As expected, the Braves declined their 2011 options for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth, according to the AP (on CBS Sports.com). Ankiel's buyout cost $500K (his 2011 salary would have been $6MM) and Farnsworth's buyout cost $250K (his 2011 salary would have been $5.25MM). Atlanta acquired both Ankiel and Farnsworth from the Royals at the trade deadline. The Braves won't obtain compensation picks for either player, since Farnsworth and Ankiel are unranked free agents.
Earlier today, the Braves picked up their 2011 options for Omar Infante and Alex Gonzalez and agreed to a one-year deal for 2011 with Scott Proctor.
MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently pointed out that Ankiel won't have an easy time finding a deal worth more than $1MM in 2010, especially if he wants regular playing time. Farnsworth isn't in line for a big free agent deal either, but he's coming off a season in which he posted a 3.34 ERA with 8.5 K/9 so he should draw some interest.
Farnsworth’s buyout is $500,000.00 not $250,000.00
It’s actually $250,000 according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts and Mark Bowman.
Either way, it’s a good decision to decline his option.
I remember the Nats and Marlins tried to get Rick Ankiel last off-season.
I think Ankiel would be a stellar fit in South Florida. A very young team, but an even younger OF. With Ankiel, he could platoon with Maybin and be the veteran presence in an OF where the oldest player is 23.
Remember, Ankiel is a Boras client. We all know Boras will not settle for around $1 million for Ankiel. Should they inquire about him? Yes. Will they get try to sign him? Probably not.
What a waste of Tim Collins. The Braves became considerably worse when they added Ankiel and Farnsworth. I have liked Wrens trades for the most part but this one reeks of desperation.
If Yunel Escobar doesn’t do anything in Toronto…It wont matter.
I think we both know he was talking about how Tim Collins was probably the best thing out of the Yunel trade, and we wasted it for rent a shmucks
You never expect a 3 ERA guy in the AL do so bad in the NL, but yeah, I completely agree. What a waste of Tim Collins.
Outside of one appearance, Farnsworth was very good with the Braves. Sometimes you have to do some digging with relievers and small sample sizes.
The whole point of that trade was to win the World Series which didn’t happen. How does Farnsworth pitching well during the regular season translate to the Braves not losing the deal? They pretty much gave away Tim Collins.
Win some and you lose some. That being said, this trade would have been a loss even if we did win the World Series because chances are we wouldn’t have won it because of Ankiel and Farnsworth.
There is nothing better than winning a World Series. That was the point of the trade it didn’t happen.
I didn’t say we didn’t give away Collins. I said that Farnsworth pitched well with the Braves, which he did, while NLER said Farnsworth did poorly in the NL. You missed my point entirely.
Still they traded a young potentially top 100 prospect for an older reliever that didn’t do that much for the Braves. At the time the Braves acquired Farnsworth they could have called up Kimbrel and kept Collins. Imagine having a bullpen where you can go Collins, Venters, Kimbrel sounds pretty nasty to me. In the end the Braves did what they usually do by trading young talent for veterans passed their prime. Honestly, how many Braves fans jumped up with excitement when Kyle Farnsworth came into the game?
Who did the Braves give away for those two? Blanco and a couple other scrubs who wouldn’t have done anything? The Braves lackluster September was a result of the injuries. If it wasn’t for Ankiel, the Braves get swept in the playoffs.
Yes, they gave away a couple of scrubs. However, they also gave up Tim Collins who has an outside shot of making BA’s top 100 prospect list.
It would have been awesome having Collins, Venters, and Kimbrel late in the game. Imagine having three guys in the back of the pen with a 10+ SO/9 ratio… This trade still puzzles me, at least Pastornicky looks good…
I like that they’re bringing Proctor back at a relatively low cost. He’s had a long, slow recovery from surgery, but he was throwing the ball fairly well at the end of the season.
He’s never been that good though. Waste of a roster spot, especially when a rookie could do his job for the league minimum.
We have enough rookies. Need 1 or 2 vets. Moylan at a little over 3 seasons was our pitcher in the pen with most experience. Venters, Kimbrel, Dunn, O’Flahrety, Moylan, Proctor, and hopefully we can get someone like J.J Putz to anchor the bullpen.
No way Putz signs for a few million that Braves would wanna give a reliever.
One or two vets? Moylan and O’Flaherty. We can have one of the better bullpens in baseball and pay five out of the seven guys $400K.
I hope that the Ankiel to the Pirates rumors don’t start up again. He’d be the unwanted sequel to Ryan Church.
Kyle Farnsworth
2011 35 Atlanta Braves *$5,250,000 $5.25M Team Option, $500k Buyout Option may be voided if player is traded by 2010 WS
Earliest Free Agent: 2011
Career to date (may be incomplete) $30,814,999 Does not include future salaries
I wouldn’t mind the Braves bringing back Ankiel as the 4th outfielder for 1 million. More than that is too much money for him.
I rather keep Hinske for $1.5 million over Ankiel any day.
We’re still going to need a quality 4th outfielder. Getting one does not prevent us from getting the other.
They could just stay in house and let Matt Young be the new 4th outfielder. He is a lot like Gregor Blanco, maybe even better. He gets on base, steals around 25+ bags, and plays above average defense. Hopefully they give the guy a chance…