Just spitballing, but assuming the Rangers and Beltre can't get together on an extension to allow him to finish out his career in Texas, how great would HE look in our 2017 lineup - especially if we could find a taker for Markakis??? Bektre supposedly wants to play for three more seasons and be paid a higher AAV than Panda. 3/$60 million sure would seem like a perfect fit to bridge to Riley for a right-handed 3B to hit behind Freeman, wouldn't it?
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
I'm going to pass on the privilege of giving 40-year-old Adrian Beltre $20 million.
I think I would prefer a Martin Prado on a lesser deal...great clubhouse guy who knows the organization well..
Get off my lawn!
Age, price, positional versatility make Prado a good candidate imo. The key is the length of the deal. You don't want to tie up a lot of money in the back end of those kinds of deals and end up paying for little production. Those years will coincide with when the best of our young talent come into the majors and dead weight money could hold back some very good teams.
Braves1976 (03-10-2016)
Looking at the potential FA's, there's not much that really interests me. Justin Turner would be a big pickup if he continues to hit. If Alex Avila bounces back I wouldn't mind seeing us pick him up as our primary catcher. He can get on base and has a little pop.
Otherwise, I think we'll need to focus on the trade market. We have plenty of pitching to deal.
The guys I'd consider would be: Prado, Beltre, Justin Turner, Desmond (depends on his year this year), Cespedes, Reddick, Strasburg, Kenley Jansen.
Prado is the FA that seems to fit best, and I'm sure we'll add some number of bullpen vets. Also, we definitely need to trade some young starting pitching for a need elsewhere. Our 40-man roster situation will just not be sustainable next offseason unless we trade from the SP depth AA and above.
Braves1976 (03-10-2016)
Catcher will likely be an area of need next off-season.
One area we likely can trade from will be outfield. Won't need all four of Olivera, Markakis, Inciarte and Smith.
Guys, we already have all-star third basement Hector Olivera!
Braves1976 (03-10-2016), bravesnumberone (03-10-2016), JohnAdcox (03-10-2016)
Nobody is going to give Beltre 3/60. I think he could be signed for something like 2/38 with a 3rd year option that has a $4M buyout. He makes a lot of sense for this team at a contract like that. He could play the role of Terry Pendleton on the rebuilding team.
Cespedes might also be a good target if Markakis or Olivera are traded. Same thing goes for Bautista if his contract demands aren't insane, or if he slides to the end of the offseason like Ces did this past offseason.
clvclv (03-10-2016)
Last off-season the Tigers signed Victor Martinez to a four year deal for 68M. It takes him to his age 39 season.Originally Posted by Enscheff
I doubt we go the free agent route. We stockpiled these pitchers in part to be able to go and get the bat(s) we need when we're ready.
I liken Beltre's situation to Cespedes' this past winter -if someone will guarantee that third year they might pry him away from the Rangers. They're not likely to guarantee it since it's time for them to decide what Gallo is (or is not). He's always really liked his situation there and my guess would be that he'd ultimately be willing to go back there without the guaranteed third year, but that they might be the only team he'd do that for (like Cespedes did in choosing the Mutts over better offers).
Funny that you mention TP, because that's exactly who I had in mind when I thought about the fit. He gives you the luxury of not rushing Riley, but would it REALLY be considered "dead money" to have him around that last year as insurance and a serious bat off the bench in the event that Austin moves quickly? If Riley was the starter to begin the 2019 season, you'd have the luxury of being able to sit him down for a few days if he started to slump and say "you haven't lost the job, but this is a mental break" and let him just watch for a few days. He'd be a great example for Riley to watch prepare and be able to talk to everyday (TP/Chipper). At that point you could argue you'd actually be saving money - the chances of getting someone comparable on a 1 year/$20 million deal would be extremely slim. Great clubhouse presence, plenty of experience under pressure, has never been that kind of "it needs to revolve around me" type of personality - happy to do his part to help the team win.
Yes, Prado's the same type of personality (and I don't disagree he'd make some sense as well) who might be someone we could get on a 2 year or 2 + an option deal, but he's never going to be the offensive threat that Beltre is - and he really doesn't help much with lineup construction. Signing him would give you a gaggle of #2 hitters who don't really fit well further down in the lineup (Prado/Markakis/Swanson/even Inciarte). If Desmond bounces back this season, he'll be looking for that 5-6 year deal next winter which could get in Riley (or potentially even Maitan's way at the very end).
Obviously a breakout season from Garcia or Ruiz this year makes all this a wasted exercise, but I do think Beltre would be a really good fit if that doesn't happen - the shorter contract lessens exposure and ultimately saves money in the long run. I really don't see that kind of AAV being much of a concern given the money coming off the books (Bourn/Swisher/Aybar and the stopgap guys signed just for this year in A. J./KJ/Bonifacio/Jim Johnson/etc.) - especially if it's a shorter-term deal and you moved Markakis as well.
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
This thread is depressing. I don't want any of the guys named.
Dalyn (03-10-2016), DaneHill (03-10-2016), GovClintonTyree (03-10-2016), Hawk (03-10-2016), rico43 (03-10-2016)
Number one target of 2017: Your wallet.
If he hits, I don't know why we wouldn't move in this direction. He only played 24 games.
Markakis is who I'd want to trade firstly, I like his bat for now but even that is likely to decline along with already declining defense in RF. He never had good range in RF but one thing I liked about his defense was he had a really good and accurate arm. He didn't even have that this past season (and in fact rated quite poorly in that area). Hopefully he bounces back in that regard some this year but I wouldn't expect a complete turnaround overall. Further, I'd like to keep Inciarte because he fits what has become basically the Royals model that I'd follow on defense. Inciarte is very good at all three outfield positions and has a good arm to play RF when/if Smith is ready to start in CF too. So in the future I'd go with more speed and defense in RF and CF and find a big power bat for LF along with a bench power bat to play against tough lefties when resting either Inciarte or Smith.
To sum it up, I like both Inciarte and Smith and disagree with those that think keeping both isn't a good idea. Plus keeping Inciarte gives us a solid back-up plan in CF if Smith only becomes another Jarrod Dyson--which some believe is likely anyway.
JohnAdcox (03-10-2016)
Justin Turner would be OK depending on the deal, but if he continues to hit well, he's going to command a 5 year deal around the $100 million range. We're not a team that can do that.
Those in bold I'd certainly consider if available. I like Beltre a lot and would want to consider him too. But given the likely price and due to decline with his age, not so much now. The others I'd probably not be interested in for one reason or another, mostly expected cost and contract length.
I'd rather hold my ground and go after the big crop in 2018.
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