2 years / $11 million per Rosenthal
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2 years / $11 million per Rosenthal
I like it. Super versatile with some pop. Fiery attitude too. Gatorade coolers in ATL are officially ****ed.
I'm thankful for this signing.
Great signing. Love how Coppy seems to strike when nobody is expecting it.
The offense just got a lot better.
Good value signing. He gives us options.
He can play anywhere and will garner a decent prospect in return if we wanted to flip him.
We just got 350-400 plate appearances of above average offensive production for a cheap price. Thats a pretty sizable upgrade IMO.
Good signing.
Nice one!
1.5 Signing bonus and 5 million each year. For those more familiar with patrol structure, does the 1.5 count immediately against the 2016 payroll or is it spread out? If it's an immediate pay out I like the deal better.
I'm guessing he will be our 2B against LHP to start the year.
This is a great fit. I've been really nervous about Coppy's decision-making since that Kemp acquisition, so I'm pleasantly surprised that I've liked all the FA signings so far this offseason. Sean Rodriguez was my favorite utility option as a FA, though I was thinking he might sign somewhere that could give him more ABs.
Sean Rodriguez last 3 years . . .
versus LHP: 243 / 326 / 438
versus RHP: 245 / 286 / 450
Career UZR / 150 numbers below average at SS, but above average everywhere else . . . and he's played everywhere but catcher.
Good value signing. He's no world beater but if he accumulates 300-400 ABs, he should be worth well north of a $5M annual salary. It's hard to find actual value upside in the FA market, so kudos to Coppy for doing so on a reasonable short-term contract.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
I have no clue who this guy is.
This is a very odd signing in my opinion. Teams projected to win 75 games don't typically give $5m per year to bench guys, and there isn't a clear place to platoon him for the next 2 years.
A LHed hitting guy like Valbuena to platoon with Garcia at 3b makes sense.
A RHed hitting CFer like Ruggiano to take some ABs against LHers and be a defensive replacement for Kemp makes sense.
A RHed hitting infielder to platoon with Jace doesn't make as much sense with Albies ready in a couple months.
This signing seems like a precursor to a trade involving Albies, and the Braves going with a Jace/Sean platoon at 2b for the next couple years.
I just don't get the thought process behind the signing. He isn't much better (if he is at all) than current options on the IF like Jace, Garcia and Ruiz, so why was he given $5m per year? Where is the path to enough ABs to warrant that contract? The only potential platoon partner is Jace, who should be replaced full time well before this 2 year deal expires (even if Albies spends all of 2017 in AAA), so why 2 years?
The logical path to enough ABs for this guy is to trade Albies, but that is a massive downgrade at 2b.
Or did the Braves just pay $11m for a 0.5 win improvement to the bench for some unknown reason? I really wish I was the one asking questions at these press conferences.
This was one of my first thoughts as well.
Nah, keep in mind that Albies is coming off a pretty serious injury and will need to spend some time getting back into it after rehabbing it, and that he's still a teenager.
Beyond that, this deal does nothing to block Albies. $5 million a year is practically nothing in today's game. If Rodriguez is even close to the player he was last year, he's a bargain. If not, he's still a decent utility IF getting paid like one.
From your lips to God's ears.
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Kinda weird, but it could be one of those sign for a good first half 2B platoon then trade when we want Albies up.
Also may mean we don't believe in Garcia
I wasn't either. Now I think it's a cheap way to build a star. I watched skeptically as Seattle pulled together Adam Lind and Dae Ho Lee and Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez last year and while none of them had a great year, once you did the math you got good cheap production to augment your stars.
I can understand this line of thinking, but I still have a hard time understanding it from Sean's perspective. A player like him usually is looking for consistent ABs on a non-contender, or a bench role on a team with playoff aspirations.
The Braves are not a contender, and can only give him ABs as part of the light side of a platoon at 2b. And once Albies comes up, whenever that is, even those ABs will go away.
Did he agree to sign with the understanding more playing time would be available than I am assuming he will get?
Just an odd move from both sides of the equation.
Don't really see the confusion personally. Gives you more flexibility than if you'd gone back and re-signed BOTH Frenchy and KJ for the bench and only takes up one roster spot - for only slightly more money than the two of them would've cost. Not a perfect platoon-mate for Garcia, I agree, but Rodriguez replaces d'Arnaud with a lot more pop and allows you to carry a third Catcher for Dickey (even though they've said they don't plan to - yet) or an extra pen arm.
The two-year deal does at least make you wonder if a deal for an "Ace" is still being considered. I'd still much prefer Archer or Quintana if it is, but I do wonder if anyone would (or even could for that matter) step up and beat a package of Inciarte, Albies, Newcomb, and Ruiz for Sale.
He's a below average hitter. Look at his career numbers. Look at his OBP. He's not good. Guys like this should be found on the cheap.
LOL at signing Sean Rodriguez making Albies expendable. I'm sure that's what the front office was thinking when they signed a career backup. Guys like this don't have any effect on the promotion of a top prospect.
