2:17pm: The Twins have confirmed the trade via press release. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports that the Braves are taking on all of Doumit's $3.5MM salary (Twitter link).
1:54pm: The Braves have acquired Ryan Doumit from the Twins in exchange for left-hander Sean Gilmartin, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Doumit, who will turn 33 on April 3, is coming off a down season in which he batted .247/.314/.396 and dealt with concussion issues late in the year. However he's just one year removed from a strong .275/.320/.461 showing with a career-high 18 homers for the Twins.
Though he's not considered a strong defensive catcher, Doumit would give the Braves a cheap option behind the dish in the wake of Brian McCann's departure to the Yankees. Doumit is owed jusr $3.5MM in 2014. The Braves have Evan Gattis, Gerald Laird and Christian Bethancourt as internal options at catcher, but Bethancourt could require more seasoning, Laird is a backup and Gattis has serious OBP concerns. He alsos struggled against right-handed pitching (.236/.284/.473), which is where Doumit exceeds (.270/.330/.454).
Gilmartin, 23, entered the 2013 season ranked as the Braves' No. 4 prospect, per Baseball America, and their No. 3 prospect, per MLB.com. Though he suffered a down year, BA still ranked him 10th among Braves prospects, and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo kept his ranking strong at No. 4.
Gilmartin struggled through injuries and posted a 5.06 ERA across three levels in 2013, averaging 6.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in a total of 105 innings. Selected with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2011 draft, Gilmartin draws praise for his polish from both BA and MLB.com. BA writes that his 89-91 mph fastball has good movement and is complemented by a plus changeup and a slider with "sharp, late break." According to Mayo, "[Gilmartin's] ceiling is somewhat limited, but he's not far from being ready to step in as a middle-of-the-rotation type in the big leagues."
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported that the trade was close (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Possibly a good deal for both sides.They get young pitching and we get a seasoned C who hits righties well. Win win
Although Doumit would be a decent addition as an offensive player , his defensive deficiencies more than offset his potential to hit. When he played for the Pirates, management loved his bat, but had issues with hiding him on the field. A catcher, he is really not. There is actually a video floating around the internet that shows him nailing the pitcher with the ball on a stolen base attempt. I think that the Braves will eventually find what the Pirates did…. Doumit is a good baseball player, as long as, he is not asked to play defense.
The good side of that is that with Laird already on the bench we will be able to use Doumit as a bench bat. I don’t particularly want to see him in the field either, but he was a good pickup for his bat if nothing else.
Saw the video you mention. The pitcher was actually crouched down and Doumit nailed him anyways. He probably would have hit the mound with the throw had nobody been there.
He also got his bell rung and had to go on the 7 Day Concussion DL last August. And even though Mauer was out, he didn’t catch a single inning after the kids were called up on Sept 1. Everyone claims he’s ready to go behind the dish again, but it’s just one more indication that he probably won’t be in a primary catcher role.
With Gattis and Laird around, he is the emergency catcher. I suspect he’ll get his games in the field at 1B a few games to spell Freeman, and LF when an OF goes down.
this trade makes Terdoslavich trade bait though, and he’s a guy I want to keep.
Those splits against righties is what is scary for Braves fans. If he becomes a platoon partner with Gattis that means he will be behind the plate 4-5 days a week
Those splits against righties is what is scary for Braves fans. If he becomes a platoon partner with Gattis that means he will be behind the plate 4-5 days a week
Damn i thought Gilmartin was super highly regarded. goes to show how fast things change from year to year :/
Unfortunately Doumit is among the worst defensive catchers in baseball and he also holds that distinction in RF. If he can hi like 2012 he will help. If he hits like 2013 he is a $3.5MM replacement value player who can’t field or run.
Old Demon Eyes coming to Atlanta.
I’ve always seen him more as an alien.
Jason Bay
Jason Bay
Maybe…if he’s one of the other alien races besides the ones with the big football shaped eyes, lol.
Glad I’m not the only one who’s noticed that. Every time I play MLB the Show and he comes up to bat, I feel compelled to stare at his picture for a long time. And he eats some of my soul every time I do it.
I thought I was the only one who thought he took something away when I stare.
What a horrible trade by the Braves.
Why? I had had hopes for Gilmartin, but his trade value is exactly what you see! The guy is blocked by a handful of other guys. Why hold on to the guy if you dont see a future for him?
