If I were Braves GM

Step 1 fire fredi

Step 2 hire anyone as long as they answer where to bad BJ and Simmons and they say not higher than 7.

Step 3. Shop BJ see what it will take, it it takes too much to unload him then keep him.

Step 4. Work on extending Jason and Justin.

Step 5. Re-sign Gavin FLoyd to the same deal he got this year.

Step 6. Non-tender Venters, Medlen, Beachy. Offer them very small heavily incentive laden deals. If they accept great, if not then oh well. I think Venters and Beachy would, Medlen I think someone gambles on him for more than we can afford.

Step 7. Trade CJ for whatever possible

Step 8. Sign Chase Headley

Go to war. We won't be amazing, but we'll have a very competitve team

CF - Jason
RF - Justin
1B - Freeman
LF - Gattis
3B - Headley
2B - TLS
SS - Simmons
C - Bethancourt

Bench
Bossman
Gosselin
Terds
Backup C
Cunningham

Let Bossman prove he belongs as a starter.

Julio
Minor
Wood
Floyd
Beachy (lots of guys waiting in the wings for injuries)

Kimbrel
Walden
Russell
Avilan
Varvaro
Carpenter
Simmons (will he be ready?)
 
Not bad Zeets but Gattis wouldnt last long in LF.

Really need the DH so we can use him that way.
 
Not bad Zeets but Gattis wouldnt last long in LF.

Really need the DH so we can use him that way.

I can't imagine LF being that hard on him. Certainly not as hard on him as catching. I'd also spell him probably once a week and all the time defensively. ANd I think overall we'd stay under budget. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think we do it.
 
A team that is expecting to contend (which the Braves most certainly are, despite their poor 2014) can only afford to trade away an MLB cornerstone asset like Justin or Heyward under 2 circumstances:

1. They have an in house replacement like the Mac/Gattis situation, or
2. They get a cost controlled return that fills another hole on the MLB roster.

Since #1 is obviously out of the question, the return for either player must be cost controlled for the next 2-3 years and fill the need in the OF (which would be a dumb trade for the other team), SP, 3B or 2B. Since there are internal options at 3B and 2B, and Peraza is a longer term option in CF, the return would most likely need to be a cost controlled SP that can slot in the 2-3 spot of the rotation right now.

So which contending teams need an OFer and can send a cost controlled #2/#3 SP?

Very good points. It really depends what we're looking for. Is it only major league players, combination of both, or long term prospects that are close. If it's prospects..the Blue Jays could be a match. They have a lot of good young and ready SP's along with a great long term CF prospect in Pompey. Maybe the Mariners? With the development of James Paxton, does Taijuan Walker become available if we're talking Heyward or Upton especially Upton. They're desperate for RH power.
 
Not bad Zeets but Gattis wouldnt last long in LF.

Really need the DH so we can use him that way.

Agree. Zito's put together a very reasonable, competitive roster. Afraid Headley will be asking much more than he's worth.
 
Wouldn't you all like to know what Gattis (assuming he passes all physicals) would generate in the AL with his value as a DH/pinch-hitter right-handed power guy? Especially to teams like Seattle or Toronto, who are (or think they are) very close. I can live with losing his pop if his teammates can learn some station-to-station baseball. The Royals are proving its not a lost art in every city.
 
How about Jarrod Dyson of the Royals. He is an elite defensive center fielder and can fill our void for a leadoff hitter. He hits both lefties and righties well enough that he doesn't need to platoon and gets on base at a decent rate. He would probably steal 60+ bases a year. I doubt he will take over for Cain in CF and is a waste of his talents in right. I think we match up well with the Royals, they lack power having hit only 95 homers and Billy Butler probably won't return so they have a DH spot open. Moose Tacos was flat out horrible this year and hit .172 vs lefties so maybe we can pawn Chris Johnson off on them as well. So how about Gattis/Johnson for Dyson/Davis. Wade Davis has an option for 7 million in 2015 which I have a hard time seeing the Royals paying. It's more than the Braves would normally pay but we desperately need a strong lefty reliever and there is no long term risk with Davis. Anyways, that would fill 2 holes without raising payroll.
 
