The Braves acquired Scott Linebrink and $3.5MM from the White Sox for minor league pitcher Kyle Cofield. Linebrink, 34, posted a 4.40 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 57 1/3 innings for the White Sox in 2010. He's entering the final year of the four-year, $19MM deal he signed before the 2008 season and will earn $5.5MM in 2011.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports broke the story (Twitter links) and MLB.com's Mark Bowman reported the amount of cash changing hands (on Twitter).
The Braves selected Cofield in the eighth round of the 2005 draft. The 23-year-old right-hander spent most of the 2010 season at Double-A, where he posted a 4.39 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings. Baseball America ranked Cofield 24th among Braves prospects before the season, noting that he has a low 90s fastball and a plus curveball that he struggles to command.
knoxfire30
If the braves are picking up 1 dollar of this contract kenny williams needs to be named general manager of the year right now!!!!!!!!!!
Erica Johnson
Roger McDowell will fix him….AND he’ll be back to pitching in the NL.
Terrance
Yeah clearly Don Cooper is a slouch. Seriously hoo ray beer!
Erica Johnson
I’m JUST saying. The ONLY bad thing about this deal is that the Braves have to pay 4 million.
roberty
The Braves will only be paying $2 million for Linebrink in 2011, as the White Sox are chipping in $3.5 million of the $5.5 million owed to him. Good deal for the Braves.
Erica Johnson
Even better!! I’ll take a veteran reliever at that price who, as it stands now,doesn’t have a set role. We’ve got Moylan, Venters and Kimbrel in place for the back end of the rotation.
Guest
The guy who signed him to the contract in the first place?
Brad
So this is Kimbrel’s “back-up”, eh?
Moebarguy
Granted, Cofield hasn’t exactly been lights out, neither has Linebrink (not consistently since his Padres days).
shysox
YES!!!!! YES!!!!!
Braves -5 wins now
Heck, i’ll drive Linebrink over to Atlanta for you guys, I swear.
Yucavich
Okay, we’ll take him. His NL numbers are pretty good.
Matt Manzella
Look for Linebrink to have a bounce back year in 2011. He’s always thrived in the NL, he just didn’t seem to find his niche with the Sox.
klassic
His nitch with the sox was mop up duty, and he su.cked at that.
Matt Manzella
Yeah, he did.
roberty
He was very good his first year in Chicago,
3.69 ERA 1.079 WHIP 1.7 BB/9 7.8 SO/9 4.44 SO/BB in 50 appearances.
RiverKKiller999
He sure as hell can’t be any worse than Blaine Boyer…..
shysox
In other news, I heard that Scott Linebrink still plays.
whitesoxfan424
Is this us getting something for Linebrink, or is this Cofield guy have any promise? His minor league stats are not too flattering.
whitesoxfan424
He’ll be 24 in January. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind adding an arm to the farm.
$1529282
You get his contract (or even part of it) off the books. Be happy about that.
whitesoxfan424
Well that part is obviously the main part, but I want to know if this guy can make it to the major leagues and if so, what does he project as? I’m thinking backend of rotation, spot starter?
Terrance
Honestly dude. I could care less. I’ll help a few of the fellas above with a drive to the airport.
Jake Humphrey
He’s filler, with an outside chance of being a middle reliever. Cofield is nothing special.
whitesoxfan424
Gotchya, save some cash and get what ya can get.
erm016
enjoy. middle tier, nothing great.
Brandon Woodworth
Not what I was expecting…. but we’ll see. On the other hand, who the fu*k gave this guy a 4 year deal?!
whitesoxfan424
Kenny is full of very good and very bad moves, and few in between. THis was a very bad one.
Matt Manzella
I didn’t hate it when he signed, there was no telling he’d be as bad as he ended up being, projected as a future closer. A complete fluke.
Brandon Woodworth
Should have just been Linebrink for Kawakami with the Braves sending money to equal out the deal.
erm016
So is $56mil for Adam Dunn.
knoxfire30
I dont care if Cofield ever throws a pitch in the major leagues, if the braves are picking up any of linebrinks 5.5 million the whitesox just made out like freaking bandits. I would personally hire a moving service for linebrink to take him, his family, and all his stuff to atlanta, HAHAH YES!!!!!!!!! You can put that on the board, strech, mercy, bow your neck!!!!!!!!
Mel
Braves made out well the last time they traded for a White Sox pitcher….
