6/24/15: GDT - Atlanta Braves @ Washington Nationals

[Garmel]

Braves
1. Jace Peterson (L) 2B
2. Cameron Maybin (R) CF
3. Nick Markakis (L) RF
4. A.J. Pierzynski (L) C
5. Joey Terdoslavich (S) 1B
6. Kelly Johnson (L) 3B
7. Andrelton Simmons (R) SS
8. Eury Perez (R) LF
9. Shelby Miller (R) P

Nats
1. Denard Span (L) CF
2. Anthony Rendon (R) 2B
3. Yunel Escobar (R) 3B
4. Bryce Harper (L) RF
5. Wilson Ramos (R) C
6. Clint Robinson (L) 1B
7. Ian Desmond (R) SS
8. Michael Taylor (R) LF
9. Jordan Zimmermann

[nsacpi]

Expecting a huge game from KJ

[Russ2dollas]

Would this team be much better with Gattis at C/LF?

I liked the return for him. Long term it's still probably the best move. Loved Folty's potential. Loved that we got a position prospect in some top 100 lists in Ruiz. And the other pitcher seemed like he had a really good chance to be a 4th or 5th starter for a long time and cheap.

Yes Gattis' D in left would be horrid. And he would strike out at ton.

But if Gattis is on this team surrounded by everything else we've done, then I think we're a lot better. Eury Perez is in LF for us tonight.

[nsacpi]

Would this team be much better with Gattis at C/LF?

I liked the return for him. Long term it's still probably the best move. Loved Folty's potential. Loved that we got a position prospect in some top 100 lists in Ruiz. And the other pitcher seemed like he had a really good chance to be a 4th or 5th starter for a long time and cheap.

Yes Gattis' D in left would be horrid. And he would strike out at ton.

But if Gattis is on this team surrounded by everything else we've done, then I think we're a lot better. Eury Perez is in LF for us tonight.

AJ's defense behind the plate is not an improvement.

[gilesfan]

Has Fredi fallen in love with Eury the Blurry?

[Russ2dollas]

Just having fans bid for who plays LF on a nightly basis was turned down when we dumped BJ's money.

Maybe I'm way too high on Terdo. But it seems like Terdo could be our best option in LF when it's not KJ.

I feel like 1, 2, 7 and 6 are the only spots where I'm not a little embarrassed that we have that guy in that spot. Markakis has been good this year at the plate, but he's hitting 7 hitter good, not 3rd hitter.

[Enscheff]

Just having fans bid for who plays LF on a nightly basis was turned down when we dumped BJ's money.

Maybe I'm way too high on Terdo. But it seems like Terdo could be our best option in LF when it's not KJ.

I feel like 1, 2, 7 and 6 are the only spots where I'm not a little embarrassed that we have that guy in that spot. Markakis has been good this year at the plate, but he's hitting 7 hitter good, not 3rd hitter.

I would like to see another club that has a guy with a .391 OBP and 750 OPS in the 7 slot. If anything, Markakis belongs in one of the top 2 spots in the lineup where he could be more of a table setter as opposed to a run producer. Unfortunately, the Braves roster is a bit short on run producers these days.

Currently, as long as Jace, Maybin, Nick and Freeman are in the top 4 spots of the lineup, followed by Uribe in the 5 spot, that's about as good an offense as this roster can provide. This team is 1 impact RHed bat in LF away from being a legit playoff contender.

[Russ2dollas]

I would like to see another club that has a guy with a .391 OBP and 750 OPS in the 7 slot. If anything, Markakis belongs in one of the top 2 spots in the lineup where he could be more of a table setter as opposed to a run producer. Unfortunately, the Braves roster is a bit short on run producers these days.

Currently, as long as Jace, Maybin, Nick and Freeman are in the top 4 spots of the lineup, that's about as good an offense as this roster can provide. This team is 1 impact RHed bat in LF away from being a legit playoff contender.

Are you on the Cespedes bandwagon? Anyone think they know what he'll cost next year?

[nsacpi]

Are you on the Cespedes bandwagon? Anyone think they know what he'll cost next year?

Shin-soo Choo is a comp to consider. He got 130M over 7 years. Yoenis is hitting free agency a year younger. And there has been significant salary inflation from two years ago.

My guess is Cespedes will get 20-22M/year for 7-8 years.

