Offseason/ 2015 season

[bravesfanforlife88]

B.J. Upton $15,050,000
Justin Upton $14,708,333
Dan Uggla $13,200,000
Craig Kimbrel $9,250,000
Freddie Freeman $8,859,375
Jason Heyward $8,300,000
Chris Johnson $6,000,000
Andrelton Simmons $3,142,857
Julio Teheran $1,166,666

I know I am probably missing a few salaries on here but these are the most expensive. What move do you think we could make or series of moves could we make to make us competitive. Obviously having almost $30 mil wrapped up in BJ/Uggla does not help and has to be the first move addressed

[57Brave]

First things first.

Get Gattis to the AL and install Bethencourt behind the plate.

Who is going to take BJ? I look across MLB and just dont see it.
Japan?
Other CF options?
Who will-would be available that is not Jordan Shafer 2.0

Next is a veteran starting pitcher. Not a 1 or 2 guy but someone that has been around.

Address the bullpen. Perhaps that is what makes Gattis or LaStella a good chip to have.

Address the coaching staff.
I'd fire the lot of them. McDowell too
Leave Fredi there unless he balks at his having to fire the coaches.
Lets not forget he just signed a lucrative extension too !!

See what market there is for everyone not named Andrelton, Heyward, Freeman or Bethancourt.
Market for Kimbrell too. He's not doing this team any good.

I wouldn't wait until the off season. Picture Kimbrell in Detroit !!! Or, even Walden

[NinersSBChamps]

New GM and these issues begin to go away.

[Hudson2]

We're stuck with Uggla's salary unfortunately for one more year. But CJ would be the first one I tried to move. BJ obviously would be shopped but we'd have to take a crappy contract back so maybe add a nice piece with him for a shorter term contract.

[VirginiaBrave]

Agree with all but the Kimbrel part, definitely put Santana and Harang both might bring some depth for 2015.

[57Brave]

He just signed a lucrative extension too !!

I think they gambeled on a) BJ and Uggla regaining their skills and b) Evan Gattis.

Let's go back to right before the AS Break. Gattis was swinging the bat well - team was competitive. Gattis gets in arguement on national TV with Tehran. Gattis gets hurt -- Bethencourt gets called up - team really doesn't miss a beat. Gattis comes back - takes the NL lead in meetings on mound, PBand WP's at the most inopporune times and his bat has all but disappeared.
They gambeled he could take over for Mac and lost. nothing against Gattis and who wasn't sure in Spring Training El Oso Blanco couldn't do the job?

Not me -- not anyone here. Least of all, not Wren or Gonzalez.
They took a chance and it didnt work. Unless they figured Bethencourt a year away and couldn't affor the money or time in MAc and if Gattis worked out well .. that's fine too

No body is going to take BJ. Just like no one was going to take Uggla

[The Chosen One]

New GM and these issues begin to go away.

No.

You love repeating stuff like this.

[57Brave]

Agree with all but the Kimbrel part, definitely put Santana and Harang both might bring some depth for 2015.

Look at what Kimbrell brings on the open market. And, he is not (and will never be again) in any way shape or form the Craig Kimbrell of 2013

[CJC]

B.J. Upton $15,050,000
Justin Upton $14,708,333
Dan Uggla $13,200,000
Craig Kimbrel $9,250,000
Freddie Freeman $8,859,375
Jason Heyward $8,300,000
Chris Johnson $6,000,000
Andrelton Simmons $3,142,857
Julio Teheran $1,166,666

I know I am probably missing a few salaries on here but these are the most expensive. What move do you think we could make or series of moves could we make to make us competitive. Obviously having almost $30 mil wrapped up in BJ/Uggla does not help and has to be the first move addressed

Honestly Bonifacio is probably the best CF FA available... We'd have to go the trade route.

[CJC]

First things first.

Get Gattis to the AL and install Bethencourt behind the plate.

Who is going to take BJ? I look across MLB and just dont see it.
Japan?
Other CF options?
Who will-would be available that is not Jordan Shafer 2.0

Next is a veteran starting pitcher. Not a 1 or 2 guy but someone that has been around.

Address the bullpen. Perhaps that is what makes Gattis or LaStella a good chip to have.

Address the coaching staff.
I'd fire the lot of them. McDowell too
Leave Fredi there unless he balks at his having to fire the coaches.
Lets not forget he just signed a lucrative extension too !!