Linebrick is nothing special, and the Sox are throwing in at least $1.5 million, so it’s not a bad deal. The Braves can afford it, his NL numbers are excellent, and they needed a right-handed veteran presence in the pen. Hopefully it works out for both clubs…
ImDaBaron
classic case of addition by subtraction. I dont care what Cofield does the thing is were off the hook for all that money.
Yucavich
This could be Javy Vazquez 2.0
Good job Frank Wren.
Steve Espinosa
i think you forgot the “jk” at the end.
Yucavich
No. Not at all.
Mark S
In what way? I can see this being a good deal if the White Sox pick up most of the tab and he’s not used in High Leverage situations, but going from White Sox -> Braves is the only connection I see here.
Yucavich
Umm, in that they each rocked out like stars in the NL and both sucked in the AL? Do some homework.
Jake Humphrey
Both were better in the NL and flyball pitchers moving into a pitcher’s park in Turner Field.
firealyellon
i wish i could tatoo this to your forehead.
dunt
Dear Kenny,
This is your best offseason ever!
Sincerely,
Dunt
shysox
Oh, wait, there is one negative about this deal. Jake Peavy and Scott Linebrink’s bromance comes to an end. Guess Peavy has no friends now.
shysox
The best moves of the offseason
1. Scott Linebrink traded for this person
2. Bobby Jenks non-tendered
Adam Dunn gets an honorable mention.
Steveospeak
I’m thinking with the money saved on Linebrink and Jenks a reliever signing (or three) could be on the way. Good move(s) by the White Sox. Though I think the Jenks move wasn’t either a win or a loss. Sure he was overpriced, but he was still good and many are projecting him to return to form so to speak….Wasn’t worth $9 million, but they will miss him is my take.
BravesRed
Um, why Wren? Could have kept Farnsworth, and Cofield, and possibly paid less than $5.5 million.
shysox
Frank Wren likes overpaid bums. Cofield isn’t even that good, and Farnsworth is a potential clubhouse cancer.
Mel
Overpaid bums? Referring to Wagner and Saito, perhaps? You do know they had historic seasons last year? What ‘overpaid bum’ are you referring to exactly?
You’re being WAY too optimistic about this deal. Cofield is nothing, and sure the Sox saved some cash, but it’s not really much of a difference maker mate.
shysox
I was referring to Farnsworth, sorry, wasn’t clear.
Yucavich
Not all of the details are out yet, they could be eating some of the contract. And Linebrink has much better career numbers than farnsworth.
whitesoxfan424
I’m hoping we sent no more than $2 mil
-C
Probably wishful thinking…I’m guessing more than half of that salary, at the least.
-C
-C
…and yuck.
Dollar amount was not at all what I was hoping for.
-C
Jake Humphrey
It’s ok. Ends up that we got more than $2.5MM, per the AJC.
-C
Now it’s $3.5MM, which is definitely more palatable.
$2MM for Linebrink is okay by me. Fills a need, not too expensive.
-C
shysox
This is my 3rd consecutive post, but the subtraction of Linestink and Fatty Jenks equals more wins than acquiring Adam Dunn!! I am more happier then I was when we signed Dunn! I have prayed for this day for so long.
rockfordone
Frank Wren must have been in a bar when he approved of that deal.
Yucavich
Yeah I remember a swarm of these same comments coming from ChiSox fans when they dumped Javy on us. How did that work out?
shysox
It gave you Melky Cabrera, Boone Logan, and Mike Dunn. Meh. I’ll believe how good Arodys Vizcaino when I see him in the major leagues. Not your typical return for a cy-young type of season. Thanks for Tyler Flowers, Brent Lillibridge, and Jon Gilmore. Gilmore still has promise, and so does Flowers.
Yucavich
I went to high school with flowers. Now that he’s off the stuff, he’s showing his true *talent*
We got a Cy young caliber season out of Javy and got a great prospect in Vizcaino. And you are forgetting that Dunn was one of the 2 pieces used in getting Uggla. I think we made out alright.
shysox
He supposedly took them in 2006. He never was caught for them again, anyways, players have their off-years, however, I’m still inclined to believe that Flowers will be traded for a middle reliever.
Steveospeak
I agree with Flowers being traded, the Sox don’t seem to value him but i’m sure other teams will.
