Braves offseason outlook from MLBTR

I think it's a mistake to fall into the status quo. Yes we won a lot of games with a lot of injuries and AWFUL BJ and DU.

But I think we have a regular season team. I think we'll miss Mac more than we think. I think CJ is likely to come way down. I think the division will be better next year.

I wouldn't make a change just to make a change. But if I'm Wren I'm looking for a blockbuster. I know I have Simmons, FF, JUp, Heyward, Kimbrel, Minor, and Medlen who are all due for big paydays (soon except for Simmons). I'm looking to see who is willing to get locked up and those that aren't I'm exploring. See if you can find someone who thinks they are 1 piece away and falls in love with a guy that won't sign long term.

We don't have to make a trade so we can afford to name a steep price and only pull the trigger if we get that price. But I think Wren has to see what he can get for one of those young core guys if he thinks he can't sign them long term.
 
They may not go for an ace, but it's not written in stone that Hudson will be back either. Already there's been talk that Colorado might be a destination for him, if not re-signed in Atlanta. Under that scenario, Wren probably would give some consideration to FA or trade route. The rotation is an area that could be upgraded.
 
If Hudson isn't back it will be because Wren didn't want him back.

Also if all we do is resign Hudson and O'Flaherty there should be enough payroll to make a big trade midseason.
 
Knucksie said:
They may not go for an ace, but it's not written in stone that Hudson will be back either. Already there's been talk that Colorado might be a destination for him, if not re-signed in Atlanta. Under that scenario, Wren probably would give some consideration to FA or trade route. The rotation is an area that could be upgraded.
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Minor, Julio, Meds, Beachy, Wood is a solid 5.

Without Huddy.

Assuming Beachy is ready by ST.
 
Injuries or not, it would be a mistake not to try to make improvements. If the team didn't need improvements, they'd still be playing.
 
bravesnumberone said:
Injuries or not, it would be a mistake not to try to make improvements. If the team didn't need improvements, they'd still be playing.
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We do need another starter, whether it be Hudson or someone else. In a normal year, you have seven or eight starting pitchers who make at least 10 starts. I think Wood will be a bit of a swingman next year.
 
Heyward said:
Minor, Julio, Meds, Beachy, Wood is a solid 5.

Without Huddy.

Assuming Beachy is ready by ST.
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Everybody's anticipating McCann to get his FA payout. Uggla hasn't packed his bags yet. Hudson is currently in limbo. Notice a void of veteran leadership? Don't think that this factor isn't taken into consideration, while constructing a roster.

Not only that, despite that the above is a nice rotation, as you intimated, it's lacking in other areas. In terms of lasting an entire season or throwing more than 180 innings, that rotation is thin on experience. Not sure if Maholm provided much leadership or mentorship to the younger hurlers, but between the removal of his and Hudson's salaries, there's room for a veteran.

Also, teams are trending toward as much as 8 deep for starters now. Not certain that Wood is going to just walk into a major league starting role either. Reports have him in either pen or starter at AAA level. Who knows?
 
nsacpi said:
We do need another starter, whether it be Hudson or someone else. In a normal year, you have seven or eight starting pitchers who make at least 10 starts. I think Wood will be a bit of a swingman next year.
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I agree. We should sign Hudson because as much as I hate to say this we have no idea what we will get from Beachy.
 
Dalyn said:
There is NO WAY I want a rotation of Minor, Teheran, Medlen, Beachy, Wood.
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If Beachy is healthy how would you not want that rotation? All 5 of those guys can win 15 games and have ERA's sub 3.50. Minor,Teheran and Medlen is a solid three though I do question Beachy's health and if Wood can handle a full work load as he did get lit up in September. Medlen and Minor are really under valued by some and I really don't know why. They may not be household names or throw 95 but that doesn't mean much. Medlen is a great pitcher who is entering his prime and had a great second half. He had a bad start in the play offs but Kershaw and Wainwright have gotten beat up in this post season as well so it happens to the best of them.

What option(s) are truly available that would help this rotation? Please don't say Price or Scherzer because those two aren't realistic for us.
 
