Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Braves Rumors

Braves Open To Trading Jurrjens, Prado

By | at

The Braves have told some teams they would be willing to move Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado in a trade, a Major League source tells MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  Atlanta is known to be looking for a power-hitting outfielder and possibly a new shortstop, so either could be acquired in a Jurrjens/Prado trade, or at the very least the Braves could pick up some salary relief — both Jurrjens and Prado are arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter.

The Braves and Royals have already discussed a Jurrjens trade, and the Braves have an interest in minor league outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Wil Myers, amongst several other prospects in K.C.'s deep farm system.  The Royals are known to be targeting veteran starting pitching on the trade market this winter so the two sides would seem like a fit as trading partners.  As Bowman notes, Cain could be seen by the Braves as a future center field option if Michael Bourn isn't signed to an extension.

Jurrjens was an All-Star in 2011, though the right-hander struggled badly (a 5.88 ERA) in the second half of the season and spent time on the DL with a knee injury.  While Jurrjens' health is a question mark, Myers also took a minor step back (a .745 OPS in Double-A) in 2011 after being ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the sport in Baseball America's preseason rankings.  Myers is still just 20, however, and was converted to the outfield this year after spending his first two pro seasons as a catcher.

After an impressive 2010 season that saw him finish ninth in NL MVP voting, Prado took a step back in 2011, hitting .260/.302/.385 as Atlanta's everyday left fielder.  Prado's ability to play left, third, first and second base would make him an intriguing trade possibility for a number of teams, especially since he could be available at a somewhat buy-low price.

Minor Moves: Braves, Johnson, Orr, Blue Jays

By | at

Here are today's minor moves…

  • The Braves signed outfielder Jordan Parraz to a minor league deal with an adjusted big league salary, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The deal includes an invitation to Spring Training
  • Dan Johnson, who was outrighted earlier today, has elected free agency, according to the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter).
  • Utility player Pete Orr re-signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter). The deal includes an invitation to Spring Training.
  • The Blue Jays signed 16-year-old right-hander Jesus Tinoco out of Venezuela, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Meanwhile, the Reds signed 16-year-old righthander Soid Marquez.
  • Here's a note for the diehard transactions fans out there: the Blue Jays actually released Adam Loewen, tweets Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (the team announced that it had outrighted Loewen this morning). The Blue Jays would have interest in re-signing Loewen to play at Triple-A if he doesn't find a better offer. Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi tweets that Loewen became a six-year minor league free agent.
  • The A's signed right-hander Edgar Gonzalez to a minor league deal, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 28-year-old appeared in one game with the Rockies in 2011, but spent most of the season at Triple-A. He posted a 5.00 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 133 1/3 innings for the top affiliates of the Rays and Rockies.

Outrighted: Crowe, Rangers, Rodriguez, Braves

By | at

The latest players to be outrighted off 40-man rosters:

Offseason Outlook: Atlanta Braves

By | at

The Braves are unlikely to do much free agent shopping, but improvements at left field and shortstop are possible. 

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration Eligible Players (estimated salaries)

Free Agents 

The 2011 Braves collapsed in epic fashion down the stretch, yet most of the pieces are in place for a competitive 2012 club.  That's fortunate, because GM Frank Wren has limited financial flexibility.

Assuming Moylan is non-tendered, the Braves will have about $84MM in commitments before accounting for minimum salary players.  That's $7MM less than the 2011 payroll of $91MM.  The Braves were closer to $100MM in 2008-09, but with a 5% drop in attendance this year raising payroll could be difficult.  Clearing $5MM of Lowe's salary yesterday was a win for the Braves, who did not envision him in next year's rotation.  Wren told reporters in October that Prado is likely back in left field next year, but otherwise I can see him traded or non-tendered.

Trading Jurrjens could serve the dual purpose of shedding $5MM and bringing back a bat, but Wren said this month: "We have a lot of pitching but I think it’s not something that we’re looking to trade from."  His statement could be interpreted in various ways, so we can't rule out a Jurrjens deal if the right offer comes along.  The Braves have more depth than most teams with their "Big Four" of young starters: Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Mike Minor, and Arodys Vizcaino.  With Lowe gone, Hudson will be the lone 2012 starter who exceeded 152 MLB innings in 2011.  But if the Braves feel Brandon Beachy, Tommy Hanson, and perhaps Minor can handle full workloads, Jurrjens may be expendable.

