2018 Offseason And Targets

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clvclv said:
Theo was just stating the obvious to get a little press on what was a seriously slow news day. It's the reality of baseball in the numbers-age. Bill James said it himself - "the game isn't about the players, they're no more valuable than the hot dog vendors".

Funny thing he left out, Acuna's as interchangeable as everybody else and available for trade today - send Bregman and Tucker and he's yours.

Theo was lonely and misses the spotlight, so he gave the reporters something to run with so they'd come talk to him for a few days. Kinda like when The Blackjack Dealer has been away from this board for 4 hours.
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What? In no way would I ever trade Acuna for Bregman and Tucker.
 
zbhargrove said:
What? In no way would I ever trade Acuna for Bregman and Tucker.
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I don’t think he was being serious. But be careful about saying Bregman and Tucker to loud. Harry will hear you and talk your ear off about trading Freeman for a package around them. Astros are like his chum in the water.
 
Hudson2 said:
Theo said they are open to trading but Bryant and Rizzo would be harder to get. So what about Baez? Dansby could be used in a trade for Baez. Thoughts?
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Baez isn't really a SS. He could play there in the since that Camargo could play SS, but he isn't a very good defensive SS. Cubs will likely roll with him at SS to start the year with Russell suspended for the 1st 30 games.
 
Enscheff said:
The dude could be right, especially if the Braves are not going to sign guys with a QO attached. I just hope Realmuto can improve his framing if he comes to the Braves. I have seen no research that makes me think he can or can't get better, but I have to imagine he can improve upon being terrible. Realmuto with average or better pitch framing is a truly elite player.

I have to assume that after a year of collecting data on these young pitchers the new FO knows who is good based on the analytics. They have real statcast data on these guys now, and may be able to determine Anderson isn't as good as some view him. Or maybe they know Anderson is a beast and won't give him up for Realmuto.

One thing is clear though...the Marlins are very stupid, and AA should make his best effort to take advantage of that fact if possible.
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I suppose if one takes for granted that: a) the Braves under AA value framing in their catchers, and b) the Braves are interested in Realmuto and c) Realmuto is a bad framer, it probably follows that the Braves think they can improve Realmuto's framing abilities. Generally speaking, it's easier to go from crummy to acceptable than it is to go from acceptable to good or from good to great, so there might be some low hanging fruit in Realmuto's game.
 
MadduxFanII said:
I suppose if one takes for granted that: a) the Braves under AA value framing in their catchers, and b) the Braves are interested in Realmuto and c) Realmuto is a bad framer, it probably follows that the Braves think they can improve Realmuto's framing abilities. Generally speaking, it's easier to go from crummy to acceptable than it is to go from acceptable to good or from good to great, so there might be some low hanging fruit in Realmuto's game.
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Hard to believe, but I'm actually not an expert on pitch framing. With that said, it seems pitch framing would be extremely hard to teach. Are there examples of guys going from bad to decent or decent to good? The idea of realmuto's bat and not killing our staff is very appealing
 
msstate7 said:
Hard to believe, but I'm actually not an expert on pitch framing. With that said, it seems pitch framing would be extremely hard to teach. Are there examples of guys going from bad to decent or decent to good? The idea of realmuto's bat and not killing our staff is very appealing
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I thought the opposite. I don't know much about it but to me it seems one of the more teachable things in baseball. I see it as a learned skill and not based on natural ability or athleticism. Framing is also a very new metric or fad so I don't think we have enough data regarding improving catchers.
 
The more I think about it, I wonder if Donaldson makes more sense than I previously thought. With the news of Dansby having surgery on his bothersome wrist, and yes I know he's suppose to be ready for spring training, but would signing Donaldson give us insurance in the event Dansby isn't ready or is continuously bothered by it? In the event he's good to go, you still start Donaldson "everyday" with Camargo getting a couple starts a week at 3B/SS/2B and possibly LF. Now if Dansby can't go, you have Camargo to play SS.

I guess some of my reasoning/concern is the fact that there aren't many SS options that would be an upgrade over Camargo, especially if we find out during spring training that Dansby's wrist hasn't responded/healed like we thought it would. I guess it really boils down to $$ and if we can get him on a 1 year deal. Our priority should still be OF/C and both Brantly and Cutch are the best fits but there's a part of me that likes Donaldson the most.

*Note- I am fully aware that AA has stated that he's comfortable with our current infield but Swanson's wrist puts a little fear in my mind.
 
Pretty much exactly what I’ve been saying for months, so I hope this is more in line with what AA is actually thinking. Fix C and cOF, then bargain shop to add a bench bat.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/11/nl-east-notes-mike-fast-braves-nationals.html

“Right field and catcher clearly require the attention of the Braves’ front office this winter, where current free agents Kurt Suzuki and newly-minted Silver Slugger Nick Markakis have left holes, but improving the bench is not much further down their winter checklist, writes Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Versatile defender Charlie Culberson was a bright spot for the bench unit in 2018, but they could use a power bat to fill the spot once occupied by Matt Adams (and most recently by current free agent Lucas Duda). Outfielder Adam Duvall was acquired from the Reds last season in part to fill that role, but he struggled mightily in his 33 games as a Brave. Duvall projects to earn $3.1MM his first time through arbitration this winter, which makes him a likely non-tender candidate. He is a career .230/.291/.454 hitter. Still, while GM Alex Anthopoulos said they will be more “open-minded” about spending significant dollars on the bench this season, that’s not a development likely to happen early in the free agent season”
 
Going to be an interesting test of the "trading within the division shouldn't matter" if the Mariners really are trying to stay relevant and the Astros make a push for Paxton. Josh James would have to be coming back to fill Paxton's rotation spot right away (since I can't imagine they include Whitley in any deal). Yordan Alvarez could be part of the Mariners' OF equation as soon as the All-Star break. If Dipoto could get Cionel Perez or Bukauskas added as the third piece, it would be pretty tough for other teams to top that offer, and all three pieces the Mariners got back could be contributing no later than 2020.

