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Coppolella On Braves’ Offseason Plans, Prospects, Olivera, Kemp

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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.

Injury Notes: Salazar, Cabrera, Gregerson, Teheran, Rosenthal, Hochevar

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A trio of notable players just hit the 15-day DL, so we’ll cover them all right here:

  • The Indians announced that they have placed righty Danny Salazar on the 15-day DL while he rests his prized right elbow. Fortunately, an MRI seems only to have revealed inflammation, so the hope is that Salazar won’t miss an extended period of time. And Cleveland has plenty of rotation depth on hand, including Cody Anderson and Mike Clevinger, with the latter getting the nod for the time being. Still even a relatively brief absence will have an impact; Salazar has been nothing short of outstanding, and the AL Central-leading club holding a four-game cushion in the division race.
  • After already recently placing infielder Jose Reyes on the shelf, the Mets have now done the same with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. He suffered a strained patellar tendon and is headed for an MRI. The team also added just-signed outfielder Justin Ruggiano to the 15-day ranks. Cabrera’s loss is notable for an organization that was already scrambling to fill in for missing infielders. Matt Reynolds will come up for the meantime to help fill the void, but it seems there’s some real concern that the injury could require a fairly lengthy absence.
  • Astros reliever Luke Gregerson is headed to the 15-day with an oblique strain, the team announced. That not only will keep him out of action for a bit, but will clear the way for Ken Giles to take over as the team’s closer with Will Harris struggling of late. Gregerson has been rather excellent this year despite himself losing the 9th-inning job previously, with ERA estimators valuing him even more highly than his 3.09 ERA.
  • The Braves have added righty Julio Teheran to the DL as well. He is dealing with a lat strain that isn’t believed to be serious. Atlanta will obviously want to exercise plenty of caution in handling the injury, even if it isn’t particularly worrisome, as Teheran is a key piece of the organization’s rebuilding plans and there’s no need to rush him back.
  • Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal has been given platelet-rich plasma injections in his bothersome righty shoulder, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. GM John Mozeliak says that it’s possible Rosenthal  Of course, St. Louis will be looking for more than just physical improvement; it’ll also hope that he can fix his skyrocketing walk rate during a rehab stint.
  • As expected, Royals righty Luke Hochevar underwent a procedure today to help deal with a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets. He is expected to be out for six months, which would conceivably mean that he’ll be ready for a full spring camp if the rehab goes according to plan. It seems likely that the Royals will decline their end of a $7MM mutual option on the reliever, which would make him a free agent, though certainly it’s possible to imagine him staying with Kansas City on some kind of creative, two-year deal of the sort that the team has reached in recent years with several injured hurlers.

Pitching Rumors: Marlins, Tigers, Nats, Giants, Walker, Gomez

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ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark examines the seeming dearth of available starters on this year’s market, with several unnamed executives telling him it seems to be harder than at any point in recent memory to pry arms loose. He goes through several possible reasons for that — including, most interestingly, the fact that the infusion of money into baseball has reduced the financial pressure on smaller-market teams to sell off assets at the deadline. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports also tackles the subject, suggesting that the standoff between buyers and sellers could topple over on deadline day — possibly resulting in a wild finish.

While we wait for the tension to break, here’s the latest on a market that is proving difficult to project:

  • Even as the Marlins reportedly make their pitch for Andrew Cashner, the team is continuing to look far and wide for their rotation needs, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. He adds three more names that the club has asked about: Edinson Volquez of the Royals, Matt Shoemaker of the Angels, and Julio Teheran of the division-rival Braves. Nothing in the Miami system is off limits, per the report, including first baseman Josh Naylor and righty Luis Castillo — each of whom have been asked about quite frequently by other clubs, per Jackson. Rival clubs get the sense that the Marlins are “desperate” to bolster their rotation, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets, but it’s still not entirely clear how the team will make that happen given its thin farm. Of course, as the examples of Naylor and Castillo show, the system isn’t devoid of talent, but it would certainly sting to part with the organization’s best pieces, and it’s not at all clear that those players would be enough to score a quality, controllable arm.
  • Another team that hopes to add arms but has limitations in doing so is the Tigers, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). Detroit is said not to have much payroll flexibility, and is also generally regarded as having a weaker farm system. At the same time, it’s probably wise not to count out the Mike Illitch-owned Tigers, who have made many bold strikes in the past and sit in reasonable striking distance of both the AL Central and the Wild Card at six games over .500.
  • After missing on Aroldis Chapman, the Nationals should only step up their efforts to upgrade, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post opines. While GM Mike Rizzo has undeniably been a shrewd dealmaker, he and the organization have largely resisted major in-season additions, and Kilgore says that this is not the year to be stingy with prospects. Washington has been tied mostly to relief targets, and finding a big-time late-inning arm surely remains a priority. That said, things still seem rather wide open for the Nats, who aren’t overrun with needs but seem interested in a big addition. After all, the club even reportedly asked the Blue Jays whether star outfielder Jose Bautista might be available, per Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
  • Despite moving to add infielder Eduardo Nunez tonight, the Giants are still focused on pitching, GM Bobby Evans tells reporters including Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (via Twitter). It’s hard to draw a bead on the Giants’ favored targets, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick says they’re “blanketing” the market for starters and relievers (Twitter links). But the team is among may that have reached out to the Royals, so you can at least add some hypothetical new names to the long list of possibilities for San Francisco.
  • Meanwhile, southpaw Josh Osich wasn’t terribly pleased that he was placed on the DL with a seemingly minor forearm issue, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. He was replaced with fellow lefty Matt Reynolds, leading the Chronicle’s Henry Schulman to suggest on Twitter that the organization hopes to get a look at the 31-year-old before the deadline. Reynolds has appeared in five major league seasons and had some success at times. And it’s hard to ignore his current Triple-A line: over 32 1/3 innings, he owns a 1.11 ERA with 12.8 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 while allowing only 16 hits.
  • Mariners righty Taijuan Walker is drawing “strong interest” around the game, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). It’s still somewhat difficult to imagine the organization parting with the talented hurler at this particular point in time, not least of which because he’s currently on the DL with a foot injury. Plus, GM Jerry Dipoto strongly suggested just recently that a sell-off shouldn’t be expected. But Nightengale says that Walker is scheduled for a bullpen on Friday at Wrigley Field that is expected to be watched by opposing teams’ scouts.
  • The Phillies “don’t seem motivated” to trade reliever Jeanmar Gomez, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com tweets. On the one hand, that’s a bit surprising given that the emergent righty has worked to a strong 2.83 ERA in 47 2/3 innings while largely thriving in the closer’s role. On the other, Philadelphia has no real reason to part with its final year of control if it can’t draw an interesting return, as Gomez will likely provides some affordable (albeit increasingly expensive) stability next year.

Trade Market Notes: Teheran, Bruce, Reddick, Giants, Rangers, White Sox

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Braves righty Julio Teheran exited tonight’s start with what is being described as right lat tightness, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. Teheran had been throwing well, once again, before the issue arose. We’ve already seen plenty of cold water thrown on the idea that he’ll be traded, and this injury — even if it’s minor — could help seal the deal (or, rather, the lack thereof).

Here are some more notes as the trade market continues to take shape:

  • It has largely been taken for granted that the Reds will trade Jay Bruce this summer. But ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that some rival executives are finding it difficult to gain any traction in talks with the Cincinnati front office. Others, though, still see a deal as likely.
  • Some of the same teams pursuing Bruce are in on Athletics outfielder Josh Reddick, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi notes on Twitter. That’s not surprising — both are left-handed-hitting corner outfielders, albeit rather different ones — and it’s certainly possible to imagine the interplay between their respective markets having an impact on how trade talks progress. The Cubs, Dodgers, and Indians all have some level of interest in both players, per the report.
  • As for the Athletics and Reddick, there are other teams in the mix, too. Per John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group, the Royals and Giants are also taking a look. Of course, we also heard today (subsequent to Hickey’s report) that Kansas City may instead head in a different direction.
  • We’ve heard plenty of chatter on Melvin Upton tonight, after Olney suggested earlier today that he could be a fit for the Giants. Whether or not Upton is the target — or, as just noted, Reddick — it seems that San Francisco is once again leaning toward adding another outfielder. Hunter Pence’s return hasn’t been quite as smooth as might’ve been hoped, and the remaining primary mix — Angel Pagan, Denard Span, and Gregor Blanco — hasn’t been terribly productive, though Pagan has had a solid bounceback campaign. On the other hand, both Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson have hit at better than league-average rates when they’ve been up, so the club isn’t exactly hurting for options.
  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News provides a useful round-up of the Rangers’ efforts to bolster a scuffling rotation. In addition to opening talks with the Rays and White Sox, as has been covered extensively, the team is looking at a variety of other possibilities. Andrew Cashner of the Padres is one player that the Rangers have discussed, as are Mariners lefties James Paxton and Wade Miley. It seems that all variety of options continue to be on the table, as all of the pitchers covered in the report constitute quite different assets. GM Jon Daniels suggests that, while he’d prefer to move quickly toward a deal, the odds are that it’ll come down to the deadline.
  • As the White Sox weigh what (if any) players to sell, the club won’t have two short-term assets on the shelf. As Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports, both center fielder Austin Jackson and catcher Alex Avila — each of whom was signed to a one-year deal over the winter — are still a ways away from returning from their respective injuries.

Royals Have Shown Some Interest In Nick Markakis

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The Royals are among the clubs that have taken a look at Braves right fielder Nick Markakis, writes MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. The presence of two other cost-controlled left-handed-hitting outfielders with limited power (Ender Inciarte and Mallex Smith) has “clouded” the future of Markakis in Atlanta, he notes.

Given Markakis’ age, performance and salary, he’s a logical candidate to be moved, though his $11MM annual salary figures to pose a problem in trade talks. While Markakis is walking at a 10 percent clip for the second straight season and has shown a bit more pop in 2016 than he did in 2015 (.105 ISO vs. .080 ISO), he’s still a far cry from the 15- to 20-homer on-base machine that he was in his peak days with the Orioles. Markakis’ .296/.370/.376 batting line last season actually checked in above league average despite a lack of home runs, per OPS+ and wRC+, but he’s at a diminished .260/.337/.366 this season.

Optimists could look at Markakis, however, and note that his 33.1 percent hard-contact rate is the second-highest of his career, and his 22.4 percent line-drive rate is a marked improvement over his 2015 pace. Markakis is also popping up at the lowest rate of his career (four percent), and defensive metrics look favorably upon his work in 2016 (+3 DRS, +1.3 UZR/150). Silver linings aside, it seems quite likely that the Braves would have to absorb some of the salary owed to Markakis, especially if talks with the Royals gain any kind of traction. The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo linked the Royals to Markakis back in May but noted that his salary is “an issue” for Kansas City.

The Braves, Bowman writes, will be looking to add some power to their outfield over the winter. And with Inciarte and Smith set to line up in two of the three spots, adding a corner outfield bat with some home run pop would only be feasible in the absence of Markakis. One player who could also factor into the outfield again in a limited capacity, Bowman notes, is Jeff Francoeur. The Braves love Francoeur’s leadership and don’t plan on trading him barring a surprising offer and may even attempt to re-sign the 32-year-old. While needing to be “overwhelmed” for Francoeur at this stage of his career certainly sounds strange, one has to imagine that the offers would be fairly light in nature, and the Braves may prefer simply hanging onto him rather than picking up some cash or a low-level prospect of little note.