Francisco Alvarez
Everyone knows that Javy Vazquez is a garbage pitcher when it comes to big games. He’ll put up stats with a losing team (ex. Atlanta). TRUST ME, sox fans NEVER missed him one bit. We all knew that once he went to the yanks he would suck and Im sure hell be a beast with the Marlins now. He’s a head case and we saved a ton of cash in that deal as well which allowed KW to add some payroll (Peavy and Rios).
-C
The Braves finished 10 games above .500 with Javy, chief. The White Sox finished with a losing record. From the previous season, the Braves improved by 14 games and the Sox declined by 10 games.
If some Sox fans didn’t miss Javy one bit, they’re probably some of the dumbest Sox fans in the bunch. Vazquez certainly wasn’t the only reason for the reversal of fortunes, but to say he didn’t factor in it is pretty short-sighted.
-C
roberty
The Braves have had two losing seasons since 1990. The White Sox have had six. How could you consider them to be a losing team? Not so Ironically, the White Sox had a losing season in 2009 after trading Javy to the Braves. Maybe you should have kept him, he might have been great for your losing team.
Francisco Alvarez
Im not saying the White Sox did well that season but the 2008 Playoff season was almost not possible because of Javy’s inability to pitch big games. In 2009, atlanta was over .500 but were not close to being a playoff team thus no big game pressure for Javy Vazquez.
-C
Dunn was a big toss-in piece for Uggla, so thanks for that.
Can’t really say how good or bad the return is until Vizcaino turns out (as well as Flowers and Gilmore), so you’re way premature there. Either way, the Braves still got one outstanding season from Vazquez, which was also worth quite a bit. Today, that trade is still strongly in our favor.
I do not see this trade as anything akin to the Vazquez trade, however. That’s optimistic thinking at its worst.
-C
shysox
Let me ask you this.
Did the Braves make the playoffs?
Yucavich
We certainly wouldn’t have even been in contention had we not had Vazquez.
8 out of 30 teams make the playoffs. It’s tough.
-C
They did with Melky and Dunn!!
But seriously, your oversimplification skills are strong and your ability to look at the big picture is lacking, at least in this particular instance.
-C
Brandon Woodworth
None of those players you got will ever help Chicago get into the playoffs. I don’t think Adam Dunn can do that either. Washington never made, and they have better pitching than Chi Sox.
shysox
Wait, did you just say that Washington was better pitching then the White Sox, to be completely fair and unbiased, but Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd beats Jordan Zimmerman,Livan Hernandez, Jason Marquis, John Lannan, and possibly Brandon Webb, any day of the week.
Brandon Woodworth
The may have better reputations than Washington, but lets look at the facts. Jason Marquis and Edwin Jackson have similar stats. Jake Peavey has done nothing extraordinary for 2 years now. Chi Sox have better track records, Washington has the better upsides.
nsam93
Dude come on, Jason Marquis is not a as good of a pitcher as Edwin and it is not close. I find it very funny you think a rotation with Livan Hernandez, Jason Marquis and John Lannan in it has more upside than the white sox rotation.
shysox
Edwin Jackson – 4-2 3.24 ERA 1.21 WHIP
John Danks – 15-11 3.72 ERA 1.22 WHIP
Gavin Floyd – 10-13 4.08 ERA 1.37 WHIP
Mark Buehrle – 13-13 4.28 ERA 1.40 WHIP
Jake Peavy – 7-6 4.63 ERA 1.23 WHIP
Not trying to make excuses, but all these guys’ records would be better if the White Sox offence didn’t suck, also, Floyd was lights out for about 12 starts straight, and was plagued by inconsistency and occasional very bad starts.
John Lannan – 8-8 4.65 ERA 1.56 WHIP
Jason Marquis – 2-9 6.60 ERA 1.70 WHIP
Jordan Zimmerman – 1-4 4.94 ERA 1.32 WHIP
Livan Hernandez – 10-12 3.63 ERA 1.32 WHIP
Luis Atilano – 6-7 5.15 ERA 1.49 WHIP
Let’s be realistic here, Jackson and Marquis did not have similar stats. White Sox have the better rotations. No questions asked.
Brandon Woodworth
Records mean nothing. I like how you only showed Jacksons stats for the 1/4th of the season he spent with Chi. What you’re showing me here is that both teams have almost equally sucky pitching. I do not understand your analysis. Look at Jackson and Marquis’ lifetime statistics. 4.50is ERA’s, Marquis doesn’t strike out as many, but doesn’t walk as many. How is that NOT similar? What amkes Jackson so much better? Nothing. Nothing besides the fact that he wasn’t hurt last year.
