurred, Likely To Be Revisited
We heard recently that the Dodgers and Brewers had worked on an August trade that would have sent Yasiel Puig to Milwaukee in exchange for fellow outfielder Ryan Braun. New reports provide interesting new details on the swap, which nearly took place and could well be a viable scenario for the coming winter.
One iteration of the talks would have packaged Puig with righty Brandon McCarthy and a pair of prospects, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy recently reported. Indeed, negotiations went right down to the wire before the August 31st deadline, with Braun camping out in the Miller Park clubhouse to await word. The sides “simply ran out of time,” per McCalvy, who adds that both the Giants and Braves have stated interest in the veteran slugger.
Whether or not other trade partners will be reconsidered remains to be seen, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today says that an offseason deal to send Braun to the Dodgers is actually “likely.” According to the report, Braun was advised by the Brewers to stick around and wait until the deadline because a deal seemed so promising at that juncture. Ultimately, the final prospect piece couldn’t be agreed upon.
Braun declined to address the matter, but did note that he grew up a Dodgers fan and spends his winters in the Los Angeles area. “When those conversations started, I think it was an interesting position for me to be in,” he said. Braun’s contract requires him to list up to six teams to which he can freely be traded, and the Dodgers were one club that had a green light this year. If he wanted to gain leverage, he could in theory switch the Dodgers out of that position when his next opportunity to re-name the teams arises, though it seems that Braun has compiled his list based primarily on geographic preference.
The above-noted trade parameters are obviously quite interesting, even before learning what type of prospects would’ve been included. McCarthy’s inclusion would help offset the $76MM in salary obligations owed to Braun after this year, as the veteran hurler will be paid $20MM over the next two seasons and has only just returned from Tommy John surgery. But he also might have filled some innings for Milwaukee while representing an interesting potential bounceback trade piece — especially if his 2019 conditional club option is available. (It has not been reported what type of injury would allow that option to be triggered, but it functions as a variation of the Lackey clause.)
NL East Notes: Backman, Phillies, Pierzynski, Folty
Mets GM Sandy Alderson told reporters yesterday that Triple-A manager Wally Backman resigned from his post to pursue Major League coaching opportunities, but Newsday’s Marc Carig cites anonymous sources in reporting that Backman was actually fired from his position. Carig writes that there was a “pattern of defiance by Backman,” who made many player development choices that Alderson and the front office didn’t support. Namely, Backman continually sat Michael Conforto against left-handed pitching and didn’t bat Gavin Cecchini or Kevin Plawecki high enough in his batting order to afford them as many opportunities for at-bats as the Mets would’ve liked.
Here’s more from the National League East…
- Phillies manager Pete Mackanin is strongly in favor of his front office pursuing a pair of impact bats for the middle of the order and re-signing Jeremy Hellickson this winter, he tells Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com. While the notion that a Major League manager hopes to have an improved Major League roster in the upcoming season isn’t exactly a stunning development, Mackanin did seem to imply that there’s a preference on his part to focus on the lineup more than the pitching staff. Mackanin praised Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Zach Eflin and Jake Thompson by name, and the Phillies of course also have an exciting young righty in the form of Vince Velasquez as well. Hellickson, in theory, could displace Eflin or Thompson — the two least-experienced arms of the bunch — if he were to be re-signed. As for the lineup, Mackanin stated: “No question about it, I’d like to get two professional hitters. As many as I can. I think it takes pressure off the young guys. When you have [Tommy] Joseph, [Cameron] Rupp and even [Maikel] Franco in the middle of your lineup to produce runs, that’s tough to do. Your first year in the big leagues is tough. To be called upon to be the run producer is tough.”
- While A.J. Pierzynski‘s career has been polarizing, to put it mildly, his presence on the Braves drew positive reviews from members of the coaching staff and teammates, writes David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I loved every moment that he was here, and I love A.J.,” said first base coach Eddie Perez. “You probably won’t hear that from many people, but I did. And you know why? Because he goes between the two lines and gives you everything to win games.” Right-hander Matt Wisler acknowledged that Pierzynski was hard on the young pitching staff at times, but feels that it was to their benefit. “I don’t mind it, I think if somebody gets on me like that sometimes I kind of need it,” Wisler explained. “Especially for me, because I kind of over-think, and when he gets on you I kind of forget about it and just go back to making pitches. He helped me in that regard.”
- Mike Foltynewicz escaped an injury scare relatively unscathed last night, as MLB.com’s Pat James writes. The young Braves righty was struck in the leg by a line drive off the bat of Marcell Ozuna (which Statcast measured at 110 mph), but has only a contusion and some swelling to show following the ill-placed line drive. Foltynewicz walked off the field under his own power but was eventually forced to utilize crutches to move around the clubhouse as the swelling in his leg intensified. He’s day to day for the time being.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/11/16
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, all from Matt Eddy of Baseball America unless otherwise credited. Check out Roster Resource for updated roster information for the teams cited here and every other team in the majors.
- The Rays have outrighted Hank Conger to Triple-A Durham, after the catcher was designated for assignment earlier this week. Conger managed just a .194/.265/.306 slash line and three homers over 137 plate appearances for Tampa this season. Perhaps even most ominously, Conger’s struggles worsened after he was optioned to Triple-A in July, as he has managed just a .503 OPS over 116 PA for Durham.
- The Rays have selected the contract of veteran southpaw Dana Eveland, the team announced. He’ll take the 40-man roster spot of Tyler Sturdevant, who was DFA’ed earlier today. Eveland has himself been designated for assignment twice this season by the Rays (accepting outright assignments both times), and the lefty has an 8.55 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 6.8 BB/9 over 20 relief innings out of Tampa Bay’s bullpen this season.
- The Blue Jays outrighted third baseman Matt Dominguez to Triple-A, the club announced last week. Dominguez was designated for assignment on September 2. He owns a .269/.315/.421 slash line and 18 homers over 514 PA for Triple-A Buffalo this season, plus he also appeared in five games for the Jays to clock his first big league action since 2014. Once a well-regarded prospect, Dominguez enjoyed a 21-homer season with Houston in 2013 but has hit only .231/.273/.371 in 1369 career PA in the majors.
- The Blue Jays released outfielder Quintin Berry. The base-stealing specialist just signed a minor league pact with the Jays on August 31, potentially putting him in line for a reprise of his past role (with the Tigers and Red Sox) as postseason pinch-running depth. Berry appeared in just 31 MLB games in 2013-15 and he hasn’t played in the bigs in 2016, spending much of the year with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate.
- The Braves released right-hander Wilfredo Boscan. The 26-year-old made his Major League debut this season, tossing 15 1/3 innings over six games (one of them a start) for the Pirates and posting a 6.46 ERA. Atlanta claimed Boscan off waivers in August and then outrighted him off the 40-man roster to make room for September call-ups.
- The Braves have selected the contract of catcher Blake Lalli from Triple-A, the team announced. Lalli will replace A.J. Pierzynski, who hit the 15-day disabled list earlier today. Lalli, who has 22 big league games under his belt, will be looking for his first taste of MLB action since 2013 when he was a member of the Brewers. He has since played in the Diamondbacks and Braves farm systems.
- The Marlins released right-hander Andre Rienzo. The Brazilian hurler posted a 2.85 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 2.3 K/BB rate over 41 innings split between four levels of the Miami farm system, though 32 1/3 IP came at the Triple-A level. Control was again an issue for Rienzo, as it was during his 140 1/3 career MLB innings with the White Sox and Marlins from 2013-15 when he had a 4.7 BB/9 (not to mention a 1.6 HR/9 that contributed to his 5.90 ERA).