Angels close to acquiring Kyle Kubitza from Braves

Markakis' Defensive Ranks in RF over last 3 years (cumulative):

DRS: 11th out of 13 qualifiers

UZR / 150: 10th out of 13 qualifiers
 
emk418 said:
Good lord. Markakis is not a bad defender. Nobody is great compared to Heyward defensively but Markakis is solid.
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I suppose we have a different definition for solid, Markakis has a -25 DRS playing right field in Baltimore the last six years. That includes a -3, -11, 2, -7, -7 and 1 DRS seasons. Further, Markakis is sure-handed in that he usually doesn't misplay what he gets to, but the problem for him is poor to very poor range for a right fielder. Now I will say that he is able to make up for that some with a strong and usually pretty accurate arm. But overall he's someone that is likely to need to be moved to left field at some point (probably in 2017 at the latest). Plus playing right field in Atlanta and the NL East will likely be tougher for him than in Baltimore and the AL East. Hopefully he can handle it without costing us more than I'd like on defense but I have my doubts. Then again I guess it won't matter much this year anyway since we're not likely to contend for a playoff spot.

That said, it really is silly to even compare him to Heyward on defense given how far apart the two are in that area.
 
Plot Twist: Hart wanted to re-sign Heyward but Liberty said no. He signed Markakis just to prove how much more value Heyward's defense is to the team.
 
Just dont see how you keep Jason and Justin if neither re-up.

We'd have no payroll to add anything but scraps.
 
sturg33 said:
I wonder how many people were predicting a SF/KC world series this year
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SF are like the LA Kings, they just know how to win in the playoffs.

KC was lucky, i doubt they make the playoffs this year.
 
emk418 said:
Good lord. Markakis is not a bad defender. Nobody is great compared to Heyward defensively but Markakis is solid.
Click to expand...

Markakis has a decent arm, but this is his UZR from fangraphs:

09- -6.0

10- -5.5

11- -.6

12- -8.6

13- -6.6

14- 6.2

Total runs above (or below) average according to BR:

09- -3

10- -3

11- -4

12- -3

13- +1

14- +4

Here is a fangraphs piece on him:

Yesterday, the Atlanta Braves signed Nick Marakis to a four year, $45 million contract. As Mike Petriello noted, the deal just doesn’t make much sense from a numerical perspective, since nearly every piece of evidence we have is that Markakis just isn’t that valuable of a player.

And if you have never heard of UZR or DRS, you very well might think that Markakis is just as good of a defender as Heyward. He’s won two Gold Glove awards, including one last year. He has a career .994 fielding percentage, seventh highest among active players, and his 93 outfield assists rank behind only Ichiro and Torii Hunter among current outfielders. Markakis excels at the kinds of things that people have historically valued in defenders, so if you just evaluate him on these metrics or by an eye-test that relies heavily on those factors, then Markakis looks like a pretty good defender.

So, then, this signing basically comes down to how much weight you put on modern defensive statistics. This signing essentially suggests that the Braves are putting no weight on them whatsoever, rejecting their conclusions entirely. The Braves are simultaneously acknowledging the value of defense — if they didn’t think glove work mattered, they wouldn’t be paying significant money to a right fielder who hits like a middle infielder — while rejecting statistical attempts to quantify that value. And plenty of observers are going to agree with that assessment, considering that defensive metrics certainly are not perfect.
 
gilesfan said:
Markakis has a decent arm, but this is his UZR from fangraphs:

09- -6.0
10- -5.5
11- -.6
12- -8.6
13- -6.6
14- 6.2

Total runs above (or below) average according to BR:

09- -3
10- -3
11- -4
12- -3
13- +1
14- +4

Here is a fangraphs piece on him:

Yesterday, the Atlanta Braves signed Nick Marakis to a four year, $45 million contract. As Mike Petriello noted, the deal just doesn’t make much sense from a numerical perspective, since nearly every piece of evidence we have is that Markakis just isn’t that valuable of a player.

And if you have never heard of UZR or DRS, you very well might think that Markakis is just as good of a defender as Heyward. He’s won two Gold Glove awards, including one last year. He has a career .994 fielding percentage, seventh highest among active players, and his 93 outfield assists rank behind only Ichiro and Torii Hunter among current outfielders. Markakis excels at the kinds of things that people have historically valued in defenders, so if you just evaluate him on these metrics or by an eye-test that relies heavily on those factors, then Markakis looks like a pretty good defender.

So, then, this signing basically comes down to how much weight you put on modern defensive statistics. This signing essentially suggests that the Braves are putting no weight on them whatsoever, rejecting their conclusions entirely. The Braves are simultaneously acknowledging the value of defense — if they didn’t think glove work mattered, they wouldn’t be paying significant money to a right fielder who hits like a middle infielder — while rejecting statistical attempts to quantify that value. And plenty of observers are going to agree with that assessment, considering that defensive metrics certainly are not perfect.
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Uh... no. He made some good points up till this point right here. The signing in no way indicates the Braves put no value in advanced defensive statistics. Just that they don't weight them quite as heavily as the author of this article.
 
50PoundHead said:
Hey, how about that Kyle Kubtiza?
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I like some of the tools that Kubitza had. However, I think he arrived about 20 years too late. What he really needs is some PED action to get his power numbers up to a playable standard as a 3B. But, that day has passed so it looks like he is set to be a career utility guy, without much of a career. I like what the Braves got for him.
 
weso1 said:
Uh... no. He made some good points up till this point right here. The signing in no way indicates the Braves put no value in advanced defensive statistics. Just that they don't weight them quite as heavily as the author of this article.
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Im not sure if that comment is over the top, but the Braves clearly did put value in his defense bc his bat hasn't been impressive in the last 2 years. I would probably be more concerned if the Braves thought Markakis wasn't a good defender bc then they paid a guy with a sub .400 slugging percentage as a corner outfielder 10+ million.
 
To continue the hijack, I think Markakis is a decent all-around player, but he's really not what this team needs right now, especially at the price they paid him. I realize salaries are out of whack, but he's a support level guy at this point in his career.
 
They needed someone to play RF and hit in the top half of the lineup. All Markakis does is provide a "name" that makes it look like the Braves haven't completely punted 2015. Markakis makes the Braves "palatable", to use Hart's word for it.

In the grand scheme of things, $11M for a guy that should be a serviceable corner OFer is not a bad price, especially since it doesn't look like Markakis will be blocking any OF prospects from making the MLB club anytime in the foreseeable future.
 
50PoundHead said:
To continue the hijack, I think Markakis is a decent all-around player, but he's really not what this team needs right now, especially at the price they paid him. I realize salaries are out of whack, but he's a support level guy at this point in his career.
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Yeah. I grant that he fits the profile of what the FO wanted to see more of this year—contact, character, etc—and people have made the case that the dollars and years are reasonable. If I kinda squint at it, I can accept those arguments. Still, a rebuilding team paying eight figures x 4 for a guy in his 30s puzzles me. Although I suppose that you can't make a Mukakomelette without breaking some Mukakeggs.
 
Good last 3 points.

THis may be more of a CYA move. "We tried, we signed an all star to replace Haywood!"
 
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