The Braves have had a relatively quiet offseason so far, as MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker shows. Their biggest move of the winter was sending Derek Lowe to the Indians for salary relief, but they could still use shortstop depth and may bolster their outfield before Opening Day. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the latest rumors on the team:
- The Braves still have at least some interest in free agent outfielder Cody Ross, according to O’Brien. However, they’d want his asking price — currently in the two-year, $10MM range — to drop. The Rockies and Reds have also been linked to Ross this offseason.
- There’s a “decent chance” the Braves wait to obtain a shortstop/utility infielder and see who becomes available in Spring Training. As for rumors linking the Braves to free agent infielder Ryan Theriot, O’Brien suggests the team’s interest was “overstated” and points out that GM Frank Wren will likely look for a strong defensive shortstop.
- The Braves will likely start Tyler Pastornicky at short, partly because they’re eager to add his speed to the lineup.
- The Braves haven’t started extension talks with Michael Bourn. The Scott Boras client is set to hit free agency after the 2012 season.
- There are no indications that Liberty Media intends to sell the Braves soon.
in other words-nothing to see here
Holy crap I was beginning to think I’d never to see “Braves Notes” ever again.
It’s nothing to get excited about, but I agree.
the thing about the Braves having interest in Cody Ross is kinda new…
It’s hard to have notes on a team not making any significant strides. Though their unloading will make the 2012 team better.
Hope Cleveland got some cash with Lowe because if they are paying 15M they got hosed. They could probably sign Colon, and Harden for that much money at this point and get much better results.
They’re only paying 5mil.
Ok good. Otherwise……geeeez.
CLE got taken.
Damn you, Liberty Media.
Let them know how you truly feel by canceling Starz.
Seems to be a lot of hoopla over Pastornicky, He had a great year in Gwinnett but that was the first success he has had in the minors. Him beginning the year with the Braves seems a stretch, they could rush him but it seems a mistake to me.
Not looking like he’s going to be a superstar or anything, but we’re still talking about a guy with a near-90% contact rate throughout the minors. He’s got enough speed to be able to hit in the .270-.280 range with solid defense. Not much pop, but beats what the Braves have had there recently – and for the league minimum.
I think the plan is for him to keep the seat warm until they figure out if Simmons is the real deal, this year will be the test for him.
Then, depending on how Pastornicky’s bat plays, he might move to 2B in a couple of years while Uggla moves somewhere else (LF) , or he becomes a good backup.
If Pastornicky’s replacement level next year, I’m ok with that.
Man I wish Uggla can be moved (positions, not teams). That pug is a born corner OF.
I sincerely wish we could move him to LF but he was very vocal about his desire to remain @ 2B when he signed his extension.
Not so much hoopla for Pastornicky as much as getting away from Alex Gonzalez and his inability to get on base. Pastornicky has speed and a decent glove, so if he can get on base, you might see something similar to what ATL was doing last year with Constanza – who had speed at the lower part of the order and putting him in a position to steal next to Bourn at the top of the order.
What notes?
It’s basically reporting that there’s nothing to report…
Braves are slowly but surely falling in line as average team unless several players have career years in 2012.
please explain how? They had down years from Prado, Heyward, and Lowe and horrible halves from Uggla, any CF, Chipper, and McCann. They still won 89 games.
CF Bourn
LF Prado
C McCann
2B Uggla
3B Chipper
1B Freeman
RF Heyward
SS Pastornicky
Rotation: Hudson, Beachy, Hanson, Jurrjens, Minor
Pen: Kimbrel, Venters, O’Flaherty…
What would you have had them do? No real glaring holes other than SS I suppose, but would you really have wanted to commit big $’s to Rollins or Reyes?
Not hating… too much, but batting chipper 5th??? Is your baseball IQ somewhere on that slow/special/shits his pants line… you put your best three hitters at the top. With chips OBP he is would make a perfect 2 hole hitter(not to mention he has said he wants to bat with heyward at the top of the line-up)
Our line up should look like this:
Bourn
Chipper
Heyward
McCann
Uggla
Freeman
Prado
Pastornicky
pitcher
but i Imagine opening day freddie throws
Bourn
Heyward
Chipper
Uggla
McCann
Freeman
Prado
Pastornicky
Pitcher
Wouldn’t you consider batting Freddie 3rd instead of Heyward and Heyward bats in the 6th spot? I think batting Heyward 3rd would put alot of pressure to him early on.