This looks to me like a bit of a "Geezer" hedge in addition to the 2B platoon.
I actually like what the Braves are doing so far (if they aren't going to continue "officially" in rebuild mode). It's somewhat of a stealth rebuild mode, bring in a bunch of aging vets to provide the appearance of trying to compete, then if things go poorly the 1st half of 2017, you move the geezer contingent for best available while keeping the core intact.
I could see a 35-46 first half heading into the All-Star break where the FO says "well, that didn't work" and they use whatever value can be squeezed from Colon, Dickey, Johnson, Rodriguez, Garcia, Kemp, Markakis, Flowers, Viz, Collmenter, Jace, etc. to continue to build the rebuild talent pool.
I mean, think about it: The FO obviously thinks it's critical to enter the new park under the right circumstances which is to AT LEAST provide the illusion of a contending team. They want a full ballpark, at least for a while, but know that once the newness of the park wears off, only the play of the team will keep fans coming. The only way to really hold fan interest throughout the season would be to start strong and play well throughout the year with at least a chance at the playoffs until the final week of the season. Right now, they need to sell season ticket packages and build supporter and consumer confidence for the team and associated ballpark businesses. Once the season starts it's all about individual ticket sales and game packages which are driven primarily by the actual play of the team.
If the FO can build the expectation of a competitive team going into the season, they sell season tickets at a rate where fans expect to compete. If they finish the first month 5 games under .500, they sell tickets at a rate of actual observable play.
I think the FO is splitting the baby which will lead to a somewhat inefficient rebuild but it's probably the best than can do given the timing of circumstances.
I just don't see where this move means much of anything other than adding a player who can contribute in a number of ways at a reasonable price. It's not the kind of deal and he's not the kind of player that suggests we have some sort of bigger plan in place. Maybe he comes somewhat close to repeating last year and we have a guy who can be a solid bat at 2B until Albies is ready and fill a role similar to Prado if Albies does come up and performs.
I can understand this point of view. If I thought the Braves were in a position where they were throwing money at a hopeless season, I'd be frustrated. I guess I'm a bit more optimistic and see this team ending up with a win projection more in the high 70s or low 80s. From this position, history has taught us that team's have a chance to compete for a playoff spot and sometimes hit pay dirt. I agree with the Braves assessment that this pursuit is worth the cost, on a number of levels.
As it relates to Rodriguez, he makes the team better in a lot of small ways that add up. Aside from the main benefit of being something resembling a platoon partner with Jace for 2-4 months, he helps in a number of other ways:
- Can take some ABs away from Markakis against LHP.
- Can serve as a defensive replacement for Kemp late in games.
- Provides long-term injury insurance at a few positions, and short-term injury insurance at almost every position.
- Has the position versatility to create a lot of flexibility when it comes to matchup situations with RPs late in games.
- If the Braves want to get creative at any point with some trades of other IFs or OFs, his flexibility makes it a little easier.
Looking at his career numbers, 2016 is a great outlier for him. I'm with Enscheff in seeing this as an odd move. Not necessarily a bad move--we'll see how it plays out--but I don't see where he really fits.
Definitely an outlier but there was a lot of talk around Pitt that he had made some significant adjustments. Who knows if that's all lip service. He had a higher BABIP but it wasn't absurd. His power numbers were crazy. Worth a $5 million gamble to be a super until guy or platoon mate if there was any truth to the adjustment narrative
Isn't this the whole point of this winter though? Sign players to short-term deals that will make you better for the short-term that won't "get in the way" of anyone you expect to be ready in the near-future.
They just spent the money that they paid Bourn and Swisher last year on Colon, Dickey, and Rodriguez - three players who can't help but make the 2017 Braves more "competitive" than Bourn and Swisher did in 2016. Those three players won't get in the way of ANYONE in the event Coppy doesn't trade for an "Ace" - you had the "free money" with no one to spend it on. You got two Pitchers who are MUCH more tradeable than the trash we signed last winter in the event Wisler/Blair/Newcomb show that they're ready to take a spot in the rotation. If they don't, you still stand to be a much better team than you were when you were giving starts to Norris/Chacin/Perez/De La Cruz/etc.. You got a solid super-sub who should be a good platoon-mate for Jace who's a better offensive player than KJ/Frenchy/d'Arnaud and is likely imminently more tradeable than those three who will still be a good super-sub if/when Albies takes over at 2B. That 2B platoon also buys you the whole season IF you decide to delay Ozzie's promotion because you want to stagger service-time between Swanson and Albies.
Just tough for me to imagine that folks saw the incremental improvement someone like Castro MIGHT have provided as a plus, yet they'd criticize this signing - 2 years and $11.5 million for Rodriguez seems like a better use of resources than 3 years and $25 million for Castro to me.
They've done a lot of relatively small things that make even more sense if they believe they're on the edge of contention... and if you believe they really are trying to add a top starter, it adds up pretty clearly.
I know a lot of you who have done the Fangraphs calculus think that's a fool's errand, but reading the tea leaves, that's what I see.