See what market there is for everyone not named Andrelton, Heyward, Freeman or Bethancourt.
Market for Kimbrell too. He's not doing this team any good.

I wouldn't wait until the off season. Picture Kimbrell in Detroit !!! Or, even Walden

So basically get rid of all the players and keep Fredi?

[CyYoung31]

Look at what Kimbrell brings on the open market. And, he is not (and will never be again) in any way shape or form the Craig Kimbrell of 2013

He's still the best closer in baseball, and by quite a decent margin.

[bravesfanforlife88]

He is young and one of if not the best closer still in the game. And just signed a 4 year deal. Kimbrel would bring a very nice return.....package him with bj and get someone to pick up his contract! That's almost $25 mil a year off the books!

[CyYoung31]

I can't believe you guys are serious about this rebuilding stuff. We're the youngest team in baseball, with plenty of talent. Getting out of BJ's contract would do wonders for sure, but we're just a few pieces away whether that be by acquisition or health.

Really, we're just an offensive underperformance away from being a really good team again.

[Dalyn]

This team doesn't need rebuilt. It needs just a few pieces added and subtracted (players and coaches) to make it work like it should.

[cajunrevenge]

The way I see it the roster needs a shakeup. The talent is there but its just not meshing.

2015 problem areas
---------------------------
1. Rotation - Teheran/Wood are a good front of the rotation but after that we got a problem. Minor is virtually guaranteed a spot but who knows what we get. Hale is a fine back of the rotation starter. At minimum we need a quality #3 starter. Really should be looking to add 2 starters. Looking into my crystal ball I forsee trading for Phil Hughes who has a very reasonable contract that we should have given him last year and signing Jake Peavy to a 1 year deal. I could also see a potential Justin/Price trade if the Tigers were to re-sign Max Scherzer which I dont think is too unlikely. Both are free agents after 2015 and I think they could view Justin as the more likely to re-sign with them.

2. Pen depth/lefty reliever - We are okay if everyone is healthy but still lack a quality lefty reliever. Another Twin I would look into is Glenn Perkins. The Twins arent the best defensive team so adding a platinum glover at SS could appeal to them a lot. Say Andrelton for Hughes/Perkins/prospect?

3. Offense - I would look to build the offense around speed. Replace Simmons with Peraza, Johnson with Bonifacio and trade Simmons for Starling Marte. The Pirates lack talent at SS and have a plethora of OF prospects. Marte is most valuable in cf which he wont play in Pittsburgh. With Heywood/Freeman/Justin/Gattis we wont be lacking for power in the lineup. Speed can change the game in so many ways. It can distract the pitcher and get more fastballs for the batter. Speedy players are generally better at small ball and manufacturing runs. Opponents are more likely to commit errors vs fast base runners because they have less time to make the play.


Some trade ideas I had while researching.

Andrelton for Starling Marte - Both are signed to cheap contract extensions. Pirates have nothing at SS and good prospects coming up. Marte is a centerfielder not a corner outfielder to begin with.

Andrelton for Phil Hughes/Glen Perkins/Prospect - Hughes/Perkins are signed to cheap deals but only for 2 more years. Twins should be thinking of the future with Sano/Buxton close to the majors. If they insist on playing Sano at 3B then a defensive whiz like Simmons could help make up for his defensive shortcomings.


Justin/Kimbrel/BJ for David Price/Raja Davis/Ian Kinsler. Price obviously makes a formidable big 3 of Price/Teheran/Wood. Nathan I think will rebound and could be a solid closer in the NL. Basically trading Kimbrel to trade BJ's bad contract for Kinsler's. Kinsler is grossly overpaid but he is a massive upgrade over BJ Suckton. Raja Davis is to go with the team speed concept.

Justin for Price straight up. Most Tiger fans I heard from thought they needed another bat more than Price. Maybe if things dont go well in the playoffs or they dont even make it Dombrowski might want to mix things up. Both are free agents after 2015. Detroit probably isnt close enough to home for Price to re-sign with them so they could see it as
trading for a player more likely to sign an extension. Braves could view it the same way. I dont know what the Scherzer situation is but how many teams can and will outbid the Tigers?