From the Royals’ side of the equation, adding Markakis would probably shift Jarrod Dyson into a true fourth outfield role and allow him to bounce around between all three positions as needed. Dyson has shared time with Paulo Orlando in right field this year, but Orlando’s unsustainable production through the first two months has quickly begun to fade. He’s hitting just .267/.293/.326 since June 1. The Royals appear to be open to adding a right field alternative of some nature, as Kansas City has also recently been linked to Josh Reddick.

Bowman’s column also discusses the Braves’ rotation, with GM John Coppolella once again stating that he will not trade his No. 1 starter, Julio Teheran. Coppolella says he’s turned away about a dozen general managers that have come calling on Teheran, and it doesn’t sound as if the team has any intentions of changing its stance as the Aug.1 non-waiver deadline gets closer. Per Bowman, the Braves have fielded calls from three clubs on right-hander Lucas Harrell, although the return on him would be minimal, as Harrell has made four starts with very mixed results for the Braves — 23 1/3 innings, 4.24 ERA, 17-to-9 K/BB ratio — and has a limited big league track record. Most clubs would probably look at him as a depth piece rather than a genuine option to upgrade their starting pitching.

Heyman’s Latest: Archer, Gray, Shoemaker, Teheran, Vizcaino, Cubs, Mariners

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After breaking down the dismal state of the starting pitching supply on this summer’s trade market, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag goes on to provide news and notes on all thirty teams. Among those of chief relevance to the trade deadline:

  • At least one unnamed executive thinks that Rays righty Chris Archer is a good bet to be traded, as ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. But an anoynymous general manager tells Heyman that he’s getting quite a different feel. “There’s no belief Chris Archer will be traded,” the GM reportedly said. It’s always tough to know how to interpret the signals on high-level, controllable players, but suffice to say that Archer remains a player to watch — but not one who should be assumed to be on the move.
  • The Athletics are “not engaging” competitors in talks on Sonny Gray, which obviously supports the idea that there’s no real interest in exploring a deal while his value is down. Neither are the Angels inclined to chat on Matt Shoemaker, albeit for somewhat different reasons.
  • Likewise, the Braves are putting out the vibe that they won’t trade Julio Teheran. But that’s not necessarily the case with regarded to reliever Arodys Vizcaino. Though he’s on the DL with an injured oblique — which is certainly not an easy injury to gauge a timeline from — Atlanta is still getting trade hits and may yet look to move him, per the report. Personally, I have a hard time seeing a sufficient offer developing given the uncertainty.
  • Though the Braves would love to find a taker for struggling shortstop Erick Aybar, Heyman says there’s no real interest in the veteran. Atlanta has mostly been engaged in discussions on its part-time role players, and doesn’t seem particularly likely to be involved in any major swaps — though it’s wise never to rule out a creative surprise. After all, who saw last summer’s 13-player trade coming together?
  • The Cubs remain on the periphery of the starting pitching market but are suggesting to other organizations that they don’t expect to land a starter. Certainly, it seems, Chicago won’t burn up too much prospect capital just for a back-end hurler. That’s not surprise, as the Cubs have a perfectly sturdy starting five as well as some depth options.
  • That’s not to say that the Cubs aren’t still poking around, with Heyman noting that the team spoke to the Mariners about James Paxton and Taijuan Walker. Other organizations have as well, including the Rangers. A Seattle source tells Heyman that a trade of either young starter remains unlikely, though the team isn’t taking anything off the table at this point. From where I sit, it’s tough to imagine either player changing hands; Seattle will surely want to see whether Paxton can harness his improving stuff, while Walker isn’t at full health.
  • It’s not clear how the Tigers will be able to upgrade their starting staff, but the report suggests they’d like to. Detroit doesn’t want to deal any of its significant prospects and doesn’t have a lot of room to add salary, per Heyman. That doesn’t really leave much of a realistic path to improvement, though perhaps the team can find some supplemental assets with a little creativity.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Yankees, Marlins, Rays, Rockies, Braves

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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a pair of videos on FOX Sports.