Heyward batting second is retarded. He shouldnt bat third either. Chipper third and Heyward 6th is a possibility
What the heck are you talking about? The Braves were one of the top five teams in baseball last season until injuries and fatigue from the young pitchers took their toll in the last month of the season. And this was with awful years by Prado and Heyward. The Braves are a solid team top to bottom. They only need to solidify the bench. Cody Ross and Theriot would be outstanding additions to the club.
Well, rotationwise, the Braves need a healthy JJ and Hudson to eat innings, because Hanson, Beachy, and Minor/Teheran won’t go deep much.
Medlen and C-Mart will be vital as long men, and I wish the Braves had a 3rd guy capable of it (Varvaro maybe?)
Lineup wise they’re relying on Heyward to be in 2010 form at least, and Prado to recover to form. McCann needs to be spelled more by Ross.
Career years? As long as all (Prado, Heyward, Uggla, Jones) don’t have career-low performances, Braves will still be a contender. The last 2 years we’ve competed and been a contender despite a lot of injuries and slumps to key components. If any of those components produce and a turn a corner, we’ll be in the playoffs. And we all know that pitching depth is the most part once you’re in the playoffs…
Might be quite this offseason but next offseason the braves will be just like the marlins and go for every big time name out there like Josh Hamilton and Shane Victorino
lol
Shane Victorino? You really want to get into a bidding war with PHI for a guy that’ll turn 33 the 1st season you sign him? You really think ATL will give up prospects to get 1.5 years of Bourn to let him walk then losing in a bidding war for Victorino? That’s a lose-lose situation.
I don’t see a team as rich as TEX letting Hamilton get away. And if they do, what are we going to do about a CF considering Hamilton mostly plays LF and is racking up trips to the DL. As much as I love Hamilton’s bat and story, he’s going to command a lot of money and I don’t see him being worth that unless ATL can find a CF, something they haven’t been able to do in the last 4-5 years.
Boras will take Bourn to the open market and get him PAID. No way he signs an extension before then.
If the Bravos are in the thick of things during the season, I’m sure we’ll see alot of movement especially regarding Prado and Jurrjens. But I’d love to see Theroit at short and in the #2 spot in the lineup. Thoughts and prayers go out to Jeff Porter and his family.
Theriot sucks defensively. You don’t want to see him playing everyday SS. I Promise.
i am fine with what the braves have but i think wren is really not handling the JJ trade efforts well. It seems most teams are aware the braves don’t value him as much as the stats and the team say. Clearly the braves worry about his hitability, his durability and his having peaked. Other teams aren’t biting and are trading for other young pitchers like Gio, WayRod, Latos, the other A’s pitcher, and signing so so free agents. The Braves want to part with JJ as is value is seemingly his highest, but are stuck b/c teams are calling their bluff.
What?! Not handling this well?! Wren is handling this perfectly. We have an All-Star pitcher who had a bad last half of the season in 2011 under contract for another 2 years. We can still use him. Teams know that and know they’ll have to really impress us with an offer to get someone that is a vital part of our team (“vital” but also “expendable”).
Who says Jurrjens has clearly peaked? He had his best season last year, his only AS appearance, and very well good do that this year, despite what his advanced stats say. The market is just now taking shape for Jurrjens by other better or more attractive pitchers (Latos, Gio) being traded for a lot. Teams like TOR, NYY, BOS who have a deep farm system might want to take a chance on Jurrjens rather than overpay Edwin Jackson – who reportedly is seeking 5 yrs/$60M – Matt Garza or others. I don’t think ATL is looking for a Latos-like return, or even a Gonzalez-like return, but something just below that would be very attractive considering SDG got their future closer (Boxberger), C (Grandal), and 1B (Alonso) in the deal, not including Volquez. That’s a lot.
In my opinion, if they’re not getting offers comparable to those, knowing that there are some deep teams that are getting desperate for pitching, why not wait and let Jurrjens pitch in hopes he’ll repeat last year’s first-half success, thereby boosting his trade stock. I can see that happening. That way if he makes all his starts and avoids the DL, you’d convince some teams of his durability and consistency despite not having the strikeouts a pitcher with his ERA normally has.
Honestly, Wren couldn’t be playing this better. Cool, calm and collected he’s allowing the market to take shape knowing that there are teams out there that will jump.
The problem with that strategy is that other teams will fill pitching needs. You run the risk that Jurrjens falters or has an injury and drastically lowers his trade value plus gets closer to his FA year. If he does pitch well the first half and the Braves are in contention why would they trade him at that time for prospects?
