Difficulty of Finding Bats

[nsacpi]

I've discussed the difficulty of finding bats, especially ones with a modicum of power, in other threads. And praised the approach of teams that have focused more on accumulating hitting rather than pitching.

It is worth noting that others seem to agree. John Hart, for example, offered a couple interesting quotes after the Olivera trade. These are all from the AJC.

“You look out onto the market and it’s just tough to find those bats,” Hart said. “We don’t want to give up our draft picks (to sign big-ticket free agents)."

“Look, we just don’t have the upper-level bats that are in the (minor league) system. We’re going to have to be creative in how we bring in some of these guys…."

Another GM was quoted as saying having a hitter to trade at this year's deadline was like having a pot of gold, and not so with pitchers.

Finally, I will note that the past few off-seasons I've tracked what FA pitchers get paid per projected WAR and what hitters get paid. Typically, pitchers have been paid more by this measure. But this switched dramatically last off-season. I don't think it will switch back anytime soon.

[cajunrevenge]

Several years ago teams really started signing their good young hitters to contract extensions and now the FA field is lacking. One thing I remember Hart saying is that young pitching is the best currency when trading. A team only needs 1 good 2B but they need 12 good pitchers.

[nsacpi]

It is one of the subtleties of being a GM, but every good front office needs to be aware of how positional scarcity evolves. Hitters versus pitchers. But also by position. Some periods, good catchers are hard to find or good shortstops. You need a good grasp of current conditions, but also a sense of how things might shift going forward.

[gilesfan]

"We don't have bats"

Ok, lets draft 75 pitchers again next year and request pitching in return for 75% of deals.

[Horsehide Harry]

I have been saying this for a while. The idea of trading pitching, third and fourth tier pitching - because the Braves want to keep the best and trade the rest, right?, was never going to fly. That's why I have been pushing the idea of trading the likes of Wood, Miller and Teheran for bats then using the money in FA to bring in new arms.

Now, the return for Wood is questionable IMO. It appears that Hart fell in love with a shiny toy last offseason and couldn't get it out of his mind.

I would much rather have what the Brewers got from the Astros. I would think that Wood & Maybin would have been an equivalent to Gomez and Fiers. Given that, I think Phillips (described as untouchable just days ago), Santana, Hader & Houser, plus keeping Peraza > Olivera, Rodriguez, Bird and a pick mainly because Olivera is 30 and, while relatively cheap in comparison to ML players, isn't as cheap as having two corner OF who are ML minimum for 2-3 years.

[Julio3000]

It's not that difficult if you know where to look. They're nocturnal, you know.

[smootness]

The price for hitting with a pulse definitely makes you question the return we got for Gattis. I mean, 1 year and 2 months of Brandon Moss got the Indians the Cardinals' #3 prospect.

We got a good prospect duo for Gattis, and Ruiz's struggles have changed the way we think of the return, but 4 years of a guy who can hit 25-30 HR maybe should have returned more in hindsight.

[nsacpi]

The price for hitting with a pulse definitely makes you question the return we got for Gattis. I mean, 1 year and 2 months of Brandon Moss got the Indians the Cardinals' #3 prospect.

We got a good prospect duo for Gattis, and Ruiz's struggles have changed the way we think of the return, but 4 years of a guy who can hit 25-30 HR maybe should have returned more in hindsight.

Yup. That was one of our worst trades this past off-season.

[WaitingFor2017]

So it should be a no brainer to trade Cameron Maybin. Pirates need an OF.

[Hawk]

So it should be a no brainer to trade Cameron Maybin. Pirates need an OF.

If the Mets can't get Cespedes I wonder if they swing back in.

[JohnAdcox]

So it should be a no brainer to trade Cameron Maybin. Pirates need an OF.

So do we.

[Horsehide Harry]

So do we.

Not Maybin unless you plan to extend him. The goal as stated is not next year but 2017 and beyond.

[Braves1976]

Yup. That was one of our worst trades this past off-season.

Exactly and I said that all along as you know. But this latest trade is a lot worse IMO.

[nsacpi]

Exactly and I said that all along as you know. But this latest trade is a lot worse IMO.

Except now we have no choice but to scramble for hitters with some pop. Earlier we were shipping them out. Trading one of Heyward, Upton, Gattis might have made sense. Even two. But all three?

[Horsehide Harry]

Except now we have no choice but to scramble for hitters with some pop. Earlier we were shipping them out. Trading one of Heyward, Upton, Gattis might have made sense. Even two. But all three?

It appears Heyward wants and wanted more money than he's worth. So, getting Miller+ makes sense.

Upton is also a FA and his brother was going to be moved at all costs. He also has proved that he's a very good bat in stretches but isn't a franchise cornerstone because he disappears for a month at a time.

Gattis could wear an oven mitten out in the field and be no worse a fielder. If he wasn't a catcher (and he wasn't) then he had to be a DH long term. My problem with his trade is that the Astros had a lot of bats which could have come back to the Braves that didn't because of the Rainman like pitching, pitching, pitching mantra.

All should have been moved. The return didn't include enough bats considering the condition of the offseason FA market.

[Heyward]

Except now we have no choice but to scramble for hitters with some pop. Earlier we were shipping them out. Trading one of Heyward, Upton, Gattis might have made sense. Even two. But all three?

Trading all three was fine.

Gattis cant play at an every day basis in the NL, he's a DH unfortunately.

If Heyward wanted too much money, seems he did/does, shipping him out was fine.

Same with Upton.

Not like we would do much with them if they stayed, and the farm system was in god awful shape and that was the only way to help it.

[thethe]

Yup. That was one of our worst trades this past off-season.

I think Gattis was viewed as an AL player so his market was cut in half. Also, we has not been good this year at all.

It could be another example of a player who is not as valued within MLB circles as he is on this board (especially with me when it comes to Gattis).

[thewupk]

Am I missing something on Gattis? He has a 95 WRC+ and has been worth -0.3 WAR.

[bravesnumberone]

The Gattis trade was a good one. Unless the NL was gonna get the DH soon, we really didn't need to keep him. Of course, if we're just going to keep A.J., for some stupid reason, I'd probably rather have Gattis.

[thethe]

Am I missing something on Gattis? He has a 95 WRC+ and has been worth -0.3 WAR.

Yeah, Gattis was traded at the perfect time and the return was commensurate with the value he had at the time.