  • The Yankees will be willing to deal pending free agents Aroldis Chapman and Carlos Beltran if they’re not in serious contention for a playoff spot by the August 1 deadline, Rosenthal says. They do not want to trade Andrew Miller right now, however. It’s also possible they could deal starting pitchers like CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Pineda, but they are not in active discussions to sell right now and they could wait to deal members of that trio this offseason, since all are under control in 2017.
  • The Marlins would deal Adeiny Hechavarria and replace him at shortstop with Miguel Rojas if they could get a top starter like Chris Archer of the Rays in return, Rosenthal says. From this vantage point, that sounds like a lot to ask for a shortstop who has hit .238/.274/.336 this season (although Hechavarria is a stellar defender), and one would think Hechavarria would have limited value in a deal for an ace, even as part of a package. Rosenthal unsurprisingly notes that the Rays aren’t interested in trading Archer for a package that has Hechavarria as its centerpiece. The Marlins are also very interested in Archer’s fellow Rays starters Jake Odorizzi and Matt Moore, although their weak minor league system poses difficulties in lining up a trade.
  • The Rockies don’t seem overly motivated to trade Carlos Gonzalez and have passed on opportunities to do so, Rosenthal says. Gonzalez’s contract runs through 2017, coinciding with the end of GM Jeff Bridich’s deal, and Rosenthal implies it might be in Bridich’s best interest to keep Gonzalez around to increase the Rockies’ chances of being competitive until then.
  • The Tigers aren’t likely to make big moves before the deadline, with a large payroll that will limit their flexibility and a number of tough-to-move contracts on the books. They could, however, become a seller if they do especially poorly in the next two weeks, potentially dealing Francisco Rodriguez and/or other relievers.
  • Braves GM John Coppolella continues to insist his team will not deal Julio Teheran, Rosenthal says. Coppolella believes Teheran (who is under team control through 2020) can be a key player on the next contending Braves team, although he acknowledges that won’t happen this season.

AL West Notes: Bregman, Healy, Valencia, Rodriguez, Rangers

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The Astros’ reported deal with Yulieski Gurriel adds another notable option to the mix in the left side of the infield, but that doesn’t mean top prospect Alex Bregman is on the trade block. Far from it, in fact, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (on Twitter). A source tells Morosi that the club isn’t interested in flipping Bregman for a top-flight starter — though certainly the rising prospect is the kind of blue-chip asset that could net a major piece in return.

Here’s more from the AL West:

  • Just-promoted prospect Ryon Healy will serve as the Athletics’ primary third baseman, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). That leaves hot-hitting Danny Valencia to pick up plate appearances at first base and the corner outfield. Oakland’s decision to modify and reduce Valencia’s role seems to suggest that he isn’t a major part of the club’s plans for 2017. That, in turn, would presumably increase the team’s inclination to deal him this summer.
  • Athletics reliever Fernando Rodriguez will miss four to six weeks after being diagnosed with a lat tear, Hickey tweets. Rodriguez expressed surprise and disappointment with the prognosis. The 32-year-old has been a steady, albeit not a dominant, member of the A’s pen for the last two years. Over 40 2/3 innings in 2015, he owns a 4.20 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.
  • As the Rangers continue to browse the shelves of potentially-available starters, the team has at least asked the Braves about Julio Teheran, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links). That hardly means there’s any real action on the righty, particularly since we’ve seen Texas tied to a whole host of starters in recent weeks. Cotillo also hears that the Rangers have had talks with the Brewers on catcher Jonathan Lucroy and southpaw Will Smith, though Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the chatter “went nowhere.” All told, it still seems that the Texas front office is canvassing possibilities with the deadline a few weeks off.