Brandon Woodworth
“Floyd was lights out for about 12 starts straight, and was plagued by inconsistency and occasional very bad starts.” The word you’re looking for is that he sucked after those 12 starts. I could use that same excuse on Tommy Hanson and make him look like a Cy Young winner, seeing as how he had a low 3 era while being “plauged” by inconsistency and the occasional bad start – including one vs the Chi Sox..
dunt
That’s rich!
Brandon Woodworth
Flowers was completely expendable to us, so you gain no leverage there. And we traded Logan too. Vizcaino will at least be a good trade chip in the future. If Gilmore develops into what his minors numbers say, you can have him. A light hitting, no speed strictly 3B who can’t get on base was worth 1 year of Javy. Braves won both Vazquez trades, no matter how much Melky sucked…
roberty
And the Braves traded Mike Dunn and their backup infielder for Dan Uggla. Worked out great for the Braves. Thanks Kenny!
the_show
Vazquez blows we were right
Jake Humphrey
He posted a sub-3 ERA with the Braves.
the_show
and yet you let him go? He always starts of strong and then starts to suck
Jake Humphrey
Baseball is still a business, and trading Vazquez was a smart business move. Turned out that it worked ok for us, since he lost his velocity and control with the Yankees. And those two things had nothing to do with him going to the AL.
Brandon Woodworth
He pitched a great year, how is that “starting off strong.” He got 4th in the Cy voting. I call that finishing the deal.
roberty
He was actually better down the stretch for the Braves. In the second half of 2009 Vasquez pitched to a 2.79 ERA with a 0.997 WHIP and 9.1 K/9. The Braves had to make a judgement call before 2010. They could keep Vasquez, or let Tim Hudson walk. They didn’t have the budget to keep both pitchers. I think they made the right move.
Christopher
6 starters when Hudson came back … one had to go. No one wanted Kawakami, or Lowe, so only other option was Vazquez. Chipper wanted to resign him for this upcoming season, so did lots of other Braves.
We didn’t let him go b/c he was a fluke … as you insinuate.
coco1997
Now Kenny Williams undertakes the daunting task of re-building the Sox’ bullpen. With Jenks and Linestink out of the picture, the only reliable arms are Thornton and Santos.
Jake Humphrey
The move back to the NL and out of US Cellular may do him some good. Turner Field is a pitcher’s park. I imagine the Sox are picking up some of Linebrink’s salary and Cofield is nothing special. Kind of a “meh” move to me with the possibility of some upside.
Tommy
This totally negates the genius behind the Uggla deal….
Jake Humphrey
Umm, no it doesn’t. Linebrink was much better in the NL and in pitcher’s parks.
the_show
Lineberink is done….don’t be mislead by his NL numbers…he is a one pitch pitcher
whitesoxfan424
Linebrink has turned in to Ryan Bukvich… yeah, Sox Fans, you remember him? Straightest fastball in the world, and that’s all he threw.
Steveospeak
I think it all depends on what Chicago is picking up. If it is say half of his salary+ good deal for the braves but if it is less than that then I think the Braves made a risky move. I think Linebrink will be better next year in the N.L. but he is basically a 7th inning guy at best, and about a league average one at that.
Kris Noble
Boo
whitesoxfan424
Maybe Cooper or the minor league pitching coaches can do something about the curveball control.
Alan J
Now that the joy has been expressed, the Sox now have at least 3 spots in the pen to fill. If KW managed to get out from under Linebrinks contract without paying most of it, he has a little cash to spend. He must address the pen asap before any decent arms are picked up.
Kenny…your work is just beginning
MLB_in_the_Know
I will hold judgment until the money involved comes out.
MLB_in_the_Know
Braves receive $1.5 million…Linebrink will cost the Braves $4 million.
Judgment – Terrible waste of $4 million from the Braves.
Matt Manzella
Link?
bravesman218
Look back at the article. Its been updated. The Sox are sending us $3.5 mil…we only owe $2 million. Best deal we were going to find for our veteran presence need.
Jake Humphrey
Ah, we are getting cash in the deal. Wonder how much?
Dave Marszalek
Thank god he is gone! He was terrible
Kei_Igawa
This deal should be judged on how much money the Braves are receiving. If they are getting $4 million, for example, this is low-risk moderately high reward move. Linebrinks peripherals were pretty strong and a move back to the NL could help him a lot. Its not hard to envision him being a quality 7th inning guy in Atlanta. Plus the prospect they gave up for him is clearly nothing special, so the only loss for the Braves is in the cash.
