Braves Meeting with Lester

Metaphysicist said:
I'm just glad that we now have back channel confirmation that Jason Heyward is a liar. I was worried that it would take more than 24 hrs for the inevitable -itis to kick in.
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Ease up biggin. Nobody called Heyward a liar. Heyward might not know the extent to which Wren spoke with Heyward's agent. A lot of athletes really don't pay attention to the behind the scenes stuff until something is about to happen.
 
Metaphysicist said:
I'm just glad that we now have back channel confirmation that Jason Heyward is a liar. I was worried that it would take more than 24 hrs for the inevitable -itis to kick in.
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Meta I'm not sure if you are saying this in jest (although I suspect you are) but I'm telling you Jason would not have accepted anything less than $220-240m and even then there was push back on his side at those figures depending on the number of years the Braves were willing to commit. I'm not a big fan of Dave Cameron but his recent FG article hit the nail on the head-- Jason's market value is likely in the mid-200s unless he completely collapses in 2015. Casey knew this and Jason was not willing to accept a large discount to stay in Atlanta. Would he have accepted $220 instead of $250? Perhaps- but that's irrelevant because the Braves weren't close to that figure. End of story.

This has NOTHING to do with the -itis. Every person in the FO adored Jason. They all wanted him here for a long time, alongside Freeman and Simmons- but they valued him differently than he and Casey valued himself. Once the discussions proved there was no way to bridge the gap in perceived values, the Braves did what they could to extract as much value as they could via trade -- and did so quickly because this move is what predicates the remainder of the offseason plans for Hart and co.
 
nsacpi said:
It does indeed seem to be his plan. The question is whether it is a good one.
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This. Again, we weren't getting blown out last year. We were loosing games 3 to 1 and 1 to 0. We need offense. Yes, I'd love to see us move to OBP and speed, but in the meantime, someone has to score, at least some.
 
sturg33 said:
Didn't Hart say yesterday that he wasn't interested in surrendering draft picks or handicapping us financially?

Is he just doing his due diligence on Lester? Just to see what his demands are?

That's more than he did for Heyward
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Jon Lester doesn't have draft pick compensation attached if he's signed.

Seems as if several people around here could stand to do their own due diligence.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on...ree-agency-im-not-going-to-the-highest-bidder
 
ramadon101 said:
Meta I'm not sure if you are saying this in jest (although I suspect you are) but I'm telling you Jason would not have accepted anything less than $220-240m and even then there was push back on his side at those figures depending on the number of years the Braves were willing to commit. I'm not a big fan of Dave Cameron but his recent FG article hit the nail on the head-- Jason's market value is likely in the mid-200s unless he completely collapses in 2015. Casey knew this and Jason was not willing to accept a large discount to stay in Atlanta. Would he have accepted $220 instead of $250? Perhaps- but that's irrelevant because the Braves weren't close to that figure. End of story.

This has NOTHING to do with the -itis. Every person in the FO adored Jason. They all wanted him here for a long time, alongside Freeman and Simmons- but they valued him differently than he and Casey valued himself. Once the discussions proved there was no way to bridge the gap in perceived values, the Braves did what they could to extract as much value as they could via trade -- and did so quickly because this move is what predicates the remainder of the offseason plans for Hart and co.
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THe Heyward fans do not want to hear this.
 
yeezus said:
That was already pointed out and acknowledged as overlooked.
Hart is a GM of a baseball team though so comparing his due diligence with that of a message board poster is...interesting.
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Unfortunately some of us actually have to work and have other responsibilities. I'd love to hang out and check every post and refresh my Twitter feed all day, but I'm afraid that ain't happening. The point remains the same - don't spout off about how "wrong" the front office is if you haven't checked into things. They're paid to do exactly that, and I'm quite sure you're not discovering something they don't already know.
 
Not sure I get this move....Unless it's a big discount or a decent discount with a plan to package Minor/BJ.

That said, the good OLD boys may feel that a starter north of 30 is required to be a mentor to our young starters....

I don't have a problem with Hale. It's a fifth starter...I want a hitter on the team. Don't people think Sims will be ready in 2 years?
 
yeezus said:
And it's guaranteed true because some guy on the internet said it.
It's all about who you want to believe: this guy or Heyward himself.
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Yeah, it makes a lot of sense for this "random" person on the internet to create an elaborate story to paint Heyward in a negative light.
 
Russ2dollas said:
Don't people think Sims will be ready in 2 years?
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Not to mention Jenkins, now, health-permitting.

If the Braves are serious about signing Lester, I have to think they're also seriously entertaining the idea of trading Minor—whether that's this off-season, or mid-season / next off-season, thereby giving him the opportunity to bounce-back a bit and increase his value; and, likewise, whether that's for an actual player, or to rid the roster of a non-player's salary, as Dalyn has suggested—because, as much as Hart appears to be doubling-down on pitching, there are only so many starting slots, even planning for in-season attrition.
 