Coppolella On Snitker, Teheran, Norris, Pitching

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Here’s the latest from Braves GM John Coppolella, via the first part of a Q+A with Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

  • Brian Snitker is a serious candidate to shed his interim manager tag and take the job on a more permanent basis, but Coppolella indicates the team will look to outside candidates as well.
  • Coppolella says flatly that the Braves aren’t trading Julio Teheran, who, of course, has been the subject of months of rumors and discussion. As we’ve noted elsewhere in these pages, Teheran is controllable through 2020, so the Braves could conceivably hang onto him as a veteran anchor for their rotation, even though his fine season and the relatively limited number of good starting pitchers available would also make him a strong trade chip this summer.
  • The recent spate of injuries to pitchers — both within the Braves organization and elsewhere — itself demonstrates why the Braves emphasized pitching so much in their current rebuild, Coppolella says. He notes, though, that part of the Braves’ strategy was a function of opportunity. The organization’s core of young pitching now includes Ian Anderson, who the team selected with the third overall draft pick last month even though they already had lots of young pitching. “There’s so much attrition associated with pitching that you truly can never have enough talent or depth when it comes to arms,” Coppolella says. “It’s great the Cubs built around bats, but that’s what was available to them in the draft. There was no Kris Bryant or Kyle Schwarber in the draft this year.”
  • The Braves’ trade of Bud Norris late last month was motivated in part by a desire to beat the trade-deadline rush and get as much as possible for a player who would be a rental for his new team, Coppolella confirms. “It was difficult to trade Bud, but knowing he was a free agent after the season was the overriding factor,” says Coppolella. “Bud was pitching terrific and the Dodgers made us an offer that we felt compelled us to make that move at that time.”

Quick Hits: Pitching, Teheran, Kershaw, Giants, Maeda, Prospect Trades

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Starting pitching is still “severely overpriced” on the trade market, according to scouts who spoke with ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) at the Futures Game.  “You want to get a guy who’ll pitch for you in the postseason.  Teams want to trade you a No. 5 starter who might help you get to the postseason,” said one scout who works for a contending club.  Eight starters landed on the latest edition of the Top 25 Trade Candidates list from MLBTR’s Jeff Todd, though of that octet, only a few seem like they would be real difference-makers in a playoff series.  Here’s more from around baseball as we wrap up the first half…

  • In another tweet from Crasnick, he describes the chances of the Braves trading Julio Teheran as “not likely” unless Atlanta significantly lowers its asking price before the deadline.  Given that the Braves reportedly want more for Teheran than they received from the D’Backs in the already-infamous Shelby Miller trade, it’s not hard to see why teams are balking at such a huge asking price.  (And it’s also clear why Atlanta would demand so much for a controllable young arm with ace potential.)
  • Clayton Kershaw will miss at least one start after the All-Star break as the Dodgers’ ace is still recovering from his back injury.  L.A. manager Dave Roberts lined up his post-All-Star break rotation for reporters (including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick) and Kershaw wasn’t in the mix, as the star lefty just threw off a mound today for the first time since June 26.  Early reports about his DL placement suggested Kershaw could miss up to a month, so while today’s news wasn’t necessarily a surprise, it’s possible he could return in the latter half of the 10-day road trip the Dodgers will face after the break.
  • Speaking of NL West stars on the DL, Bruce Bochy provided some updates to the media (including Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News) about some notable Giants.  Joe Panik is recovering well from concussion symptoms and could be back for the Giants’ series with the Red Sox that begins on July 19, while Hunter Pence could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week as he recovers from surgery to fix a torn hamstring.  Matt Duffy’s strained Achilles tendon in his left foot is still causing him problems when he runs in a straight line, so his timeline is uncertain though Duffy can perform other baseball activities with no issues.
  • Kenta Maeda exceeded the 100-inning plateau in his start today, thus unlocking another $250K bonus in his Dodgers contract (hat tip to ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla).  Maeda is only guaranteed $3MM per season from 2016 through 2023, though he can collect significant bonuses based on innings pitched, starts and making the Opening Day roster.  Thus far, Maeda has received an extra $1.65MM in bonuses this season.  Even if he maxes out those bonuses over the eight years under contract, Maeda is already looking like a bargain for the Dodgers given how well he has pitched in his first MLB season.
  • With today’s MLB Futures Game in mind, ESPN’s Jim Bowden (subscription required) details seven prospects from the game who could be trade chips at the deadline.
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