BravesRed
My guess for the cash is gonna be about $3.5. And, I put guess, not actual amount.
roberty
You were exactly right!!! Maybe you are psychic.
Yucavich
What else can you predict??? Good job!
MichaelC
There’s no way in hell the Braves are paying all, or even most of this contract. By all accounts after the Hinske signing there’s 3.5-4 million under budget. With a utility player left to be signed. This is just a veteran guy who’s going to be given a chance to compete with Proctor for that last available bullpen spot.
MLB_in_the_Know
Hopefully, the Braves are sending Kawakami to Chicago as part of this trade.
Antonio Nicarelli
Linebrink’s 3:1 K/BB ratio is a good stat. The problem was when anybody made contact, the ball went very far very quickly. As a Sox fan I am glad for whatever salary relief we got. I don’t care if the guy from the ATL is only a water boy.
knoxfire30
braves fans, your missing all of our sox fans points
linebrink could win the cy young for you guys next year we dont care, in the AL, in our park he is absolutely god awful, for the sox to trade him and get anything back in the form of money saved or an actual player with any upside, its a huge achievement
the sox have won this deal already from their side, the braves can match it if linebrink puts in a nice season in 2011
Yucavich
Well maybe you should stop acquiring pitchers that suck in your park.
whitesoxfan424
Touche Salesman.
Yucavich
He was awful at Cellular you’re right about that. Just checked his splits over the last couple years.
Yucavich
And no, we’re not all missing your points. I get that it helps you that he’s gone from your team. I was mainly speaking about the posters who are treating Linebrink like an old sweaty jock strap.
I think it’s a win/win for both sides.
Alan J
As much as I hated seeing Linebrink come trotting in from the bullpen, you are absolutely right. If the Sox managed to save a couple of million thats a win from their perspective. Linebrink may flourish for the Braves and in the NL, and having that possibility at a price that may be very affordable is a win for the Braves.
JonATLBraves
Every Sox fan is forgetting about Fair Value / FMV. It’s what a willing buyer wants to pay based on their evaluation of an asset. The Braves value Linebrink highly in a pitcher’s park, at $2M plus a mid-level prospect who is a AAA/AAAA guy. For example the Padres probably would have done the same, since the end-result is placing a pitcher into the NL, pitcher-friendly park. If Kyle Farnsworth gets paid more from the Royals with similar stats, then this is considered receiving great value by the Braves to fill a HUGE need. If he has a stand-out year and becomes a Type A or even just a Type B, the reliever FA deals this Winter show the Braves could recoup some draft picks, by offering arbitration… There’s potential, future value at the end of the day!
nugg1785
IN KENNY I TRUST!!!
GO SOX GO!!!@
MichaelC
Hey, I’d be willing to send Kawakami for a week old sushi roll
Kris Noble
1.5M for the Braves via Bowman
BravesRed
$1.5 million will be sent.
Kris Noble
This is one of Wren’s moves that makes people go “HUH?” then we’ll get production out of the player (see: EOF)
He must know something. . .
Still $4M is a pretty price. . .
klassic
Sox save 4 million on a pitcher no one wanted to see in a game ever. I mean ever. Even if we had a 7 run lead you hated to see this guy come in and pitch. That 4 million saved just paid for AJ for this year.
Mel
Haha, yay! AJ, who’s in decline and coming off a terrible season. Thank god….
klassic
Yeah AJ who is a leader in the clubhouse and handles the pitching staff very well. Not like the options on the free agent market were significantly better than AJ. And the Sox have no catchers ready to step in at ML level. That includes Flowers.
jwsox
but had a stellar second half of last season, knows our pitching staff like the back of his hand and a solid left handed bat, he had a slow start thats all…calm down bro…besides he might see more time split with the power machine castro this season
knoxfire30
Wow 4 million off the books and linebrink gone!!!!!!!!! Well done Kenny!!!!!!!!!! This makes me believe maybe we can move Mark Teahen now for a bag of balls and some salary relief!
jwsox
that would make this the single best whitesox off season ever even if we dont resign konerko
Matrix9381
nope. Sox sending Linebrink AND 3.5 million to the Braves. Braves are spending 2 million on him. Sox paying the rest
whitesoxfan424
Sox officially won this trade, regardless of what Linebrink does in Atlanta. To be able to free up $4mil by trading away a guy who just couldn’t consistently get the job done at our park is a huge win.