I think teams will be wary of surrendering a lot for Jurrjens.  SIERA suggests he's a 4.40 type pitcher, despite his career ERA of 3.40.  His strikeout rate dropped to 5.3 per nine this year, and he's missed significant time the last couple years due to knee, oblique, and hamstring injuries.  Any big league hitter the Braves get back would probably come with similar question marks or red flags.

I'm unconvinced the Braves won't look into left field upgrades, though a reasonable free agent target like Josh Willingham could prove a wash with Prado.  Still, bringing in a left fielder would allow Prado to back up Jones at third base.  The Braves will need an answer at shortstop, with prospect Tyler Pastornicky the favorite at the moment.  The Braves showed with Freddie Freeman they're not afraid to pencil a rookie into a starting job, but Wren should probably bring back Alex Gonzalez or a comparable veteran as an insurance policy.  Since Gonzalez is a Type B free agent, an arbitration offer makes sense.

The Braves' rotation averaged only 5.91 innings per start, 11th in the NL and worst among contenders.  They were saved by the league's best bullpen, but Jonny Venters, Craig Kimbrel, O'Flaherty, and Cristhian Martinez probably can't provide 316 innings again.  Free agents Linebrink and Sherrill didn't shoulder that kind of a workload, but the Braves should probably sign at least one veteran reliever to take some of the load.  Overall it looks like another winter of limited free agent shopping, after the Braves spent only about $5MM on that market last offseason.

For the most part, the Braves' improvements will come from within, as better overall seasons from Uggla, Prado, Jason Heyward, and Bourn are entirely feasible.  More innings from the rotation will be another key to success.

Remaining Contract Options

By | at

By the end of today, teams and players must decide on all 2012 contract options.  Here's what's left:

Cardinals

  • Rafael Furcal – $12MM club option with a $1.3MM buyout.  This is a lock to be declined, unless the Cardinals sign him to an extension first.
  • Octavio Dotel – $3.5MM club option with a $750K buyout.  I'm guessing the Cardinals will exercise this option.

Yankees

Indians Acquire Derek Lowe

By | at

We have our first trade of the 2011-12 offseason!  The Indians acquired Derek Lowe from the Braves, tweets John Kreger.  The Braves will pay all but $5MM of Lowe's $15MM salary, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  Olney says the Braves will receive 23-year-old High-A lefty reliever Chris Jones in return for Lowe.  Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein provides a quick scouting report.

Lowe

Lowe, 38, posted a 5.05 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.67 HR/9, and 59% groundball rate in 187 innings this year for Atlanta.  Lowe's Braves career ended on a sour note, as his 8.75 September ERA contributed to their collapse.  Still, his groundball rate ranked second in all of baseball.  Lowe signed a four-year, $60MM deal with the Braves in January of 2009.  

With Lowe, Justin Masterson, and Fausto Carmona, the Indians' rotation now has three of MLB's top seven in 2011 groundball rate.  Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Tomlin are also penciled in, with Carlos Carrasco down for Tommy John surgery.

For the Braves, the benefit is $5MM in much-needed salary relief for a pitcher otherwise projected for middle relief on their 2012 club.  The Braves and Indians last matched up on a trade in July of 2006, when the Tribe sent reliever Bob Wickman to Atlanta for Max Ramirez.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Braves Exercise Option On Hinske, Decline On McLouth

By | at

The Braves announced today they've exercised their option on first baseman/outfielder Eric Hinske and declined their option on center fielder Nate McLouth.

The Braves chose Hinske's $1.5MM club option over a $100K buyout.  The 34-year-old hit .233/.311/.403 in 264 plate appearances this year.

The decision on McLouth was obvious, as the Braves faced a $10.65MM club option and a $1.25MM buyout.  The 30-year-old outfielder hit .228/.344/.333 on the season.

