Official off-season trade rumor and suggestion thread

[Braves1976]

Disappointing. It's a minor point, but this definitely ranks as a decision Hart made this offseason that I disagree with. Beachy was slated to get $1.5m in his arbitration projection. Seems like it would have been worth the risk for a guy who is under control through 2016 and has performed well. 2-time TJ guys are definitely a risk, but I thought is was a risk worth taking at that price.

It is disappointing to me too, but so have been a number of Hart's decisions this off-season IMO.

 

[Heyward]

It is disappointing to me too, but so have been a number of Hart's decisions this off-season IMO.

Shocking.

 

[Heyward]

Between Folty, ManBan, Hale, and Wandy, there's plenty of options for the 5th spot, no biggie.

 

[jpx7]

I'm a bit conflicted too, if up to me I'd be more willing to let Joey T, Hunter, among others fight it out for that outfield spot.

Same. What's there to lose, at this point, besides a few more games?

 

[dak]

Bowman reiterates Braves' interest in Aoki and adds Gomes to the list of potential targets.

"Before projecting what the Braves might do from an offensive perspective this season, it must be noted that Hart said he is not done making changes to his Major League roster. The primary offensive need is to acquire a left fielder via trade or the thin free-agent market. Jonny Gomes and Nori Aoki are among the free-agent outfielders who have at least piqued Atlanta's interest."

http://m.braves.mlb.com/news/articl...in-confidence-in-offense-after-major-turnover

 

[Braves1976]

Same. What's there to lose, at this point, besides a few more games?

Exactly. Plus Aoki has no power while Hunter has shown improved power the last few seasons to go along with a high OBP, less strikeouts than walks, etc. Of course Joey T has more power potential than Aoki too. Plus who knows maybe Almonte surprises or someone else.

 

[NinersSBChamps]

Bowman reiterates Braves' interest in Aoki and adds Gomes to the list of potential targets.

"Before projecting what the Braves might do from an offensive perspective this season, it must be noted that Hart said he is not done making changes to his Major League roster. The primary offensive need is to acquire a left fielder via trade or the thin free-agent market. Jonny Gomes and Nori Aoki are among the free-agent outfielders who have at least piqued Atlanta's interest."

http://m.braves.mlb.com/news/articl...in-confidence-in-offense-after-major-turnover

Lovely. Maybe Freeman is dealt next. Our AA rotation isn't solidified yet.

 

[Braves1976]

Lovely. Maybe Freeman is dealt next. Our AA rotation isn't solidified yet.

Haha we only have like 12 options for the AA rotation, might as well make it 20!

 

[Braves1976]

I have our projected payroll at $98m right now with two spots open: Bench Bat, LF. I have the assumption of Wandy winning the #5 slot. So that would leave $12m.

According to Bowman our budget is only around 102 million.

@mlbbowman

@BravesLiferInKS the budget will be around $102M. Is that the figure you were working with?

 

[Braves1976]

Think I'd rather have Rasmus thank Aoki actually

Bowman seems to think Rasmus is a no due in part to him apparently not meshing well with Seitzer in Toronto.

 

[dak]

According to Bowman our budget is only around 102 million.

@mlbbowman
@BravesLiferInKS the budget will be around $102M. Is that the figure you were working with?

Yep, saw that too. My interpretation is that Bowman's sources are telling him that we have about $10m to spend, and Bowman has our our current number at $92m.

I obviously think Bowman's number is low. Roster Resource has us at $93.5m without Toscano (1.5m), Wandy (2m), and assumes the players w/ basic incentives in their deals will hit none of them (Callaspo has 1m, Jim J has 900k, Grilli has some, etc.). Also, several players have award bonus potential that should be accounted for: Markakis, Kimbrel, Freeman.

My $98m is probably a bit low really.

 

[Julio3000]

I wouldn't be surprised if we signed a FA to play left, but put me in the camp for letting the in-house guys fight it out. What the hell, right? I'm still gonna watch, whether it's Nori Aoki or Terdo/Hunter.

 

[cajunrevenge]

Bowman reiterates Braves' interest in Aoki and adds Gomes to the list of potential targets.

"Before projecting what the Braves might do from an offensive perspective this season, it must be noted that Hart said he is not done making changes to his Major League roster. The primary offensive need is to acquire a left fielder via trade or the thin free-agent market. Jonny Gomes and Nori Aoki are among the free-agent outfielders who have at least piqued Atlanta's interest."

http://m.braves.mlb.com/news/articl...in-confidence-in-offense-after-major-turnover

We Got 99% Of The Puzzle And It Looks like Dog ****, But Gotta Wait TIL He Puts That Last Piece IN Before We Can Call it Dog ****? Nothing short of announcing they succesfully cloned several young versions of Chipper Jones will make anyone think the offense isn't goin h to be dog ****.

 

[dak]

I'm on board with pursuing Aoki and Gomes at the right price given that they are the best everyday LF and RH platoon LF available, respectively. This is the time of year and the range of the market where you typically get the best value. If one of these guys signs and has a good first half for us, we can flip for a prospect at the deadline.

To be clear, I think the idea of building the value of current assets by giving them playing time has merit. Almonte is more or less a shoo in to make the opening day 25. The Braves gave him a major league deal and he's out of options. I think Cunningham has value, but he is redundant with Almonte. Hunter and Terd are replacement level players in my view. I would not pass up on a good deal on Aoki or Gomes to protect ABs for those two.

 

[Perfect Cell]

Just 10m? Wow.

 

[GovClintonTyree]

Question for my saber pals: I see that Aoki didn't get very many of those WARs last year in KC. And although oWAR plus dWAR does not equal total WAR, which I may never understand (is there a base running WAR? One for clutchness and grit?), I note that his dWARs were good in MIL and negative in KC.

Now, I watched enough of the Royals to know that Lo Cain can cover two states and not break a sweat. In fact, BR says he's worth 5 WARs, which I know from nsacpi means he should sign for $45m AAV. And I know he's a good not great hitter, so a big chunk of that purported value must be defense.

So, my question- does Cain poaching balls in LC cause his WARs to inflate (so his agent can demand the $45m, no doubt) at the expense of Aoki's?

Or, seriously, the guy didn't get bad on D overnight. He's got that lithe Japanese body type that ought to age well. I don't necessarily think it would be a noose to give him three years at a moderate salary, he's likely to be performing at the same level or close to it.

 

[Dalyn]

He's got that lithe Japanese body type that ought to age well.

 

[Hawk]

Speaking of supple Japanese, Ichiro is also available. I'd rather see him out there for a season than Aoki.

 

[Julio3000]

He's VERY lithe.

 

[dak]

So, my question- does Cain poaching balls in LC cause his WARs to inflate (so his agent can demand the $45m, no doubt) at the expense of Aoki's?

Gov, I've wondered the same thing and am not really sure. One thing I have learned in the past year from reading about these metrics is that they are much more susceptible to low sample size then offensive metrics based on how they're calculated. So for Aoki, it may be more accurate to look at the average of his last three years and dial that result down a bit given the expected decline for his age.

Aoki UZR / 150 from 2012 - 2014: 5th out of 13 qualifiers (Markakis was 11th)
Aoki DRS from 2012 - 2014: 4th out of 13 qualifiers (Markakis was 10th)