Mel
People are concerned too much about ‘who won trades.’ The White Sox needed cash, the Braves needed a veteran right-handed presence in the pen. Both teams received those things….
Again, hopefully it works out for both clubs. The Braves will move Kawakami for salary relief, so they’ll still have some flexibility to make a trade or another low-cost signing(4th outfielder, perhaps).
whitesoxfan424
I would agree to that completely.
The sox obviously got what they wanted with this trade if the $1.5 mil cash going to atlanta is true. And as you said the Braves got exactly what they needed, another right-handed presence. Linebrink does show great stuff sometimes, he just became way too unreliable/inconcsistent. Hopefully you’ll have more of the former.
Matrix9381
guys, maybe I’m reading this wrong but the statement says the Braves are getting Linebrink AND 3.5 million. does anyone else see that? or am I missreading again? Which means the Braves are actually paying Linebrink what about 2 mil? correct? Sounds to me in a way the Braves did OK in this trade. REMINDER: I said OK.. Now we need to get rid of KK and free up about 3 million more if the team will take some of his contract.
NL_East_Rivalry
Your post was 8 hours after theres. At that time it was believed to be 1.5 mil and not the actual 3.5 mil.
Matrix9381
OH, OK. sorry
Matrix9381
OH, OK. sorry
Matrix9381
OH, OK. sorry
Matrix9381
they didnt free up 4 million. They freed up .5 million. They are sending Linebrink and 3.5 million to the Braves! Woohoo.. Score for the Bravos!
whitesoxfan424
Also, I agree that Turner Field is a pitcher’s park, but most of Linebrink’s homeruns weren’t cheapies… they were crushed.
Kris Noble
9 Plenty’s
2 Just Enough
0 No Doubters
…in 2010
whitesoxfan424
I don’t know if you’re making fun of me or not, but well played.
-C
Guessing that’s the data on the HRs Linebrink gave up…
In other words, two were unlikely to go out at Turner, nine are certain HRs, and no ball was absolutely crushed.
OT: The amount of data you can find about any aspect of baseball continues to boggle my mind…there’s so much out there, if you know where to look and if you’re willing to pay for it.
-C
MLB_in_the_Know
Hey Ben,
You can take out the sentence “It’s not clear how much cash the White Sox are sending the Braves.” now, since you added that they will send $1.5 million.
Mel
Don’t get a head of yourself now…
Joey Doughnuts
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!
Sincerely,
White Sox Nation
Mel
The way I look at it, the Braves probably overpaid by $1 or $1.5 million. Surely an NL club would’ve signed him to a one-year, $3 million deal if he were on the open market. So it’s really not that big of a deal, Wren seems to think the Braves can afford it.
Got a durable set-up man. The pen is very young, so they needed a veteran in there. Slightly overpaying one isn’t going to break them.
nugg1785
1.5 sent with Linebrink, for a minor league flier, 4 mil off the books and his 93 mph fastball along with his awful splitter that just sits there to be CRUSHED!!! As my main man hawk would say……HE GONE!!!!!
N
Please never again speak of your horrid, horrid announcers. They are universally recognized as the most annoying idiots to ever sit in the booth, Hawk especially.
lolpods
steve stone is universally respected. and there’s a difference to being stupid and being over-opinionated.
Matrix9381
hate to burst your bubble there but the sox are sending Linebrink AND 3.5 million. not 1.5 million
Greg Smith
Braves fans, have some trust in our scouts. They continue to bring in talent in creative ways. They surely saw something in Linebrink that they liked. 4 mil for a veteran reliever isn’t so bad. Let the deal play out. I see both sides of the argument.
WhenMattStairsIsKing
It’s not clear how much cash the White Sox is sending to the Braves? Am I blind, or is that $1.5 million you mentioned the answer to your own question, Ben?
NYBravosFan10
Frank Wren has…
Made away like a bandit in trading for Dan Uggla…
Resigned Eric Hinske…
Claimed a decent versatile bench bat..
Tried his best to keep Billy Wagner from retiring…
Traded away Urinal Escobar and Joke-Joke Reyes…
Traded nothing for Derrick Lee…
all in the past 7 months!!!!! He’s gotta have a burp somewhere doesn’t he? And this isn’t even all that bad, Linebrink has been good in NL pitchers parks and the NL is chock full of them. Cofield has some promise yes but I like this deal, especially since KennyWil is sending us 1.5 mil along with it.