The guy isn’t blocked if he is better than those who would block him. A young left handed starter who has a decent upside is as rare as an honest politician. Worse thing about the whole deal is that we traded a left handed starter for a designated hitter. Duh–? I don’t care how much lipstick you put on this pig….it’s still a pig. Counting the current catchers on the Braves roster and some VERY promising ones in the system we are catcher-rich right now…I’d rather be pitching rich than have an abundance of catchers.
Then look at our farm system, that’s all we have. We are still pitching rich after this deal.
Gilmartin was a reach when he was drafted. I think Keith Law said he was shocked when he the Braves made that pick. Would have been the worst pick in the first round had the Giants not one upped you guys and took Joe Panik (who alot of people had 3rd round or lower).
Care to explain why?
Gilmartin is a bust! One more year in AAA with an ERA over 5 and they would have never been able to move him. Simple case of a guy that was a great college pitcher but lacked secondary pitches to make it to MLB.
I think arm trouble contributed to that a bit, but his upside was likely never higher than 4-5 starter anyway.
It’s not a lack of secondary pitches at all. He shouldn’t have been a first round pick to begin with. He doesn’t have the stuff to ever be more than a Maholm type pitcher that’s if he turns things around from last year.
Frankly I see this as a precursor to something else, A trade that involves one of our other catchers. I must admit myself that I don’y truly understand the logic behind this deal, unless of course this means there is another move waiting in the wings.
Exactly my thought.
yea but with chavez reupping with the snakes and a 41 year old raul ibanez signing with the halos realistically whose left out there to get that could really really help the braves offensively
Let’s add it all up:
1. This actually makes their 3rd LH hitter signing this week. Granted, the other 2 are of the “low-risk/high-reward-possible” variety, but it’s still 3 guys with some pop.
2. 3 Catchers on the roster… with Bethancourt still kinda lurking around the AAA level.
Definitely some depth there… it could be as simple as “Doumit is the LH bench bat.” But I think he’s got more left in the tank than that.
Doumit is a switch hitter.
Okay – guess I should have written: ‘guys who can hit from the left side’, which is the bench need.
yea but doumit is a switch hitter who throws with his right hand so hes not just a left hander
When Doumit’s tank was full to the brim, he was still just a poor catcher and potent bat.
He spent 9 years in the minors, I assume trying to learn how to catch (without much success I might add 🙂
In the majors he does have a fair batting average and good on base percentage, but he will not be any help to the younger catchers learning their craft.
He would have been a great addition if we had picked him up off waivers, we just shouldn’t be trading too much for him.
I wish him all the best….believe me.
It makes sense to me as it currently stands. You gain a power bat off the bench, which the braves just missed when Chavez resigned with the Dbacks. Also, in case BJ Upton tanks again this year and Gattis is required to play LF we have some depth at catcher.
I haven’t seen the schedule yet, but I know on the road AL games he is going to serve as a great DH option as well. I really like the Braves Bench after this move.
(Laird) – RH Catcher
(Doumit) – SW C/OF
(Pena) – SW Infielder
(Jordan S.) – LH OF
and you still have Terdo and Pastor to make a decision on. If you put Terdo on the bench you give other managers a nightmare scenario of 3 SH players off of the bench.
I just don’t like the idea of having just 1 middle infielder on the bench. I wish the Braves would have kept Elliot Johnson.
Of the two I expect pastor to win that spot on the bench.
He’s still available and probably will be for some time. There’s plenty of Elliot Johnsons running around the minors.
-C
Why, he was terrible the whole short time he was with us, Plus Lastella or Pena will be much better.
Actually Johnson did fine coming off the bench which is what he should be doing. It was when Fredi got the bright idea to start Johnson everyday that he struggled. Johnson is a solid bench player that should never be given a starting role. Yes we still have Pena but you need 2 backup middle infielders. Having just 1 backup middle infielder leads to a whole load of trouble should the unthinkable happen and 2 guys go down in the same game. Yes we have La Stella but he should either be starting in the majors or minors. It doesn’t make sense to stunt his growth by using him in a bench role in the majors.
I haven’t seen the schedule yet, but I know on the road AL games he is going to serve as a great DH option as well. I really like the Braves Bench after this move.
