I do think it works for both teams, but Gohara clearly has more value right now, IMO. Mallex is riding a .435 BABIP, and if you bring that down to .350, his slash line is .288/.380/.363. That's just fine and works really well for a guy with his speed, but his defensive metrics are not as good this year, and you're still probably looking at a guy who is a 1-3 WAR guy. Certainly valuable, but I'd rather have Gohara.
Alex has been fantastic this year. It shouldn't even be debated how good he's been. We are missing him badly.
I think Alex has surprised everyone this year. Even the Dodgers didn't see this coming since they had him in the pen to start the season. But he is definitely an ace so far this year.
NM
Tapate50 (06-26-2017)
It's the risk all pitchers hold, including MLB-ready pitching. Also why you can make the argument that stockpiling pitching prospects is a good idea.
No one has claimed that all things being equal, it is better to have 20 stud pitching prospects than 20 stud hitting prospects. But the question is always ease and cost of acquisition. It is easier to get 20 stud pitching prospects than 20 stud hitting prospects.
And why do you think that's the case?
More valuable assets are always more difficult to acquire.
We have seen teams recently acquire top-shelf position prospects for pitchers lately, so it can be done. The fact the Braves were unable to do it outside of the "The Gift" is a pretty telling sign they were targeting pitching.
Taking the best available offer that just so happens to be pitching is one thing.
Willingly targeting the less valuable asset class is quite another.
Everything the Braves have said and done during the rebuild shows they were targeting the less valuable asset class. That was a mistake, no matter how you want to spin it.