2016-2017 Off-Season Thread

[Carp]

This assessment by gondeee seems about right to me. Would probably take a package like: Albies, Acuna, Allard, Newcomb. Now is not the right time to consider a package like that, IMO. It doesn't hurt to negotiate though and see if a significantly lower offer wins the bidding.

Or how about Albies, Mallex, Newcombe, Blair, and another decent arm like Whalen or Gant? I know most on here soured on Blair after his underwhelming call up this year, but he was one of our top 5 prospects preseason and was a top 50 prospect preseason in all of baseball by a couple of outlets. If Mallex still qualified as a prospect, he'd easily be our 2nd best prospect behind Albies.

If this was the package required, I'd have to pull the trigger.

[smootness]

Or how about Albies, Mallex, Newcombe, Blair, and another decent arm like Whalen or Gant? I know most on here soured on Blair after his underwhelming call up this year, but he was one of our top 5 prospects preseason and was a top 50 prospect preseason in all of baseball by a couple of outlets. If Mallex still qualified as a prospect, he'd easily be our 2nd best prospect behind Albies.

If this was the package required, I'd have to pull the trigger.

No, Mallex would not be our 2nd best prospect.

[Hawk]

Is this Gondeee a reliable source of information?

He is ... if you consider Shanks to be a legitimate reporter.

[UNCBlue012]

Or how about Albies, Mallex, Newcombe, Blair, and another decent arm like Whalen or Gant? I know most on here soured on Blair after his underwhelming call up this year, but he was one of our top 5 prospects preseason and was a top 50 prospect preseason in all of baseball by a couple of outlets. If Mallex still qualified as a prospect, he'd easily be our 2nd best prospect behind Albies.

If this was the package required, I'd have to pull the trigger.

No, Mallex absolutely would not be. Not even close. I agree on Blair, though.

[UNCBlue012]

He is ... if you consider Shanks to be a legitimate reporter.

Gondee isn't really a reporter. He just has a bit of insider information.

[Chico]

Just a reminder that we can still continue to collect prospects if we end up trading some this offseason.....

Jim Bowden
‏@JimBowden_ESPN
It's important we recognize top evaluators.Chad MacDonald now w/Braves responsible for drafting AL ROY Michael Fulmer & NL 2nd Trea Turner!!

[Hawk]

Gondee isn't really a reporter. He just has a bit of insider information.

I know - that was my point.

He's somewhere between the guy who heard about the Pierzynski signing at Honeybaked Ham and Shanks.

[UNCBlue012]

I know - that was my point.

He's somewhere between the guy who heard about the Pierzynski at Honeybaked Ham and Shanks.

I like him, a lot actually. But, I think it's weird how people flock to the guy for the latest MLB information. He's as out of the loop at times as most above-average fans.

[50PoundHead]

This talk of Sale is kind of loony to me.

[UNCBlue012]

Well, it looks like the high interest is legit.

[Hawk]

I like him, a lot actually. But, I think it's weird how people flock to the guy for the latest MLB information. He's as out of the loop at times as most above-average fans.

He's been doing his thing for about 15 years, if not longer. Gotta respect him for that. If somebody posts something he has written here I lend it more credence than I would another random blog, but don't consider him much more than a knowledgeable fan.

Maybe dak or someone can correct me, but I think he did correctly call the prospects on a major deal (before any other outlet did) within the past year or two. Perhaps the Kimbrel trade.

[Carp]

No, Mallex would not be our 2nd best prospect.

Sorry, I meant hitting prospect.

[atl717]

Still wrong. He's not ahead of Acuna or Maitan. And you can argue Peterson and Riley. Smith just wasn't ever considered to be anything more than a solid, unspectacular prospect.

[Carp]

I'd definitely put him over Acuna. While I love Maitan, I tend to wait to rank international players till they've played a season of pro ball. Call it the Salcedo effect.

[Chico]

I think it's more likely we end up with one of Odorizzi, Gray, or Rich Hill

[Hawk]

I wonder if the Braves are shopping a prospect package and waiting for someone to take the bait.

[Knucksie]

He is ... if you consider Shanks to be a legitimate reporter.

Explains a lot...and the couple of blind followers here.

[Chico]

I wonder if the Braves are shopping a prospect package and waiting for someone to take the bait.

This is my thinking.

[Tapate50]

Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that the Braves have asked about the Athletics' Sonny Gray and the Rays' Chris Archer, in addition to Chris Sale with the White Sox.
The Braves have already signed veteran hurlers Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey to one-year deals, but they are aiming higher to land another arm as they move into their new stadium in 2017. Gray is coming off a disappointing and injury-riddled season, so this might not be the best time for the A's to trade him. He's also under team control for three more years via arbitration. Archer is signed for a very reasonable rate through 2019 with a pair of club options for 2020 and 2021.

[clvclv]

Or how about Albies, Mallex, Newcombe, Blair, and another decent arm like Whalen or Gant? I know most on here soured on Blair after his underwhelming call up this year, but he was one of our top 5 prospects preseason and was a top 50 prospect preseason in all of baseball by a couple of outlets. If Mallex still qualified as a prospect, he'd easily be our 2nd best prospect behind Albies.

If this was the package required, I'd have to pull the trigger.

A bit like the package I mentioned earlier, and as much as I'd prefer not to include Albies, I'd probably do that IF the brass were willing to follow it up by signing Turner to settle concerns about 3B production. A Sale acquisition is a clear "we're going for it" acquisition. Going for it with the question marks surrounding the offense simply doesn't seem to make sense given the fact that the window would be one year - at least at this moment. If you trade one of Wisler or Blair along with Newcomb, you have to be all but sure that someone from the group of Wisler/Sims/Fried/Weigel can step in for Colon in 2018, and you may even need two of them in the event you want to walk away from Dickey as well. Could they do that? There's certainly a chance. If they can't, then you're looking at having to start moving someone from the Acuna/Maitan/Allard/Soroka/Wentz/etc. group to add yet another SP.

JMO, but this shapes up a little like the situation when we went out and got Tex. He could well have been that last piece if we'd have had him for three years because there "could" have been more rotation help coming (Medlen, Locke, Hanson, Jo-Jo). Unfortunately that didn't work out because it didn't get here in time. If they used that capital AND spent the money (and pick) to give you an offense centered around Inciarte, Swanson, Freeman, Kemp, and Turner to support that staff, I'd be fine with it. I will admit that going all-in with Flowers as your primary Catcher, Jace as your primary 2B, and a platoon of Ruiz and Adonis at 3B seems a bit shaky to me.

The question to me is - "does the brass believe that we have enough CLOSE arms to cobble together a back-end that can be competitive for the next three years. If one of your top three starters goes down for a significant period, can Wisler, Sims, or our other "ho-hum" arms step in and provide you with at least an acceptable #3 and #4 starter since you're trading away a big chunk of the almost-ready depth"? If you have to trade from those other elite arms or Acuna or Maitan to get another rotation piece for the next three years, I get a little more worried - especially if you don't at least have an answer at 3B.

I'm all for going for it - but if you're going to do that, you have to do whatever it takes, including spending money and giving up draft picks.