Braves donate Justin Upton to Padres for prospects

[clvclv]

Hale has virtually no trade value. Not necessarily none, but virtually none.

Agreed.

The value he'd likely have at this point would be as a throw-in in an Upton or Gattis deal to push the opposing GM over the edge, as in...

1 year of J-Up isn't quite enough to get Jack Z to turn Walker loose, but the inclusion of Hale would give him an extra option to plug in if there's an injury in their rotation.

 

[Enscheff]

Best guess is that price for Texas would be Gallo and Nick Williams or Gallo and Jake Thompson.

(Hart wouldn't take Andrus' contract back if you held a gun to his head BTW.)

Gallo is all but untouchable. The Braves actually have another trade chip available in Minor since he won't be around in 2017. I could envision a package of Minor plus Gattis or JUp bringing back a nice package.

 

[zitothebrave]

Gallo is all but untouchable. The Braves actually have another trade chip available in Minor since he won't be around in 2017. I could envision a package of Minor plus Gattis or JUp bringing back a nice package.

I wanted Joey gallo, not that I'm upset with Sims, I remember watching Gallo and thinking he could have it all. Would be great to get him, but yeah he's basically untouchable. Like when we had Freeman or Heyward, he's not far from that territory.

 

[Chico]

The Rangers might make some sense. They could put together a nice package of 2nd tier prospects outside of Gallo and Alfaro.

 

[clvclv]

That's the current company line on Gallo (he's "untouchable"), and rightfully so.

That said, Daniels isn't an idiot. The Rangers have Beltre under control through 2016, and a Choo/Andrus/Beltre/Fielder/Upton lineup would be flat-out scary assuming health. Including Gallo would mean they'd HAVE to pay Justin's price following next season, but they'd have no problem doing so financially.

I would push it to the limit for Gallo with Daniels, and would explain that it would take more volume to get me to back away. No Gallo? OK. I'll take Profar, Williams AND Thompson.

 

[Hawk]

Upton Brothers for Andrus for 3rd and a couple of minor leaguers.

I could get behind this -- stick Andrus at 2B, sign a stop gap for CF, and let Peraza try the outfield for a season in AAA.

The Rangers did try to sign BJ in 2012 ... and they tried to trade for Justin in 2012 AND 2013 (remember they offered Wren the sick package of Matt Garza, Joe Nathan, and David Murphy?)

A pipe dream to be sure, but a pleasant one to take to the head nonetheless.

 

[clvclv]

I could get behind this -- stick Andrus at 2B, sign a stop gap for CF, and let Peraza try the outfield for a season in AAA.

The Rangers did try to sign BJ in 2012 ... and they tried to trade for Justin in 2012 AND 2013 (remember they offered Wren the sick package of Matt Garza, Joe Nathan, and David Murphy?)

A pipe dream to be sure, but a pleasant one to take to the head nonetheless.

Again, I can't fathom why ANYONE thinks Hart would take Andrus' contract back under any circumstances whatsoever - it's worse than B. J.'s.

8 years, $120 million BEGINNING this year for a player with a career .278/.335/.345./.680 slash line coming off his career worst .263/.314/.333/.647 season. He's not in the same league as Simmons defensively, and Peraza should easily be able to AT LEAST replicate those numbers for a helluva lot less than $120 million.

If the Braves were going to pay that kind of money, they'd simply make an effort to extend Justin.

 

[50PoundHead]

Again, I can't fathom why ANYONE thinks Hart would take Andrus' contract back under any circumstances whatsoever - it's worse than B. J.'s.

8 years, $120 million BEGINNING this year.

If the Braves were going to pay that kind of money, they'd simply make an effort to extend Justin.

I think Andrus' contract qualifies as one of the worst in baseball right now.

 

[Tapate50]

I could get behind this -- stick Andrus at 2B, sign a stop gap for CF, and let Peraza try the outfield for a season in AAA.

The Rangers did try to sign BJ in 2012 ... and they tried to trade for Justin in 2012 AND 2013 (remember they offered Wren the sick package of Matt Garza, Joe Nathan, and David Murphy?)

A pipe dream to be sure, but a pleasant one to take to the head nonetheless.

In no parallel universe are the Braves taking on an 8 year 120 million commitment for anyone with his #s

 

[Hawk]

Again, I can't fathom why ANYONE thinks Hart would take Andrus' contract back under any circumstances whatsoever - it's worse than B. J.'s.

8 years, $120 million BEGINNING this year for a player with a career .278/.335/.345./.680 slash line coming off his career worst .263/.314/.333/.647 season. He's not in the same league as Simmons defensively, and Peraza should easily be able to AT LEAST replicate those numbers for a helluva lot less than $120 million.

If the Braves were going to pay that kind of money, they'd simply make an effort to extend Justin.

The Braves want to trade BJ Upton because he sucks, not because they can't afford him. Andrus' contract might be cringe-worthy, but he's realistically one of the literal handful of options the Braves might have to get out from under BJ's contract and receive a serviceable piece in return. There is no team in baseball that is going to eat BJ's remaining $46 million dollars for Evan Gattis or Mike Minor.