(Laird) – RH Catcher
(Doumit) – SW C/OF
(Pena) – SW Infielder
(Jordan S.) – LH OF
and you still have Terdo and Pastor to make a decision on. If you put Terdo on the bench you give other managers a nightmare scenario of 3 SH players off of the bench.
It makes sense to me as it currently stands. You gain a power bat off the bench, which the braves just missed when Chavez resigned with the Dbacks. Also, in case BJ Upton tanks again this year and Gattis is required to play LF we have some depth at catcher.
I’m in agreement with you BraveCrowe, this trade makes NO sense unless there is something brewing on the trade market for one of our other number 2 position players, hopefully it will bring the ACE that is so lacking in our rotation, let’s hope!!!
Thats why ur not a baseball GM lol
Unless the deal is a big one involving Bethancourt, I would think the Braves would tend to stand pat with their current catchers. Leave Bethancourt in the minors another year. Keep Laird as the “defensive” catcher / bench, platoon Gattis and Doumit as the main catcher (L/R splits). Keep Doumit chiefly as a bench guy, corner OF.
If this were Cody Martin and not Gilmartin I wouldn’t like this trade, but this is a good return to me.
Yeah but i also think they are concerned that Bethancourt aint progressing quicker !
I could see that, but he still is mighty young (he did improve a bit last year) and Doumit isn’t much of a catcher. I think it is best to keep Doumit as more of a bench guy so he could fill in as needed (1b and OF) versus essentially being limited to two defensively poor catchers. Especially when the rotation is so young, Laird will probably get more at bats this year as a result. Doumit is suppose to be particularly bad at pitch framing.
Not a bad trade at all. Gilmartin has not been turning heads in the past years, with ERA inflating over the past 3 years. We have plenty of pitching depth and did not have to give up one of our big young arms.
If Doumit produces anything close to his 2012 line, this is a good deal for the Braves.
-Bethancourt probably isn’t ready yet.
-Gattis doesn’t get on base much.
-Laird isn’t full-time quality.
He also tired and was injured, went to AAA to get some swings off the DL and had a great stretch run and into the playoffs. Defensively IMO he’s superior to McCann behind the dish (slightly better arm and good at framing pitches, still needs a little work with the pitchers, but most seem to like him). The guy can flat out hit I believe with a full offseason of training and what not he’ll be much more conditioned for 2014 play, remember how long it had been for him playing baseball duties…
Wow…ESPN lists Gilmartin as Atlanta’s 4th ranked prospect. Doumit has shown he can hit, but this is a pretty good deal for the Twins. Bravo, TR!
Not that I know anything about the Braves system, but Baseball America says he’s the number 10th ranked prospect. I’d say that’s probably more accurate.
Either way, a top 10 organizational guy for Doumit? Never thought his value was anything close to that. I love the deal, especially for a guy who was going to be gone by July anyway.
I agree…It feels like there have been too many times we got little in return other than salary relief in deals like this.
He would have been the Braves #5 starter… in AAA.
Braves have JR Graham, Cody Martin, David Hale and Ian Thomas ahead of him. If it had been any of the previous 4 names, it would be a good deal for the Twins.
I think it’s still a good deal. Doumit was gone by July. There’s no room in the OF for him (he’s also bad there). He would have been the backup C where he’s also not good or the DH. DH and OF are both clogged (if you count Parmalee and Colabello).
The fact that his trade value was even this high surprised me. Twins saved money, opened up a roster spot for Pelfrey, cleared positional space and got someone’s top 10 prospect. Seems like a win, even if Gilmartin is Scott Diamond v2 or worse.
Gilmartin is a soft tossing lefty. The only reason he’s ranked as high as he is is that he’s pretty close to MLB ready, not even close to one of the top arms in the atlanta system.
Still a lot better return than I was expecting. Doumit was pretty much redundant on the Twins. If the Twins even get one year of 2012 Scott Diamond production from Gilmartin then it’s a win for the Twins.
I’m not going to judge him too hard based on last year anyway due to injury, but I’m not expecting amazing from him injury or not. Just a way better return then I could have imagined for Doumit.
Braves don’t have many good prospects right now. They have a lot of young talent at the ML level, but not much up the pike right now- esp in the upper minors.
Yeah most of the Braves elite minor league talent is in high A ball or lower.
I am a believer in Tommy La Stella- though I was hoping the Braves would go after one of the Mariners millions of young 2Bs instead.