NL East Notes: Wilson, Brown, Mets, Hanley

By | at

Some news from the NL East…

  • "Folks seem to think the Nationals are going to make [a] big play for C.J. Wilson," tweets Jon Heyman from Sports Illustrated.  Heyman thinks the Nats will offer Wilson a contract worth around $75-80MM.  In August, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes thought Wilson could fetch a $100MM deal this winter given the lack of quality starters in the free agent market, but Wilson's postseason struggles will probably prevent him from that nine-figure contract.
  • Dealing Domonic Brown or keeping him in the minors in 2012 would be a short-sighted move for the Phillies, argues CSNPhilly.com's Casey Feeney.
  • "With supply seemingly exceeding demand" on the free agent closer market this winter, the Mets can look beyond the biggest names (Heath Bell, Francisco Rodriguez, Ryan Madson and Jonathan Papelbon) and still find a solid closer at a reasonable price, writes Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.  Rubin also says the Mets are looking for another left-handed reliever to pair with Tim Byrdak, as the club worries that Danny Herrera will become less effective as opponents become more familiar with him.
  • The Marlins haven't discussed moving Hanley Ramirez away from shortstop or asking Ramirez about a position change, club president David Samson tells MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
  • From that same piece, Samson says the Marlins will be "very active" this winter with their expected rise in payroll.  "We're going to be very aggressive, but we're not going to be foolish," Samson said.  "That's the key. When you raise your payroll, you've got to do it smartly, because if you don't, you are losing 90 games at a higher payroll."
  • The Braves haven't yet decided if they will exercise Eric Hinske and Nate McLouth's 2012 options, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  McLouth's $10.65MM option will certainly be bought out for $1.25MM, that's a no-brainer.  As for Hinske, he's a useful reserve — he can play first base and both corner outfield spots, and he had a .754 OPS against right-handed pitching last season.  Hinske's option is worth just $1.5MM so my guess is Atlanta brings back the former AL Rookie of the Year.

Quick Hits: Braves, Diamondbacks, Padres, Epstein

By | at

On this day 36 years ago, Joe Morgan's ninth-inning RBI single helped earn the Big Red Machine a Game Seven win over Boston. That 1975 World Series was ranked by ESPN as the second-greatest in baseball history. While this year's Fall Classic has a long way to go to reach that level, the Cardinals and Rangers are off to a good start, having traded one-run victories so far. Here are today's links from around the league, as we await Game Three….

  • The Braves have hired Greg Walker, formerly of the White Sox, as their hitting coach, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Walker was one of three candidates interviewed by Atlanta.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic shares scouting reports and biographies for eight international free agents signed by the Diamondbacks this summer. The reports, via Arizona's international scouting director Carlos Gomez, are must-reads for D'Backs fans.
  • Within Piecoro's piece, he adds that the Diamondbacks re-signed a pair of players, Mike DeMark and D.J. Johnson, to minor league deals.
  • Dan Hayes of the North County Times spoke to Baseball America's Jim Callis about the improvement of the Padres' farm system this season.
  • With Theo Epstein officially heading to Chicago, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald lists the five best and five worst moves the former GM made for the Red Sox.

NL Central Notes: Rasmus, Bourn, Dempster

By | at

Weather permitting, we''re just a few hours from watching the Cardinals represent the NL Central in Game Three of the World Series in Texas. While we wait, let's round up some links on the Cards and a couple of their division rivals….

  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak discusses the Colby Rasmus trade with Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, noting that there was some internal opposition to moving the center fielder: "I'm not going to point anybody out specifically but there definitely was a robust debate internally on what we should do. But in the end, everybody believed it was what was best for the organization."
  • In a highly recommended piece at Bloomberg Businessweek, Rob Gloster revisits another July deal, providing an in-depth look at negotiations between the Braves and Astros for Michael Bourn.
  • ESPNChicago passes along a few quotes from Ryan Dempster regarding his future and the Cubs' new president. Dempster praised Theo Epstein and said he'd talk to the new front office regime before making a decision about his $14MM player option: "Hopefully it's not just picking up an option for this year, but I'll go out there and play the best I can and be here for a long time."
Show all

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