I think there is a reasonable most likely scenario with the Heyward thing... I personally believe based on what I've read and just using good old fashioned common sense that the talks centered around Heyward went like this:

Heyward's agent to Heyward: Do you want to try and reach a long term deal with the Braves?

Heyward: Yes, I want to stay in Atlanta and I'm willing to give them a discount.

Hewyard's agent to Wren/Hart: We believe Heyward is a 5 win player at least. Based on what Cano is about to get we think that puts him at 25 million per season at least. We're willing to sign for a discount at about 22-23 million per season.

Wren/Hart: We don't want to invest that type of money in a guy who is inconsistent offensively and has struggled with injury at times.

Heyward's agent to Heyward: The Braves aren't willing to pony up the dough right now.

Heyward: Well, that's a bummer.

Fast forward one year:

Hart to Heyward's agent: Have your demands changed?

Heyward's agent to Hart: OH HAIL NO! We about to make some coin on Heyward!!

Hart to Hewyard: We traded yo ass!

Heyward to Hart: WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!:Sad:
 
I think the FA starter I would be targeting is Masterson. He is going to be looking for a 1 year deal to reestablish himself for a larger deal next offseason. I would sign him for ~$12M and then either trade him at the deadline or make him a QO at the end of the year and get a draft pick.
 
weso1 said:
I think there is a reasonable most likely scenario with the Heyward thing... I personally believe based on what I've read and just using good old fashioned common sense that the talks centered around Heyward went like this:

Heyward's agent to Heyward: Do you want to try and reach a long term deal with the Braves?

Heyward: Yes, I want to stay in Atlanta and I'm willing to give them a discount.

Hewyard's agent to Wren/Hart: We believe Heyward is a 5 win player at least. Based on what Cano is about to get we think that puts him at 25 million per season at least. We're willing to sign for a discount at about 22-23 million per season.

Wren/Hart: We don't want to invest that type of money in a guy who is inconsistent offensively and has struggled with injury at times.

Heyward's agent to Heyward: The Braves aren't willing to pony up the dough right now.

Heyward: Well, that's a bummer.

Fast forward one year:

Hart to Heyward's agent: Have your demands changed?

Heyward's agent to Hart: OH HAIL NO! We about to make some coin on Heyward!!

Hart to Hewyard: We traded yo ass!

Heyward to Hart: WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!:Sad:
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I somehow don't think the conversation lasted even that long.
 
I don't know what the chances of landing Lester are, but this is interesting to say the least. This tells me that Schuerholz, Hart, and company have some sort of plan. We may not know what it is or understand it, but things are at work here, whether Lester signs or not. As has been said by me and others, this is going to be an interesting offseason. Just grab some popcorn and watch it unfold.

If Lester does come to Atlanta, I do think the idea of placing Minor in a package along with either B.J. or Gattis is very valid. Especially in a deal with B.J. because, frankly, with his contract and lack of production the last two years, putting Minor in a deal would make it a bit more intriguing to another team. If Lester signs and Minor is in a deal, here's what your looking at in a potential rotation:

Jon Lester
Julio Teheran
Alex Wood
Shelby Miller
David Hale

That's a rather nice rotation, I'd say.

Let me throw this out there as well: One of the big complaints is that the Atlanta Braves last year lacked leadership. Lester would fill that void.

Again, who knows what the chances of this happening are. But, the fact that a meeting is taking place is significant in of itself. We just need to see what happens.
 
If by God's grace we are somehow able to rid ourselves of some of BJs contract, who are some cheap options for CF? I can't think of any options in the minors...
 
tomahawkchop10 said:
If by God's grace we are somehow able to rid ourselves of some of BJs contract, who are some cheap options for CF? I can't think of any options in the minors...
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Cunningham and Almonte are the internal options. Peraza could probably play center, but that is now unlikely after the La Stella trade.
 
ramadon101 said:
Look - I'm no front office apologist but how many damn times do I have to tell you guys that the Braves tried to negotiate an extension with Heyward but he and Casey Close were always insisting on a comp package well north of $200m (with an opt out too, mind you) or that they felt it was in Heyward's best interest to test the FA waters after 2015? What do you want Hart to do if they did not feel comfortable paying Jason $220 or $240m? Just let him walk next offseason with a measly draft pick?

Get over it.
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Get used to it...you are going to be reading these ridiculous little Whitty comments about the Heyward trade for a long while. It will definitely get worse during the season when one of our OF dives for a ball and misses it...loved everything you said and was 100% on point.
 
nsacpi said:
Cunningham and Almonte are the internal options. Peraza could probably play center, but that is now unlikely after the La Stella trade.
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Depends.

Do you play Melvin in center or Gosselin at 2B? This is of course the hypothetical if we go into next year without doing much.

Maybe we sign Aoki to play 2B? Or Aoki to right? Justin to left and Gattis to center?
 
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