He just ranked out at #14 on John Sickels’ most recent Braves prospect list, which was written up a couple weeks ago. I think that’s probably about right…
Solid floor, low ceiling guy. I think it’s a good trade for both sides.
-C
Yeah, I just saw that too. Manuel of BA put him at 21 (at best) in the Twins system. Haven’t seen anyone elses input.
That’s more of a commentary on the Braves farm system than anything else. He dropped to #10 on Baseball America’s ranking this year. Gilmartin is not a high ceiling guy, likely a #4-5 starter at best. He had a very poor 2013 with an era of 5.74 and missed a good bit of time due to injury. Shoulder IIRC.
That’s a good point. From the Twins’ perspective, though, Doumit really didn’t have much to offer long-range. He may be a pleasant surprise to Braves fans, especially if he plays other positions in addition to/instead of catcher. He can hit.
Doumit might be the worst defensive catcher/OF/1stB I have seen in all the years I have been watching MLB. Try finding the video of him hitting pitcher John Grabow with a throw to 2nd base. The look on Doumit’s face is priceless !
“Doumit might be the worst defensive catcher/OF/1stB I have seen in all the years I have been watching MLB”
Yeah he is pretty bad.
“He can hit” Yeah when he’s not striking out. He can’t field or catch worth a damn and his arm is like a rubber noodle when attempting to throw runners out.
When he’s not striking out at a rate that’s significantly better than league-average??
He’s not going to be playing the field much in Atlanta. He’ll be in a PH spot and will fill in on days off.
-C
You know Scott Diamond? You just traded for his clone.
Was just thinking the exact same thing.
Not a Diamond fan, but sounds good to me. Higher return than I expected.
Gilmartin will be another in a long line of Twins soft toss, throw away pitchers
Would injured Pelfrey and Radke come to mind?
Pelfrey could possibly be a throw away pitcher, but he definitely isn’t a “soft tosser” with his 94-95 mph fastball a year removed from TJ surgery. I would take Radke in a heartbeat in the Twins rotation:) They were horrendous last year!!
Diamond has turned out better than I expected but great point.
ESPN’s list is a bit behind.
True. I have seen Gilmartin as low as 14 after the 2013 season.
When they drafted Gilmartin, I wondered why they were going for the college pitcher over the high school athlete. They were able to evaluate a guy that was supposed to be “on the fast track” because he was a mature pitcher already. Now, instead of a high school fizzle out, they got something in return. Modest drafting yield modest results. Personally, I like the high school athlete. I always think about how the Braves passed on Trout, like many other teams….
They passed on Trout because he was from New Jersey and thought his numbers wouldn’t translate against better competition.
Bias against NJ is the cold weather and shorter playing season. Scouts are too busy in the South. And scouts aren’t looking for numbers. “Mike has top-of-the-lineup speed in a linebacker’s body,” Hallenbeck said. “He jumps off the page to the scouts because of that.”
Same misguided stuff we heard about Byron Buxton and his level of competition. Fortunately, competent scouts can evaluate players regardless of the quality of their competition or guys like Mickey Mantle would never have been found and signed
Solid deal. Gilmartin adds another arm to the Twins and Doumit is a solid, inexpensive bench piece for the Braves. With one year left, Doumit added little to a team that likely won’t contend next year and the Braves have arms to spare.
Last year Laird whined about “I wouldn’t have signed here if I’d known I’d be the 3rd catcher.” Kept saying he couldn’t wait for 2014 since he’d get more playing time. Now he’s back to being 3rd catcher lulz
Doumit told the Twins that he’s no longer interested in catching. I doubt he gets more than 20 games behind the plate. It might still take some spots away from Laird, but not that many in the scheme of things. He’s more of a backup cOF/1B, pinch hitter.
Top 10 prospect in any teams system is much more than I thought the Twins would get. Sounds awesome to me. Doumit was gone by July anyway.
Great return for the Twins. This helps a little with the logjam at DH too, assuming Pinto is the starter and his shoulder holds up. I’m definitely a Pinto fan.
Doumit has made it very clear he no longer wants to catch, so he’ll most likely be a PH/4th OF.
I figure he’ll get 20-30 well timed starts behind the plate, but was as you say most likely brought in as a bench bat.
The NL is a great place to DH. Doumit will play where he’s wanted or he can sit on the bench.
