Braves sign Stubbs

[Oklahomabrave]

Would think this means Bourn or maybe even Ender or Markakis will be moved. Bowman says Frenchy is safe.

[nsacpi]

Would think this means Bourn or maybe even Ender or Markakis will be moved. Bowman says Frenchy is safe.

At this point replacing Bourn with yet another righty bat does not make sense. Most likely he is headed to AAA and will provide depth from there.

[bravesfanforlife88]

MLBtrade speculates that Bonafacio will be the odd man out...

Olivera --safe
Inciarte -- safe
Markakis --safe
Frenchy --safe
Bonafacio/KJ/Stubbs

KJ can be considered safe as he can productively fill in multiple positions
Stubbs goes to AAA to get at bats and be on call in case of injury

Bonafacio is on an MLB deal and doesn't have a position.

[50PoundHead]

Stubbs is pretty bad, but he does make some sense. Interested to see how this plays out.

[NinersSBChamps]

Finally!

[NinersSBChamps]

Stubbs is pretty bad, but he does make some sense. Interested to see how this plays out.

Plus base runner and defender.

[Braves1976]

It could be they just want him for depth because they haven't decided on what to do about Bourn or Boni. It also may be that they're considering releasing both Bourn and Boni or have a trade in place for one and are considering releasing the other. Time will tell.

[50PoundHead]

Plus base runner and defender.

So is Bourn.

[Carp]

Just a minor league deal. Has little affect on the 25 man roster right now.

[dak]

Happy to see this one come across the wire. Curious to see where he'll fit in.

[clvclv]

I'd have kinda liked this move if they hadn't already decided to add Frenchy. A right-handed backup in CF makes plenty of sense, and there's probably little doubt that Stubbs can probably go get it out there better than Bourn, Frenchy, or Bonifacio, but this seems a little redundant at this point. Jeff's bat would seem to be a better option in the event of an injury to any of our OFs. JMO, but if Inciarte were going to miss an extended amount of time or were traded (or had to move to RF if Markakis got hurt for that matter) they'd go ahead and call Mallex up. Frenchy's probably going to be OK in CF as an emergency fill-in, but I don't think anybody wants to see him out there for anything other than that (including the brass). Cutting any of these guys loose isn't likely going to affect the long-term budget regardless, but the signing does seem a bit odd at this juncture.

Since the main goal is to be sure that Bourn's option has no chance to vest, maybe he's simply released now, Frenchy is the backup CF to start the season, and Stubbs is kept in case we need another short-term (15 Day DL for Inciarte or Markakis) option to keep from starting Mallex' clock any earlier than is absolutely necessary.

[50PoundHead]

If we aren't going anywhere this year, the Stubbs signing really makes no sense. If we had a stellar OF that needed a 4th OF who could simply run the bases and back up all three OF spots, Stubbs would be a good choice to do that. But that's not where we are as a team.

For the record, I didn't think the Francoeur signing made much sense either.

[striker42]

If we aren't going anywhere this year, the Stubbs signing really makes no sense. If we had a stellar OF that needed a 4th OF who could simply run the bases and back up all three OF spots, Stubbs would be a good choice to do that. But that's not where we are as a team.

For the record, I didn't think the Francoeur signing made much sense either.

I think the reasoning is that we have the luxury to take fliers on veterans to see if they have a resurgence. If they do then we can flip them for useful pieces. If not then we release them without any harm done. So if Stubbs rebounds from last year and shows he can hit lefties, swipe bags, and play a good CF, there's going to be a team wanting him come June or July.

The same goes for Frenchy. If he shows he can bring some power off the bench then he'll be in demand as well.

We're not going to get a top 100 prospect for these guys but we could get a live arm.

[msstate7]

If Stubbs makes the team over Bourn, I think we can expect him to be just slightly better than Bourn when it comes to offense, defensive range, and baserunning. Definitely has a better throwing arm than Bourn from what I recall. I suspect the interest in Stubbs though is more about his right-handedness than him being a significant upgrade over Bourn. There's also a small chance that the Braves have something up their sleeve with Inciarte.

I really hope we don't trade inciarte before the season starts

[dak]

I really hope we don't trade inciarte before the season starts

Yeah, I hope they're not undervaluing Inciarte. The Bill Shanks rumor that had us essentially trading him for Kyle Tucker made me a little uneasy.

[smootness]

I wouldn't imagine this move means anything for Inciarte. I seriously doubt we're getting Stubbs so we can start him in CF.

[clvclv]

Yeah, I hope they're not undervaluing Inciarte. The Bill Shanks rumor that had us essentially trading him for Kyle Tucker made me a little uneasy.

UGH!!!

Sounds like something Shanks would come up with. What in the world did he use to try to explain how THAT would make any sense???

[dak]

UGH!!!

Sounds like something Shanks would come up with. What in the world did he use to try to explain how THAT would make any sense???

He said that in the proposed 3 way trade with Braves, Brewers, and Astros that the Braves would have given up Inciarte with the return being primarily Kyle Tucker. Who knows what the other details looked like, but on the surface that's a little scary.

[UNCBlue012]

I really hope we don't trade inciarte before the season starts

It better be a massive haul. Did looks to be really legit and he's a big personality for the team. (In a good way)