dak
Well-known member
I expected someone with a chance to contribute at some point. What I really wanted to see was a relief prospect. Someone like the guy the Brewers got for Ramirez. We have more of a need there and a guy like that has a better chance of contributing in Atlanta than either of these guys.
A couple hours before this trade I remarked how the last thing I wanted to target was guys who top out as back end of the rotation guys. In a perfect world that's exactly what these guys become.
I'm not high on either pitcher and neither one fits a need in our system. There's just no upside for us here. That's my problem with this deal. There's plenty of reason to trade KJ and Uribe and I was never expecting much back. But I just don't see any reason to trade for these prospects. They have no value here.
The sense I've gotten from reading about Barrios (from Pirates in Ramirez trade), Gant, and Whalen is that both of the guys we received are more valuable assets than Barrios. I agree that the top of the rotation comment on Gant above has to be a typo. Kiley McDaniel though noted that both Gant and Whalen have upsides of being average MLB starters. Neither Gant or Whalen is the type of prospect that you pencil in to future rotations, but who knows.
Here's another scenario to consider. It would not be surprising if one of these guys maintains that upside projection by this time next year. In other words, becomes a solid 45 FV prospect who is pitching at AA or AAA. If the Braves are in contention a year from now, they could use such a 45 FV prospect and the $2.7m saved to acquire a very nice rental piece for the stretch run.