No, he hasn’t. This information needs to stop circulating. He wasn’t catching last year at the end because there was no point to risk it then. It was the same reason they should have stopped trying so hard to get Mauer back out there.
He himself said back then that he will catch in 2014. This information was spread by a guy who is basically a blogger for the local paper. His agent, Twins reporters and the Twins GM have all said he would catch.
Totally agree, but be sure to add the caveat that he wasn’t catching at the end of 2013 because he had to go on the 7 Day Concussion DL at the start of August. The risk was real at that point and the season was over, so he didn’t catch an inning after Sep 1. He should catch again from a health perspective, but on a baseball level ATL probably has better options.
Yeah, that’s basically what I meant by “He wasn’t catching last year at the end because there was no point to risk it then.” and then mentioned Mauer as well.
I assumed everyone knew about the concussion. Lots of catcher concussions last year.
Braves play in NL…No DH in the NL
This just goes to show as well what people think about their organizations prospects. No offense to a lot of my fellow braves fans, but many thought that Gilmartin would be a key piece to acquiring Price, Sale, Shark so on so forth. We tend to over value what we have, I just have a hard time understanding the scathing reviews this is already receiving.
I would question the knowledge of anyone who suggested he would be a key piece in a major deal considering the year he just had. Even before he was never considered a high ceiling prospect.
My points exactly. People see the 1st round pick stigma attached to the name and they begin to think he is only accessible for the best of the best trades.
I call that Tommy Hanson syndrome. Braves fans had ordered his HOF plaque before he even arrived. How do you like him now?
Of all the players that were over hyped, I would say that he would be the only one that I myself would have said the no trade thing too. At the time that kid had real deal ace written all over him! Hanson relies on his secondary pitches that were set up by a blazing 96 MPH fastball. Now he has that 87 straight as a string lollipop, so that yellow hammer does nothing for him now. Sad to see someone with so much promise end up in the stinker–that goes for Jair too!
I love having a solid farm system, but I am one of the people that believe that if I can send an unproven player for a proven player I am going to do so. You gotta spend money to make money so to speak.
Doumit-Gilmartin was a well matched trade. One that shows how over-analytical the internet commentary can become. There’s a tendency to apply the same magnifying glass to small deals that are applied to front page deals. The various fan bases also apply their own gamesmanship logic to the GMs around the league. Baseball is a very close knit group. I can’t say that vendettas don’t occur, but relationships within the game aren’t as adversarial as the fans tend to be with each other.
Good deal for the Braves and Twins. Braves ship risk to a team that can take the chance, and they get back something tangible.
Of all the players that were over hyped, I would say that he would be the only one that I myself would have said the no trade thing too. At the time that kid had real deal ace written all over him! Hanson relies on his secondary pitches that were set up by a blazing 96 MPH fastball. Now he has that 87 straight as a string lollipop, so that yellow hammer does nothing for him now. Sad to see someone with so much promise end up in the stinker–that goes for Jair too!
I love having a solid farm system, but I am one of the people that believe that if I can send an unproven player for a proven player I am going to do so. You gotta spend money to make money so to speak.
I love him. Thanks for Walden, Hanson…
-C
He had a wicked curveball when he came up though.
Most trade discussions I saw listed Gilmartin as a third or fourth piece in a trade for one of those guys, not a key piece.
-C
excuse my ignorance, but who is shark?
Jeff samardzija
Over pay
I’m good with it. Gilmartin was basically stuck with blockage ahead of him and more blockage coming behind. Kinda like JJ Hoover if I remember correctly. Doumit will be a good bench piece. Maybe those eyes will freak opposing pitchers out.
Gilmartin fits the Twins/Rick Anderson soft-toss mold perfectly. College draft with limited upside who barely scrapes 90 MPH. Twins likely moved Doumit to free up cash to sign a veteran who is a true catcher like Suzuki or Buck.
Solid trade for both teams. Doumit helps Atlanta now, Gilmartin clears up space on Twins 40 man roster, gives some depth at pitching and the Twins might get lucky with him and have him develop into a solid backend pitcher (which is a good thing).
Nice trade for both teams, but where will the offense come from for the Twins?
Hopefully Willingham, Mauer, Dozier, Arcia, Kubel. Guys like that. Willingham went down the tank when he hurt his knee, hoping for a good first half. Mauer is Mauer. Hopefuly Dozier post April is the Dozier from now on. Arcia is a good prospect. Kubel, you can’t count on, but there’s hope that he returns to form after injuries.
