Just because you might suck in 2016 doesn't mean you have to dump everyone this offseason.. There is nothing wrong with holding on to Freeman/Julio/Ender to see how the first half of 2016 plays out. sure you risk losing value in these assets..but sometimes you have to hold on them to see if other pieces fill in. sure our need might be, lets say, 3B.. So we trade for a stud young 3 baseman that would be ready in 17.. well Adonis has a break out season and two pitching prospect go down with TJS..and 2 more regress.. Now you find yourself with 2 position players that are not needed and Pitching depth issues.
Very basic example but the jist is, it may be worth holding on to some of our remaining assets, not because we think we can win.. but to see what we have in those assets and see where our needs are going to develop over time.. Having a defensive center fielder who can hit to some degree is a nice asset.. maybe we want to hold this for a few years to see how the rest of the pieces develop around him. Julio is young and primed for a rebound.. maybe holding him is better because you can try to build his value and have a inexpensive safety net incase some of the pitching blows up..FF is getting expensive and injury is a big concern.. but his contract is no longer crippling because you shed so much other money.. Holding him to see if he continues to grow and there is no better option for the foreseeable future.
Agree to a point. But I think you make everyone available for the right deal. And you, as GM, don't need to just sit back and wait on the right deal. You see if you can market to the right deal.
Some guys like Teheran MIGHT actually gain value (or they might get hurt or lose performance and lose value). Same goes for Freeman. But, part of their value is tied up in affordable control and the longer you hold them the less valuable that aspect becomes.
Some guys like Aybar and Markakis are what they are and will likely only get worse because of their age, with the possible exception that Markakis may regain some marginal power (which has never been his game). They are likely as valuable as they will ever be as far as performance. Now, Markakis might bring more in return at the deadline from a contender who has an emergency.
Inciarte is coming in from a pretty good hitters park where he was surrounded by good outfielders (he won't be in Atlanta) and good hitters (he won't be in Atlanta). It's very possible his value will decline even if he personally doesn't simply because he is going to a bad team.
The whole "won't move him unless blown away" is just GM speak to make the fans think that the return is awesome no matter what the return really is and to signal to any suitor teams to not come looking for a bargain. That's fine. But don't overplay your hand either.
As an example of what I am talking about Coppy should be
calling target teams about Freeman and proposing deals along the following lines:
Freeman to Houston for 1B Reed, OF Tucker and 3B Davis
Freeman to Cleveland for OF Frazier, OF Naquin, 1B Bradley
Freeman to Pittsburg for OF Meadows, 1B Bell, OF Garcia
All those teams need a guy like Freeman and all could do the above trades without destroying their short or long term outlooks. Would they do it? Maybe not. But three teams is three times the opportunity to get something done.
You could also look to move "packages" such as Inciarte and Teheran where together they bring back more than you could get by moving each separately.
Even if you couldn't get Soler and Baez for Inciarte and Teheran (and I think you could), the Cubs still have a lot to offer. Maybe something like: Inciarte and Teheran for OF Almora, OF Happ, C Contreras, OF Jimenez, 3B Candelario
The thing is you don't HAVE to move any. But to just close up shop for the year and say we've done enough without knowing what might be available is a mistake for a team in the position that the Braves are currently in.