Kimbrel to Mets for Daniel Murphy/Dillon Gee/Prospect - Murphy would be to play 3B. He is a very good defender at 3B. Has a lot of positional versatility. He can not play outfield, just trust me on that one. He is a lot like the 2013 version of CJ, except he is not slow and can steal bases, and he plays good defense at 3B. Gee is a solid back of the rotation pitcher. Mets rotation is going to be crowded next year with Harvey rejoining and Noah whatshisname likely graduating to the majors. The Mets are slowly building a contender. If Harvey comes back like he was before then they could be a serious threat in 2015. That said closer has been the bain of Met fans existence for a while, imagine how we would have felt acquiring Kimbrel back when we had Klobster and Reitsma attempting to close.






Some free agents I like

- Nick Markakis - I was really high on him as a prospect. He can put up a .350-.370 OBP. Not a lot of power but thats what makes him cheap.
- Emilio Bonifacio - Absolutely must re-sign this guy.
- Chase Headley - He is doing well for the Yankees. Looks like he just needed off the Padres. I think of him as a .270/.350/.400 kind of hitter with good defense. I think he will take a 1 year deal to build value for next offseason. I think the Braves should take a chance on him and hopefully Kubitza can take over in 2016. I hear he can steal a base too.
- Norichicka Aoki - I pimped him all last offseason. Still want him. He wont sign with a team to be a backup, he wants to play every day so I dont think it will happen.
- Colby Rasmus - Not that high on him but worth a shot if he wants to play here which he might.
- Aramis Ramirez - Has a mutual option, dont see those picked up by both sides very often. He is old but he kills us and it would be a 1-2 year stopgap. Would probably hit .150 if we sign him. Nevertheless, could be a right handed power bat for the lineup if we trade Justin.
-Alex Rios - another potential left field right handed bat to replace Justin if traded. Not my favorite option but a decent stop gap option.
- Andrew Miller - Not a big fan of shelling out money to free agent relievers but we need lefty relievers in a bad way

[nsacpi]

In terms of position players, center and third are our weaknesses. I think there are some decent potential in-house solutions. As things currently stand, Peraza, Kubitza, Wren and Cunningham are going to be in AAA next season. That's a good group of players who could step in and potentially upgrade center and third.

The pen has been problematic outside of Kimbrel, Walden and for a time Simmons. I would look for a strong lefty. Russell is acceptable as your #2 lefty, but he was among the weaker options that Wren could have pursued at the trade deadline.

As for the bench, I think this season has shown you want guys with simple swings and uncomplicated approaches at the plate. Those types of hitters are less affected by long periods with little activity. There is one guy within our system who fits that description. Plus he has strong talismanic powers. I hope to see Jose Constanza on our bench next year. If he had been there this year I'm sure he would have come through more often than the current group of guys.

[thethe]

I don't buy the fact that we are close and need minor tweaking. SOmething isn't right with the team. Whether it be a regime change or a massive juggling of the player personal on the team something has to be done.

[sturg33]

I think packaging BJ and Gattis to an AL team is an interesting idea... Perhaps the Tigers would be interested. Basically hand a team Gattis if they take BJ's salary. Then use that money to lock up Heyward and Justin

[gilesfan]

I can't believe you guys are serious about this rebuilding stuff. We're the youngest team in baseball, with plenty of talent. Getting out of BJ's contract would do wonders for sure, but we're just a few pieces away whether that be by acquisition or health.

Really, we're just an offensive underperformance away from being a really good team again.

Who is underachieving?

2014 vs. career (OPS+):

Gattis 131 -118
Freeman 138-127
La Stella (not applicable)
Simmons 79-87
Johnson 87-104
Good Upton 138-121
Bad Upton 73-97
Heyward 108-114

Gattis, Freeman, and Upton are exceeding their career averages, understandably so.

Heyward and Simmons are pretty close to career averages, slightly below.

Bad Upton and C. Johnson are below career averages, but is there any good indications that they would meet or exceed career numbers in 2014? Certainly not with bad Upton. CJ, there may be an argument for, but with his massive career year last year, its almost a guarantee that it would even out this year.

The offense needs a big shakeup, that I'm not sure is even possible.

Teheran/Wood/Minor is a decent starting point, but the rotation will need an upgrade as well. Hard to rely on Medlen or Beachy and you can't expect Harang to maintain performance. Keeping Santana may be a good start.

Bullpen is fine in the backend and will continue to be.

[Tapate50]

New GM and these issues begin to go away.

I didn't realize Wren taught them how to hit. Learn something new every day around here.