Olivera traded for Kemp

A 4th outfielder can get a lot of at bats. Usually a primary pinch hitter. Backs up 3 positions. We need those at bats to be taken by a decent hitter. If we arent going to have multiple all stars in the lineup we need to have top quality depth. It might also be better to wait until the trade deadline so we have something to trade then other than prospects. We will have a better understanding of our needs at that point.

Agree. The other thing to remember is that if the Braves are going to take a step forward in the W/L column, that probably means our 4th OF replaces Kemp late in games when we have a lead. I think Mallex would be a natural in that role.
 
Kemp crossed .800 today. .324/.476. 8.4% BB. Might be more in there.

Yeah, I noticed his walk rate had gone up some. That's good to see.

If you're one who looks at Kemp as a 3/25 acquisition you cannot really complain about what he's done so far. He's never going to be a gold glover, but if he can drop some weight it'll definitely help his game and the power is legit.
 
That's the $64,000 question to me - if you believe in the rest of the pitching that's coming and including him could get you Longoria, would you really pass???

Not sure I could.

I'd rather trade any other minor league pitcher in our system, aside from may be Allard and Newcomb.
 
That's the $64,000 question to me - if you believe in the rest of the pitching that's coming and including him could get you Longoria, would you really pass???

Not sure I could.

Yuck... I could easily pass on that. Longoria is a huge injury risk. Has shown signs of decline in the past and will already be 30. No way I'm trading Fried for that. Like someone else said... He's good not great and will only continue into more decline.
 
Yuck... I could easily pass on that. Longoria is a huge injury risk. Has shown signs of decline in the past and will already be 30. No way I'm trading Fried for that. Like someone else said... He's good not great and will only continue into more decline.

Both of these statements simply aren't true - even though that's the "company line" when he's discussed in most circles. Other than the one season he actually was "hurt" (2012), he's played 157, 151 ,133, 160, 162, 160, and 140 games so far this season.

As for "decline", where might that be? He's had one down season (2014) where he posted a .724 OPS (which was still good for a 107 OPS+ BTW) . If you look at Chipper's age 31-36 seasons, he averaged 25.83 HRs and 89.5 RBIs. I see little reason that we couldn't reasonably expect similar production from Longoria for those remaining years on his deal - maybe not exactly, but I'm willing to bet some of our more numbers-savvy posters could come up with numbers that would appease others. My point is that sandwiching two 30+ HR, .800+ OPS right-handed bats around Freddie makes this offense quite dangerous really quickly.

I never said he's "the answer" at all. What I've consistently said is that he's as good an option as (actually probably even better) the other potentially available options outside of the organization that have been mentioned here. Desmond, Prado, and Justin Turner are just as old, and those three may or may not cost you a high second round pick if you target them. If you're not willing to go with Adonis or a Garcia/Ruiz platoon, what other upgrade is there? His contract could be restructured to frontload it quite a bit more so he's not so expensive when some of the kids start to cost more. And while I understand those who like the idea of Mallex as a potential 4th OF, they've already said they're not going into 2017 with all 3 of Ender, Markakis, and Mallex on the roster - whether we like the idea or not, one of those three is gone. Given the fact that Mallex and Ender are so similar and either will likely bring a better return than Markakis, the writing is on the wall IMO. It's pretty obvious that there's no benefit (for Mallex) in him being here as a defensive replacement/4th OF - he's too talented and valuable for that, and leaving him in Gwinnett next spring so he can get regular ABs just isn't likely happening IMO.

Again, just a guess, but everything they've said to this point (and pretty consistently) has indicated fans should expect at least one "splashy" addition this winter. Now that Kemp is here, that seemingly precludes any sort of run at Cespedes. From all reports I've seen anywhere they definitely aren't interested in going 5 years AND potentially losing a pick for Ramos, and while he'd likely make the fans happy trading for Mac doesn't really qualify as a "splashy" move at this juncture of his career, does it?

If you could add Longoria and Mac for what amounts to be "spare pieces" at this point, I just don't think it makes sense to pass on that opportunity. As good as they are, Mallex and Fried are "spare pieces" when you consider Acuna and/or Maitan will likely be ready before Ender would be gone and Newcomb, Touki, Allard, Anderson, Soroka, Povse, and Weigel possess similar upsides as Fried. Being able to hang onto all those arms plus the talent we're likely to add with 2 of the top 40-ish picks next June while upgrading the offense substantially would look a lot like what Hart did when he rebuilt the Indians (with far better arms on the way actually).
 
Relevant to something discussed in this thread:

Rob: Can a player’s defensive metrics be affected by his teammate – meaning can an adjacent fielder who covers a lot of ground take balls that his teammate could’ve fielded?
Klaw: Advanced metrics take this into account. Teams’ internal metrics are well beyond what we see publicly too
 
Fried is not a spare piece. He could have the most upside of any of our SP prospects not named Touki

I agree, I think Fried is on another level from Weigel and Povse. He has a mix of stuff and control that is hard to find, especially from the left side. I would add Newcomb to Touki as well, but they both have control problems.
 
Freeman is batting .349/.466/.687 with 17 doubles, 13 homers & 41 RBI over 45 games since Kemp joined the lineup.

Is that his best 40+ game stretch of his career ?
 
Freeman is batting .349/.466/.687 with 17 doubles, 13 homers & 41 RBI over 45 games since Kemp joined the lineup.

Is that his best 40+ game stretch of his career ?

Probably. I'm not buying Kemp being the reason for that though. Otherwise he would of had a monster year with Justin hitting behind him in 2014.
 
I thought from the first week this team needed someone hitting behind Freeman.
I get the analytic's that say it doesn't matter but what I see in the construction of this lineup flies in the face of that mind

Not only has Freeman benefiting from Kemp but also Garcia and Markakis
.....

I wouldn't take 3 Justin Uptons for Kemp.
He has been a pleasant surprise
 
Probably. I'm not buying Kemp being the reason for that though. Otherwise he would of had a monster year with Justin hitting behind him in 2014.

While I agree with the gist of what you're saying... I don't know if Freeman was as advanced yet. I think something clicked this year as he started his scorching run before Kemp got here. But did he even get better when Kemp arrived? Hard to say... especially with the SSS.
 
I thought from the first week this team needed someone hitting behind Freeman.
I get the analytic's that say it doesn't matter but what I see in the construction of this lineup flies in the face of that mind

Not only has Freeman benefiting from Kemp but also Garcia and Markakis
.....

I wouldn't take 3 Justin Uptons for Kemp.
He has been a pleasant surprise

But all 3 of those guys were hitting better before Kemp came over though. Kemp makes the lineup better by simply being a plus bat while replacing the likes of Jeff Francoeur. And Upton is a better hitter than Kemp at this stage in their careers so I'm not sure what you are trying to say.
 
While I agree with the gist of what you're saying... I don't know if Freeman was as advanced yet. I think something clicked this year as he started his scorching run before Kemp got here. But did he even get better when Kemp arrived? Hard to say... especially with the SSS.

I doubt he was. He's in his prime now and his power has gone to the next level. That was happening with or without Kemp as the trend was already there this season.
 
While I agree with the gist of what you're saying... I don't know if Freeman was as advanced yet. I think something clicked this year as he started his scorching run before Kemp got here. But did he even get better when Kemp arrived? Hard to say... especially with the SSS.

Right. Kemp helps, but the biggest thing for Freddie is just growing up and getting more experience and maturity. Guys get better with experience and maturity, and that is not as easy to project from the numbers as we sometimes think.
 
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