 

[Hawk]

In no parallel universe are the Braves taking on an 8 year 120 million commitment for anyone with his #s

If they could dump $60MM in salary and obtain one/two high-ceiling prospects in addition to a player with Andrus' skillset it's not exactly rocket science, IMO.

The Rangers want to keep Andrus, anyways, so this is all moot.

 

[50PoundHead]

The Braves want to trade BJ Upton because he sucks, not because they can't afford him. Andrus' contract might be cringe-worthy, but he's realistically one of the literal handful of options the Braves might have to get out from under BJ's contract and receive a serviceable piece in return. There is no team in baseball that is going to eat BJ's remaining $46 million dollars for Evan Gattis or Mike Minor.

I will say this. We would likely have to send something with Melvin to acquire Andrus, but we could likely flip Andrus for a decent return. It could amount to a three-corner deal, which would be fine with me if we could get out of Melvin's miserable contract.

 

[Hawk]

I think Andrus' contract qualifies as one of the worst in baseball right now.

On what basis? Dude's 26 (and will only be 34 when his deal ends -- assuming he doesn't opt out in a couple of years), is fourth among shortstops in OBP (.331) and seventh in defensive runs saved the past three seasons.

His contract could still end up being a bargain when it's all said and done.

 

[clvclv]

The Braves want to trade BJ Upton because he sucks, not because they can't afford him. Andrus' contract might be cringe-worthy, but he's realistically one of the literal handful of options the Braves might have to get out from under BJ's contract and receive a serviceable piece in return. There is no team in baseball that is going to eat BJ's remaining $46 million dollars for Evan Gattis or Mike Minor.

Again, Hart has enough sense to understand that eating the $46 million owed to B. J. is FAR BETTER than taking on the $120 million owed Andrus - that's simple math.

No matter how much anyone wants to get rid of B. J., there's absolutely no way that paying an extra $74 million for Andrus helps anything.

That contract is Daniels' version of B. J.'s, and is the reason that he's now willing to trade Profar or Odor - no one that plays anywhere outside of the Bronx will give him anything of value for it.

 

[Enscheff]

The Rangers are actually looking for pitching first and foremost. That's why I think a package of JUp plus Minor might bring back a really good return.

 

[clvclv]

I will say this. We would likely have to send something with Melvin to acquire Andrus, but we could likely flip Andrus for a decent return. It could amount to a three-corner deal, which would be fine with me if we could get out of Melvin's miserable contract.

I have to respectfully disagree - if Daniels hasn't been able to sell anybody on that contract, I sincerely doubt Hart could.

I'd much rather eat the rest of B. J.'s deal than hope that someone might bail me out from under Elvis'.

 

[nsacpi]

Recognizing that Melvin has no trade value might be the prerequisite for doing something to upgrade center. I suspect the front office will not bite that bullet until June. Hopefully we are not out of it at that point.

 

[50PoundHead]

I have to respectfully disagree - if Daniels hasn't been able to sell anybody on that contract, I sincerely doubt Hart could.

I'd much rather eat the rest of B. J.'s deal than hope that someone might bail me out from under Elvis'.

As long as it's respectful, you can disagree all you'd like. You're probably right.

I've always gotten along with Bill Shanks fairly well, but I wonder if he would like to rethink the projection of Elvis Andrus as the next Alex Rodriguez.

 

[Perfect Cell]

Wow, its been a while.

Anyways. If Upton is dealt, and ill be sad if he is, (im already still trying to recover from the Heyward thing) then might as well sell the entire team. No sense in keeping Kimbrel if you are barely a wild card team. Id definetly deal Gattis too, and sell CJ for peanuts. Id probably just keep Freeman and Simmons but id trade them too for the right deal.

 

[Hawk]

Again, Hart has enough sense to understand that eating the $46 million owed to B. J. is FAR BETTER than taking on the $120 million owed Andrus - that's simple math.

No matter how much anyone wants to get rid of B. J., there's absolutely no way that paying an extra $74 million for Andrus helps anything.

That contract is Daniels' version of B. J.'s, and is the reason that he's now willing to trade Profar or Odor - no one that plays anywhere outside of the Bronx will give him anything of value for it.

Stop for a moment to consider what this organization is aiming to accomplish in the next two years.

Competing in 2017 is essential for a multitude of reasons - many of which go well beyond the diamond. The team has financial flexibility (more than most people seem to realize) but not exactly a blank check like the Marlins did a few years ago, either. Turning BJ into a glorified 4th OF or just biting the bullet and eating his contract are two real possibilities that are going to hurt the team by virtue of a simple lack of return on investment.

Moving BJ for a younger, infinitely more productive talent (who just happens to have an uncomfortable future commitment) -- but not, by any stretch of the exaggerated perspective you are operating from, impossible to absorb, is a little more easy to swallow. It's trading up, but not out.

Andrus is a good player. Is he worth $15MM right now? Not exactly, although it would be interesting to see what kind of contract he would receive on the open market as it stands.

Could he be worth $15MM in 2016 and beyond? Absolutely.

Could BJ Upton?

It's the lesser of two evils, though. The Braves don't need to move BJ Upton because they can't afford to pay him. They can't afford to pay him to do nothing. Atleast Andrus would provide this team some immediately tangible value and allow Hart to continue to reload (versus rebuild) headed into 2017.