While I think it was a no question no brainer to move Justin, Heyward, and pretty much anyone else not named Freeman, Simmons and probably Kimbrel, nor the starters not named Minor, I question the strategy of what they are looking for in return.
It looks like they want high end pitching, therefore Fried. I don't understand this. If you look at the rotation, you have 3 or 4 young ML starters who are reasonably good (depends on if you count Minor) and are under control for significant years. And, in the minors, you have 2-4 good young starters who have a decent chance of panning out - Sims, Hursch, etc.
Now, I could understand it if the cycle of baseball was more like the '90's as opposed to the '60's where hitting was the commodity and pitching was scarce. But, that's not where we are. Whether you want to attribute it to PED testing or a natural cycle or whatever, right now hitting is a premium while pitching is a commodity.
The strategy might be to trade for pitching and sign hitting, but I think that is 100% the wrong thinking. When something is scarce, it costs more.
I would much rather see the Braves loading up on position prospects with high ceiling, even if it means taking lower level guys. After all, in effect, by the time Fried actually throws a pitch, other pitchers could have elevated from low A ball to AAA, so the fact that he is somewhat advanced in the minors already really carries no weight. The same would go for hitters.