He's a good player. But you pay for what you get on the free agent market. Free agent signings seem to hurt more with respect to length of contract than AAV.

[Russ2dollas]

I was thinking Hunter Pence at 5/90......I was thinking 5/100 is what he'd get.

[gilesfan]

depends on if he even loves baseball

[smootness]

I think there's a good chance we look back on the Gattis trade as the worst trade we've made since the end of last year, and it's arguably the one fans liked the most at the time we made it. Most of that will depend on whether or not Folty can stick in the rotation and what Ruiz becomes, but there is definitely an argument that we should have kept Gattis around.

But he obviously can't play in the OF, so his only potential spots are C and DH. The Braves made a determination that we didn't want him as our catcher moving forward, so to them he had little value for us, and the Astros seem to have made a similar determination, as he's been only a DH there. So from that perspective, the deal is still a good one.

I think we could have lived with Gattis' defense at catcher since it seemed to be about average. But our FO didn't like him there, so we got good value in the trade considering that. And with Gattis at C this year, you can argue we would be better, but you can also argue Pierzynski has been better offensively, so we wouldn't be.

[smootness]

Shin-soo Choo is a comp to consider. He got 130M over 7 years. Yoenis is hitting free agency a year younger. And there has been significant salary inflation from two years ago.

My guess is Cespedes will get 20-22M/year for 7-8 years.

He's a good player. But you pay for what you get on the free agent market. Free agent signings seem to hurt more with respect to length of contract than AAV.

Man, that would be an unbelievably awful contract.

[weso1]

I'm not convinced there was a huge market for Gattis. With that in mind of all the major trades the Gattis trade has always been my least favorite. I just felt like it was the trade with the least chance to actually provide us with productive major league players. Now with that in mind both Folty and Ruiz are still really good prospects. It's not like it was a bad trade, but just not as good compared to the others.

[UNCBlue012]

I think there's a good chance we look back on the Gattis trade as the worst trade we've made since the end of last year, and it's arguably the one fans liked the most at the time we made it. Most of that will depend on whether or not Folty can stick in the rotation and what Ruiz becomes, but there is definitely an argument that we should have kept Gattis around.

But he obviously can't play in the OF, so his only potential spots are C and DH. The Braves made a determination that we didn't want him as our catcher moving forward, so to them he had little value for us, and the Astros seem to have made a similar determination, as he's been only a DH there. So from that perspective, the deal is still a good one.

I think we could have lived with Gattis' defense at catcher since it seemed to be about average. But our FO didn't like him there, so we got good value in the trade considering that. And with Gattis at C this year, you can argue we would be better, but you can also argue Pierzynski has been better offensively, so we wouldn't be.

Which is crazy, because it was a good trade regardless, you know? I loved the trade at the time and I still do now. I think Folty has more to work on than many others, but I think it was a smart trade.

Also, I like this lineup. I mean, with Freddie healthy playing first and Terdo in LF, I think this is our best lineup. He adds a bit more needed pop.

[UNCBlue012]

I'm not convinced there was a huge market for Gattis. With that in mind of all the major trades the Gattis trade has always been my least favorite. I just felt like it was the trade with the least chance to actually provide us with productive major league players. Now with that in mind both Folty and Ruiz are still really good prospects. It's not like it was a bad trade, but just not as good compared to the others.

This. Though I really like Ruiz. I pray Folty is a good starter, but he could be a baller closer.

[smootness]

Which is crazy, because it was a good trade regardless, you know? I loved the trade at the time and I still do now. I think Folty has more to work on than many others, but I think it was a smart trade.

Also, I like this lineup. I mean, with Freddie healthy playing first and Terdo in LF, I think this is our best lineup. He adds a bit more needed pop.

I agree. It was a fairly even trade; we got pretty good value for Gattis. But in hindsight, all of our other deals honestly look like we just completely fleeced the other team.

What we did to the Padres this offseason should be a crime.

[nsacpi]

I was thinking Hunter Pence at 5/90......I was thinking 5/100 is what he'd get.

Another good comp. Pence was also about year older when he signed that deal.

[Hawk]

Mark Bowman
@mlbbowman
Mallex Smith has been promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett.

[thethe]

Mark Bowman
@mlbbowman
Mallex Smith has been promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Hope you don't mind but I figured it deserved a separate thread.