Spring Training Thread

Swanson this spring...
.342 ops
Contreras this spring...
.584 ops

Doubt this lasts, but makes me feel better right now
 
striker42 said:
There's a very, very real chance he's replacement level this year. His defense has been his only real value in his career and that has steadily eroded to the point he's been below average the past two years. He's never been much of a hitter and still isn't.

He's bad.
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I’m actually rosier on Arcía’s offensive profile—his 104 wrc+ last year was buoyed by a huge line against Nationals pitchers, but his EVs are solid and the Braves have been working with him to further improve his LA. It’s his defensive profile that I don’t think adds much. He has a strong arm, sure, but that seems to be all he really has over Grissom with the glove, given he’s also range-limited at this point.

I think they’re 100% correct to think Shewmake’s Spring stars aren’t enough to be convinced he can add anything offensively atm, which makes me think they’d prefer a strong arm/mids range at SS and 90-100 wrc+ over mids arm/mids range and ~110 wrc+ (which I think were reasonable expectations for Grissom).

One however has to hope that “protecting Adrianza’s roster spot” was just an easy PR canard, because that’s the element that doesn’t square for me.
 
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striker42 said:
I could see the Braves manipulating Shewmake's service time. The front office is probably higher on him than they should be. They did spend a first round pick on him. So I could see them thinking he could be a glove first answer at SS (even if I disagree with this analysis). I doubt this would be service time manipulation to get an extra year of control (he'll already be past 30 before becoming a FA) and more likely to have to do with arbitration. If they could avoid him becoming a Super 2 player then he wouldn't be arb eligible until 2027. So extending the amount of time Shewmake is cheap is something I could see happening.

With Grissom, he'd have to be down for about 2 months to extend control over him another year. That extra year could be important with Grissom. I could easily see the Braves reasoning that giving him 2 months in the minors to work on defense is a good use of time if it means an additional year of control.
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I say this as someone who is, and has long been, a big fan of Grissom: I don’t think he’s the sort of Acuña-level prospect for whom you manipulate service time. Acuña is also coincidentally the last player for whom the Braves may have (wink wink) done this, in the interim showing they’re more than happy to bring up guys in whom they believe, before quickly figuring out extension details to make service time somewhat moot. So their holding Grissom down nearly three months for an extra year of control doesn’t really fit as a narrative.

I think it makes even less sense for Shewmake, since it’s a struggle to envision a scenario where he’s good enough to nab Super Two rights—plus he’s already 25, has morphed into a patently glove-first guy, and seems way more likely to ultimately fill a utility role.

All told, even as we might quibble with the logic, I think we have to assume the Braves FO thinks these moves are the best for the team in both the short- and long-term.
 
I think this is just a good ole fashion “go with vet defender” move..With Ozzie being in place long term I expect either a move to the OF for Grissom or trade bait in July…either way, I don’t think he’s going to be playing SS for this club.
 
jpx7 said:
I say this as someone who is, and has long been, a big fan of Grissom: I don’t think he’s the sort of Acuña-level prospect for whom you manipulate service time. Acuña is also coincidentally the last player for whom the Braves may have (wink wink) done this, in the interim showing they’re more than happy to bring up guys in whom they believe, before quickly figuring out extension details to make service time somewhat moot. So their holding Grissom down nearly three months for an extra year of control doesn’t really fit as a narrative.

I think it makes even less sense for Shewmake, since it’s a struggle to envision a scenario where he’s good enough to nab Super Two rights—plus he’s already 25, has morphed into a patently glove-first guy, and seems way more likely to ultimately fill a utility role.

All told, even as we might quibble with the logic, I think we have to assume the Braves FO thinks these moves are the best for the team in both the short- and long-term.
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You might be right, but if you are then I have to think AA has taken leave of his senses.
 
So…….. no Braves today…..

So ‘ol Hula not thinking too clearly flips on the cardinals v nats game……
And boy…. There’s ‘ol Chip…. And I realized I didn’t miss him at all.
 
striker42 said:
I could see the Braves manipulating Shewmake's service time. The front office is probably higher on him than they should be. They did spend a first round pick on him. So I could see them thinking he could be a glove first answer at SS (even if I disagree with this analysis). I doubt this would be service time manipulation to get an extra year of control (he'll already be past 30 before becoming a FA) and more likely to have to do with arbitration. If they could avoid him becoming a Super 2 player then he wouldn't be arb eligible until 2027. So extending the amount of time Shewmake is cheap is something I could see happening.

With Grissom, he'd have to be down for about 2 months to extend control over him another year. That extra year could be important with Grissom. I could easily see the Braves reasoning that giving him 2 months in the minors to work on defense is a good use of time if it means an additional year of control.
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And that will play a part in the ultimate decision on Shewmake. If a team has invested heavy bucks in a guy, he gets every chance to fail before he's let go. It doesn't mean he won't ever be traded (ala Langeliers), but teams like to see if there will be a return-on-investment.
 
Hulavol said:
So…….. no Braves today…..

So ‘ol Hula not thinking too clearly flips on the cardinals v nats game……
And boy…. There’s ‘ol Chip…. And I realized I didn’t miss him at all.
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I still think of Skip quite often during the season. I miss him. Something tells me I won't have quite the same nostalgia creeping in with Chip ("aaaaand there's a drive!!).
 
zbhargrove said:
No... DOB and Bowman actually suck at their jobs... it has been documented endlessly
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Thing is - if gammons report is accurate and Grissom is just getting a time out because of a hernia scare - and that explains pretty much everything - like why shew played for a week - (and griss did play yesterday and probably didn’t want to tell them it hurt…. it makes the most sense to get him out of camp and not start the season with him on DL … day to day in Gwinnett is much better…).

If that’s the case … then dang our reporters need better sources and ask better questions.
I cannot fathom why we wouldn’t just come out and say this ….
 
Hulavol said:
Thing is - if gammons report is accurate and Grissom is just getting a time out because of a hernia scare - and that explains pretty much everything - like why shew played for a week - (and griss did play yesterday and probably didn’t want to tell them it hurt…. it makes the most sense to get him out of camp and not start the season with him on DL … day to day in Gwinnett is much better…).

If that’s the case … then dang our reporters need better sources and ask better questions.
I cannot fathom why we wouldn’t just come out and say this ….
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Regardless of whether the Gammons report is accurate... DOB and Bowman have consistently sucked for years
 
This could be as simple as AA loves his depth. This is his way to keep everyone. He thinks once the rosters are set then he’s more likely to keep adrianza and his ilk.
 
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