My bet is that he is traded within a few weeks. Baltimore’s interest in Crisp makes you wonder if Jones is available.
I agree with you, i mean why keep getting prospects when we are already stacked on prospects in the farm system..we need some big time names in return for JJ..especially if we throw prado in the deal as well bc not only are they getting a young talented starting pitcher but they are getting a guy who can upgrade someones bench tremendously and play any position in the infield.
I hear what you are saying. But all those “pitching prospects” are very close to the big club or already with the big club. Wren has to think about replenishing the farm system. I agree that the only 2 scenarios where Wren deals JJ at next year’s deadline are: A. The Braves are out of contention (not likely) and B. JJ has not performed well and thus his value would be lessened. If Wren doesn’t move JJ before April then he’s not moving him. IMHO the deal gets done before spring training. I would like to see JJ and a prospect go to the Bronx for Swish
His ‘bad half of 2011 followed a horrible 2010. Is his value 10 starts of 2011?? Or 2010 and the rest of his 2011 starts??
jay, craig, taveras, 5 million, for bourn and prado, now start negotiating braves fans
What’s Taveras like? I consider myself a prospect/minor league specialist but I don’t know anything about him.
hits for average, not big power, got a good eye at the plate and draws walks, also a good rbi guy
what level?
A ball
k, thanks 🙂 Cardinals prospects are always interesting…seeing as how I’ve known a former one since we played together in little league
no problem! i love talking baseball, especially prospects, haha my two favorite pro ball players aint even in mlb yet, taveras cause hes a beast and swaggerty because well…his name is swaggerty
Taveras turned 19 in June, he hit .386 this year in A ball with an ops of 1.028. He also hit over .300 in the fall league as the next to youngest player in the league to Harper. Drawback is he doesn’t walk much but swings hard and makes good contact. Has a good arm and speed but still learning on defense and will most likely play RF.
Taveras turned 19 in June, he hit .386 this year in A ball with an ops of 1.028. He also hit over .300 in the fall league as the next to youngest player in the league to Harper. Drawback is he doesn’t walk much but swings hard and makes good contact. Has a good arm and speed but still learning on defense and will most likely play RF.
Why would St Louis trade Craig,cost controlled for 6 years and potential 20-25 home runs per year and their top hitting prospect Taveras for one year of Bourne and only of 2 of Prado? Unless of course Mo believes the world will end in December 2012.
you mean theres people that don’t believe that?
i’m someone who believes in trading prospects for right now talent, unless they’re eta is within the next year i’m all for it, for some reason always have been, i don’t really trust prospects to fulfill their potential
i’m someone who believes in trading prospects for right now talent, unless they’re eta is within the next year i’m all for it, for some reason always have been, i don’t really trust prospects to fulfill their potential
All that for 1 year of Bourn and 2 years of Prado? As a Braves, I can’t see that happening unless ATL is out of it by the AS Break…and you know the odds of that happening.
Booorrring
Who do you guys like better as a young SS this coming season? Pastornicky or Ruben Tejada?
I spent an entire summer watching Ruben Tejada because the Double-A Mets team is in my hometown and the kid has serious skills. If he can bring them with him to the majors on a full-time basis then he’s gonna be better than Pastornicky.
What makes you think we can get Tejada?
Pastornicky will be the starting SS unless he doesn’t get out of bed in spring training with Andrelton Simmons – the best defensive SS in minors – waiting in the wings if the red button is pushed.
Pastornicky will be the starting SS unless he doesn’t get out of bed in spring training with Andrelton Simmons – the best defensive SS in minors – waiting in the wings if the red button is pushed.
Gimme Tejada. Since we are talking about two 22-year old kids with similar skill sets, similar positions, and even similar projected long-term roles…. I am going to go with the one that has already provided a little bit of proof that his game can translate to the highest level.
Hah, last time I checked wasn’t Cody Ross demanding 3 years 30 mill? This looks much more reasonable. I love the idea of Ross because of his history(though not last year) of clutch performance. The Braves have a hole? It’s clutch producers after last year. Much rather him at his price than Jones at that joke of a trade price.
I hope the Braves at least attempt to resign Bourn, he’s so damn fun to watch.
Anybody else heard anything on a possible Adam Jones-Jair Jurrjens trade (at least they would be the two major players involved)? Buster Olney commented about it in his blog this morning and Scott Swaim tweeted about it last night.