How about Jarrod Dyson of the Royals. He is an elite defensive center fielder and can fill our void for a leadoff hitter. He hits both lefties and righties well enough that he doesn't need to platoon and gets on base at a decent rate. He would probably steal 60+ bases a year. I doubt he will take over for Cain in CF and is a waste of his talents in right. I think we match up well with the Royals, they lack power having hit only 95 homers and Billy Butler probably won't return so they have a DH spot open. Moose Tacos was flat out horrible this year and hit .172 vs lefties so maybe we can pawn Chris Johnson off on them as well. So how about Gattis/Johnson for Dyson/Davis. Wade Davis has an option for 7 million in 2015 which I have a hard time seeing the Royals paying. It's more than the Braves would normally pay but we desperately need a strong lefty reliever and there is no long term risk with Davis. Anyways, that would fill 2 holes without raising payroll.

The only reason Moore wouldn't hang up the phone on this is he would be being polite to his old bosses. Why would the Royals want any of our hitters?
 
The only reason Moore wouldn't hang up the phone on this is he would be being polite to his old bosses. Why would the Royals want any of our hitters?

Really? Dayton would do that in a second. Davis is one of the best set up men in baseball but the chance to get an everyday 30 HR bat for a 4th OF and set up man would be done in a second. That's not a smart move for us though. Yes we need to improve our bullpen but trading one of our better hitters and most valuable for a bullpen arm at this point does not make sense.
 
You think an elite defensive center fielder who can steal 60+ bases and put up a .320 OBP is a 4th outfielder? Maybe it's the years of watching BJ suck but I would love to have that kind of player in center.
 
You think an elite defensive center fielder who can steal 60+ bases and put up a .320 OBP is a 4th outfielder? Maybe it's the years of watching BJ suck but I would love to have that kind of player in center.

A .320 OBP is not good for a leadoff man. Plus, this guy is 30 and turning 31 next year with an extremely limited upside. I guarantee he gets exposed as an everyday player, especially since his career numbers vs lefties are significantly worse.
 
Agree. Zito's put together a very reasonable, competitive roster. Afraid Headley will be asking much more than he's worth.

All freeagents do. I figure he'll probably sign for like 4/44 or something like that. A bit of an overpay, but he should be a massive 3B improvement and he's a switch hitter, something I think we need really bad.
 
lol why are we throwing money at Headley? He's produced once in his career and it's clear that was an aberration. Best thing San Diego did was not extend him long term.
 
lol why are we throwing money at Headley? He's produced once in his career and it's clear that was an aberration. Best thing San Diego did was not extend him long term.

No intelligent baseball fan thinks that. Headley is above average hitter and excellent with the glove. He's not a stud, he's no Adrian Beltre or Evan Longoria, or Josh DOnaldson, but we don't have the ponies to bring them in.
 
No intelligent baseball fan thinks that. Headley is above average hitter and excellent with the glove. He's not a stud, he's no Adrian Beltre or Evan Longoria, or Josh DOnaldson, but we don't have the ponies to bring them in.

Look at his last two seasons and tell me he's an above average hitter. If you are in your form, you will pull some lame duck advanced moneyball stat to prove this.
 
Look at his last two seasons and tell me he's an above average hitter. If you are in your form, you will pull some lame duck advanced moneyball stat to prove this.

This year he wasn't above average, but he was in NY.

Lets look at his last 4 seasons though.

123 wRC+ averaging almost 14 runs above average positionally adjusted per season on average. He's quite good. This year was his worst season in a long time from an offensive standpoint. Only 2 runs above average. Regularly above 110.
 
lol why are we throwing money at Headley? He's produced once in his career and it's clear that was an aberration. Best thing San Diego did was not extend him long term.

I'm on this bandwagon. I love Headley's potential, but I'd much rather see this team going after OBP, speed, and defense. Headley adds power potential. We have that in spades. We need guys getting on base and getting in.
 
I'm on this bandwagon. I love Headley's potential, but I'd much rather see this team going after OBP, speed, and defense. Headley adds power potential. We have that in spades. We need guys getting on base and getting in.

What 3B fits that bill? Or 2B even. CF we can't really replace Bossman and be a better team for it.
 
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