Can't see any way that helps them much in 2019 without adding a good bit more to the rotation, but they'd suddenly have Paxton's money to add to the savings from letting Span and Phelps walk to chase another SP with.
 
clvclv said:
Going to be an interesting test of the "trading within the division shouldn't matter" if the Mariners really are trying to stay relevant and the Astros make a push for Paxton. Josh James would have to be coming back to fill Paxton's rotation spot right away (since I can't imagine they include Whitley in any deal). Yordan Alvarez could be part of the Mariners' OF equation as soon as the All-Star break. If Dipoto could get Cionel Perez or Bukauskas added as the third piece, it would be pretty tough for other teams to top that offer, and all three pieces the Mariners got back could be contributing no later than 2020.

Can't see any way that helps them much in 2019 without adding a good bit more to the rotation, but they'd suddenly have Paxton's money to add to the savings from letting Span and Phelps walk to chase another SP with.
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If the Braves do make a push for a SP improvement, Paxton is my guess on who we acquire. Could be a bargain relative to the Indians pitchers with tha possibility to rip off the uninformed Mariners FO.
 
Enscheff said:
Pretty much exactly what I’ve been saying for months, so I hope this is more in line with what AA is actually thinking. Fix C and cOF, then bargain shop to add a bench bat.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/11/nl-east-notes-mike-fast-braves-nationals.html

“Right field and catcher clearly require the attention of the Braves’ front office this winter, where current free agents Kurt Suzuki and newly-minted Silver Slugger Nick Markakis have left holes, but improving the bench is not much further down their winter checklist, writes Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Versatile defender Charlie Culberson was a bright spot for the bench unit in 2018, but they could use a power bat to fill the spot once occupied by Matt Adams (and most recently by current free agent Lucas Duda). Outfielder Adam Duvall was acquired from the Reds last season in part to fill that role, but he struggled mightily in his 33 games as a Brave. Duvall projects to earn $3.1MM his first time through arbitration this winter, which makes him a likely non-tender candidate. He is a career .230/.291/.454 hitter. Still, while GM Alex Anthopoulos said they will be more “open-minded” about spending significant dollars on the bench this season, that’s not a development likely to happen early in the free agent season”
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This is fantastic to hear. AA seems to identified the same holes on the team that I have and is correctly focused on bolstering our depth alongside filling our offensive holes with impact players. I think this is gonna be a good offseason. It might be one that disappoints some of our more...unrealistic fans, but a good offseason nonetheless.
 
Oklahomabrave said:
If the Braves do make a push for a SP improvement, Paxton is my guess on who we acquire. Could be a bargain relative to the Indians pitchers with tha possibility to rip off the uninformed Mariners FO.
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I don't think we will. I think our front office is smart enough to realize that our pitching depth gives us the luxury of not having to pursue risky pitching signings or trades that could tank our future if they go wrong.
 
BeanieAntics said:
I don't think we will. I think our front office is smart enough to realize that our pitching depth gives us the luxury of not having to pursue risky pitching signings or trades that could tank our future if they go wrong.
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I agree that acquiring this year’s version of the “TOR pitcher” is a bad idea, but I don’t agree that AA definitely won’t do it.

Unlike the last several seasons where folks talked about acquiring a “frontline pitcher” despite the fact it was never going to happen, this year it is a distinct possibility. There are several realistic scenarios where AA fills C and cOF with enough resources left over to get a pitcher like Kluber or Paxton.

I hope it doesn’t happen, but it certainly could.
 
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Hudson2 said:
I don’t even know why Epstein would come out and say anything bc all it’s gonna do is piss Bryant off even more. That clubhouse must be in bad shape bc they probably aren’t gonna bring Maddon back either.
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I haven't been following other teams that closely. Is Maddon seriously on the hot seat?
 
Anyone think the Astro's cut McCullers? He's arby eligible and being projected to get $4.6M through arbitraction even though he won't pitch at all in 2019.

The Astros are facing an offseason full of arby guys. I wonder if they would just cut ties with McCullers.

If they do, I hope the Braves are on him even if it means waiting (a la Eovaldi) a year to see anything.
 
Enscheff said:
I agree that acquiring this year’s version the “TOR pitcher” is a bad idea, but I don’t agree that AA definitely won’t do it.

Unlike the last several seasons where folks talked about acquiring a “frontline pitcher” despite the fact it was never going to happen, this year it is a distinct possibility. There are several realistic scenarios where AA fills C and cOF with enough resources left over to get a pitcher like Kluber or Paxton.

I hope it didn’t happen, but it certainly could.
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I generally agree but the Mariners have a high probability of acting oddly. If they strongly value the immediate impact and control of Newcomb, I’d be very happy to trade him for Paxton.
 
I could see the Astros moving Reddick for payroll reasons. I doubt Springer. But they seem set of finding a place for Tucker to play. Reddick is basically Markakis at this point.
 
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