Mel
As a Braves fan, I agree with a lot of that. However….
‘traded away Urinal Escobar and Joke-Joke Reyes…’
Escobar has a ton of promise, and is better defensively and offensively(despite a poor year) than Alex Gonzalez. I fully expect Escobar to be an annual GG and All-Star candidate in the AL. Not a fan of that trade, but I do trust the front-office enough and am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on exactly how much of a cancer Escobar was.
And they actually gave up a promising arm for Lee. He likely projects to be a back-end starter, but I loved the deal. No way the Braves make the playoffs without Lee’s bat in that final month and a half.
Kris Noble
Kudos on “Joke-Joke Reyes”
Matrix9381
Actually the sox are sending us 3.5 million along with Linebrink.. so we are actually paying Linebrink 2 million.
Yucavich
Dude….enough. I’ve seen you post this like 5 other times. We all found out about 12 hours ago.
Matrix9381
Dude… I wasnt even responding to you. I’m just making sure EVERYONE knows. Just look over my post. Cause I’m going to do it EVERYTIME.
Matrix9381
Dude… I wasnt even responding to you. I’m just making sure EVERYONE knows. Just look over my post. Cause I’m going to do it EVERYTIME.
O971
Hard to believe Wren couldn’t get them to eat more of that salary. I wonder why we couldn’t have thrown 4 Mil at one of the other relievers out there. Hopefully it’ll work out and Linebrink can regain some of that NL magic, but I’m not exactly hopeful. At the moment it looks like a win for the Sox.
Edit: 3.5 Million makes this look better.
Joey
Sox are sending $1.5M of the $5.5M owed to Linebrink.
Matrix9381
Sox are sending Linebrink AND 3.5 Million to the Braves. So we pay 2 million to Li,nebrink. Score for the Bravos!
jwsox
this has to rank in the top 5 off seasons, at least, of all time for the whitesox…the got adam dunn, aj back at a discount, possibly resigned konerko, and got rid of linebrink…..thank god!! kenny is a god among men….now just reign putz, sign another lefty reliever, either sign carrasco or call up a guy to be long relief, and either lock konerko up or trade floyd+vicedio+ prospects for adrian….possibly sign carlos pena if needed
Hoosierdaddy92
Big win for the Sox, this pays AJs new contract with the team. With the old contracts of Konerko 12MM, AJ’s 6.5MM, Jenks 7.5MM off the books, they can still afford to bring back Konerko even if after signing Dunn. THAT is a scary lineup.
Pierre
Rios
Konerko
Dunn
Ramirez
Quentin
Beckham
Morel
AJ
klassic
KW just said in the press conference that Dunn and AJ are taking less money now to help the sox resign Konerko.
-C
Yeah, I’m sure that Adam Dunn is incredibly interested in giving up salary to keep the better-fielding guy who plays his position (and Dunn wants to play defense rather than DH) on the team.
-C
yahoo-3BFYCQ5QMRFQIX3HIVOXYAHOZY
Really don’t see an issue with this. $4MM/year for the potential that Linebrink has shown in the past seems like a moderate risk at worst. I didn’t like it a lot last year when we signed Saito to his 1 year 3.2MM (5.5MM total worth including incentives). Saito couldn’t pitch multiple days in a row without being a disaster. Linebrink brings another veteran presence (in a bullpen that’s likely to include Kimbrel, Beachy, Venters, etc). This is a young pen & it would be foolish to not have anyone with true major league experience outside of Moylan and EOF. I’ll pay $4MM for that any day, assuming Linebrink can revert to half of his San Diego form.
myname_989
The Braves are going to pay $4MM for Linebrink? Why? He’s 34 now and hasn’t had a good season since 2006. At the very least, I think the Braves could have done better than only getting $1.5MM for him. His numbers may come down a bit, but he’ll never have another season like he did with the Padres.
Mel
No, they’re going to pay closer to $2 million……which is less than he’d get on the open market. So, it looks like a bargain…..as crazy as that seems.
B
Who do you think the Sox will sign or trade for the bullpen?
I think KW re-signs Putz with the 4M, and then goes after Will Ohman for lefty support. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Jesse Crain in a Sox uniform if Putz is not available. He’s Type B I believe. I am also under the assumption that Konerko is as good as back, can’t picture him on any other team.
Jake Humphrey
Braves are actually getting more than $2.5MM in the deal. twitter.com/#!/ajcbraves/status/10808463978401792
Jake Humphrey
Per Dave O’Brien’s Twitter, the Braves are actually acquiring more than $2.5MM in the deal.