Teheran_49 said:
If Beachy is healthy how would you not want that rotation? All 5 of those guys can win 15 games and have ERA's sub 3.50. Minor,Teheran and Medlen is a solid three though I do question Beachy's health and if Wood can handle a full work load as he did get lit up in September. Medlen and Minor are really under valued by some and I really don't know why. They may not be household names or throw 95 but that doesn't mean much. Medlen is a great pitcher who is entering his prime and had a great second half. He had a bad start in the play offs but Kershaw and Wainwright have gotten beat up in this post season as well so it happens to the best of them.

What option(s) are truly available that would help this rotation? Please don't say Price or Scherzer because those two aren't realistic for us.
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Like you just said in the above post, we have no idea what we are going to get from Beachy. In my opinion, he should start the season in the bullpen. Treat him like we did Medlen not long ago.

Minor - Had a great year and barely made 200 innings. Expect about the same.

Teheran - Just pitched more than any other point in his career. Hope he stays healthy. Can't count on him getting closer than three or four starts below 200 innings.

Medlen - Had a good year and came within a start of 200 innings. Highest of his career by a long shot. Health is a concern. Would be thrilled with more of the same from him.

Beachy - Already addressed this. Shouldn't even make the rotation unless there is an emergency. Let him replace the first starter to go down. Anything to reduce his innings.

Wood - Fine #5, but with this rotation could very well be forced to #3 for the second half. Not at all ready for that.

At the very least, we need Hudson. Otherwise, the bullpen is going to be a mess in September and who knows who will be in the rotation.
 
We had everyone listed above AND Hudson & Maholm this past year and still ended up with Loe and Garcia getting starts. Can you imagine if Hudson & Maholm hadn't been in the rotation? *shudder*
 
thethe said:
Why do we need a star at second base? We just don't need a black whole like Uggla.

Also, in what way would Kindled be a good move? He has horrid splits.
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Splits are concerning, but Texas mainly boosts your power production and there isn't a large discrepancy on his homers from home/away.
 
As has been discussed to death over the years, you go into the season knowing you are going to need more than 5 starters. Beachy has 111 innings in the majors the last 2 years and has never thrown more than 141 innings in any season. If he is healthy great, but I think we should have learned our lesson with Hampton and not count on Beachy to be one of the starting 5. Hudson on the other hand is the picture of health who was only out due to a freak incident. I also think Hudson is a good veteran presence for the young pitchers we have too.
 
Tim Hudson turning 39 kind of scares me but then again Bartolo Colon was 40 and had a dominant season. Also, how do we strengthen our bench? Do we rely on Schafer and hope he can get back to where he was the first half of the season? I do think Terdoslavich will have a good season if his career path stays the same. He struggled horribly in 2012 against AAA pitching to absolutely destroying it in 2013. I think he will have a better season. I do worry about our infield depth though. I want no part of Janish or Elliot Johnson. Elliot Johnson should never play in the majors and while Janish is definitely a stud defensively he is plain out terrible with the bat. I mean even bad hitters years ago would get bunts down,move runners and get sacrifices but this guy can't do any of that.
 
Dalyn said:
We had everyone listed above AND Hudson & Maholm this past year and still ended up with Loe and Garcia getting starts. Can you imagine if Hudson & Maholm hadn't been in the rotation? *shudder*
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I don't know how many times this has to be repeated. The only reason Loe and Garcia started any games for us is b/c we had such a huge lead and we wanted to rest our starters. Had the division race been a closer, neither Garcia nor Loe make a start for us because we weren't going to run out journeyman starters in a division race.
 
Carp said:
I don't know how many times this has to be repeated. The only reason Loe and Garcia started any games for us is b/c we had such a huge lead and we wanted to rest our starters. Had the division race been a closer, neither Garcia nor Loe make a start for us because we weren't going to run out journeyman starters in a division race.
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Which were poor decisions. We lost home field and played LA instead of PIT. Lets let the Astros recycle Kameron Loe next time.
 
Carp said:
I don't know how many times this has to be repeated. The only reason Loe and Garcia started any games for us is b/c we had such a huge lead and we wanted to rest our starters. Had the division race been a closer, neither Garcia nor Loe make a start for us because we weren't going to run out journeyman starters in a division race.
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I think there were other reasons that Loe, Garcia and Hale got late season starts. Maholm had issues with his elbow and was not pitching well. Beachy was shut down. Hudson was out. Wood was judged to have run out of gas.
 
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