Jake Humphrey
And a Chicago-area writer is saying $3.5MM
Mel
Haha, yep. They sent at least $2.5 million, probably closer to $3 million. I wonder if the Sox fans out there jumping for joy because they thought they freed up $4 million will stop once they find out they saved only 2.5 million? If so, you’re all morons because $1.5 million isn’t going to make much of a difference regardless.
lolpods
yeah, except it does. linebrink was horrible and thought untradeable. until now anyway.
coolstorybro222
oh jeez, dan kolb and bob wickman got together and made a kid?
Mel
Linebrick definitely won’t be closing next year unless both Kimbrel and Venters either completely suck or go down with injuries. And even then the spot may go to O’Flaherty….
coolstorybro222
or we could trade for one?
N
$2 mil for a veteran right hander who will once again thrive in the NL, and more importantly, under the direction of the Braves? SCORE! Sorry Sox fans, this isn’t as sweet a deal as you thought, and KW is no messiah. The best move he could have made was the rumored Ozzie Guillen to FL swap. Oh and throw in the announcers while you’re at it, Kenny. That’s the only way the Sox would ever win a trade!
Edit: Where all the Sox homers now? Talking trash about how the Sox made out like bandits? Chirp…chirp…
bravos2010
If sox fans really want to see a bad pitcher, they can have Kawakami.
Mel
Ok, now I’m hearing the Braves got $3.5 million….
N
$3.5 million goin from the Sox to the Braves? Yet another Kenny Williams FAIL, and Frank Wren WIN!!!!!
lolpods
cross your fingers.
bobrewer
David O’Brien of the AJC is reporting the Braves will receive $3.5M in the deal. This makes the deal a whole lot better looking from the Braves’ side. Way to go, Frank Wren.
MLB_in_the_Know
phew.
coolstorybro222
Nice, now we can go after a moderately priced right handed outfielder
MLB_in_the_Know
We only have two spots left on the 25 man roster. Utility INF and 4th OF.
My ideal answer to this – Brendan Ryan and Jose Tabata.
Ryan would come fairly cheaply.
Tabata would be more expensive, but with Pittsburgh’s need for pitching, I think we could build a trade around Beachy for him.
DK8
The Braves should sign Scott Harston as a 4th OF. He’s RH, has some pop and can play center (probably better than McLouth). Oh yeah, and prior to last yeah he has mashed LH pitching. So he’s Matt Diaz with better defense and can play all 3 OF spots competently, and pretty well in the corners–sounds like just what the Braves need.
Christopher
Just resigned Hinske and have Joe Mather claimed off waivers. Hinske will be our 4th outfielder and Mather is Utility (braves.com said he can play both corner OF and IF spots). I think positions are set, bullpen is looking to be sured up now.
MLB_in_the_Know
We only have two spots left on the 25 man roster. Utility INF and 4th OF.
My ideal answer to this – Brendan Ryan and Jose Tabata.
Ryan would come fairly cheaply.
Tabata would be more expensive, but with Pittsburgh’s need for pitching, I think we could build a trade around Beachy for him.
coolstorybro222
Nice, now we can go after a moderately priced right handed outfielder
BravesAndTigers
I’ve heard 1.5 and 3.5. If it’s 1.5, this is a bit of a risk for my Braves. If it’s 3.5, I’ll take a guy like Linebrink at 2 mil any day.
Either way, I’ll trust Wren on this one.
BravesAndTigers
I’ve heard 1.5 and 3.5. If it’s 1.5, this is a bit of a risk for my Braves. If it’s 3.5, I’ll take a guy like Linebrink at 2 mil any day.
Either way, I’ll trust Wren on this one.
JonATLBraves
Every Sox fan is forgetting about Fair Value / FMV. It’s what a willing buyer wants to pay based on their evaluation of an asset. The Braves value Linebrink highly in a pitcher’s park, at $2M plus a mid-level prospect who is a AAA/AAAA guy. For example the Padres probably would have done the same, since the end-result is placing a pitcher into the NL, pitcher-friendly park. If Kyle Farnsworth gets paid more from the Royals with similar stats, then this is considered receiving great value by the Braves to fill a HUGE need. If he has a stand-out year and becomes a Type A or even just a Type B, the reliever FA deals this Winter show the Braves could recoup some draft picks, by offering arbitration… There’s potential, future value at the end of the day!