Other than that, hopefully there are some surprises. I don’t know if the stats show it, but I feel like a lot of hitters had their worst year last year. Room for improvement back to regular production.
Hopefully Willingham, Mauer, Dozier, Arcia, Kubel. Guys like that. Willingham went down the tank when he hurt his knee, hoping for a good first half. Mauer is Mauer. Hopefuly Dozier post April is the Dozier from now on. Arcia is a good prospect. Kubel, you can’t count on, but there’s hope that he returns to form after injuries.
Other than that, hopefully there are some surprises. I don’t know if the stats show it, but I feel like a lot of hitters had their worst year last year. Room for improvement back to regular production.
So Gilmartin goes from a prospect ranking of number 10 in the Braves to number 21 (at best) with the Twins per John Manuel.
I love our system. Hopefully, the system results are better than the Royals have seen.
This was a salary dump by Terry Ryan. Doumit has done nothing but whine and complain these past two years and now he says he won’t catch anymore. Not that he was very good at it to begin with.
Guy was also a BIG strikeout machine. Good riddance. At least TR got something for him.
I like Doumit’s bat, but his 2010 line of throwing out 11 of 90 basestealers makes me want to tutor him on playing left field.
Hmm! After seeing him play the outfield, you may want to move him back to catcher. He is as good as Delmon Young in the outfield.
He just has to be better than Gattis in left. That’s not a very high bar (though again, I’d rather give the shot to Terdo instead)
Atanta Braves are filling needs by playing it safe this Offseason. A signing for a guy like Gavin Floyd and a trade for Ryan Doumit will help the team. In the absence of Brian McCann and Tim Hudson, it’s very hard to replace those guys. However, I like Atlanta’s approach. They’re not overspending in this market and still finding replacements.
We can’t spend that much money anyway, we got so many handcuffs and being a small market team isn’t just the first one.
This sounds like an excellent return for the Twins. I’m very pleased with it.
Doumit was going to be traded by midseason anyways, so a 23-year-old, moderate-upside, pitch-to-contact, strike-throwing lefty starter is right up the Twins alley right now.
Doumit is probably strictly a DH but the Braves will have to find a spot for him in the field in order for him to get regular at bats so hopefully they have a defensive specialist who can replace Doumit late in games since it is necessary
For the OF it will be Schafer
For the IF- Ramiro Pena.
Laird, Doumit, and someone else will be the bench (Suspect it will either be Pastornicky or Terdoslavich)
Braves win. Catcher with power making only 3.5 million for a bust minor league pitcher. Good move for the Bravos.
Odd, as a Twins fan I’m happy to see him go. He was only an obstruction in the lineup and that was with the DH. He is a terrible catcher, outfielder, and first basemen. Now we can get Willingham out of the field!
Let’s not forget, Doumit had a few spells in 2012 when he was the Twins hottest hitter. Granted, that’s not saying much, but still…he really belted a few balls here and there, and certainly won them some games…in 2012. 2013?…not so much.
Nevertheless, I’m really glad to see him dealt for some young pitching. I expected him to be more than bench-caliber player when the Twins signed him. He was very disappointing.
Doumit is no longer a catcher … or at least he told the Twins that he is no longer interested in catching. He’s a $3.5M pinch hitter. Nothing more.
The Braves have the luxury of having an abundance of starters who are just better than Gilmartin. They’re going to have plenty of pitching depth with or without Sean Gilmartin, so the Braves get somebody who’s going to be a good option off the bench and gives them flexibility in the OF and at C. Granted, he’s not very good defensively, but he isn’t supposed to be asked to start over others unless they’re injured. The Braves have been trying to rebuild the bench and Doumit will be a good option there.
The Twins get a solid (and cheap) pitching prospect who will probably be like another former Braves’ farmhand they acquired in Scott Diamond.
top prospects are only off limits to good trades i guess
Can hardly fault Evan Gattis for the season he had. I thought his FIRST season was a good one considering he was coming off the bench frequently and he was inserted out of position in left field many times. So given all this I would say he performed above expectations. Frankly, I think we have only see the surface of his hitting prowess. He has a very good level swing that is much like a singles hitter who makes contact but the added benefit is that this guy is so strong he can murder the baseball. So he has the skills to be a very good major league hitter. I think his OBP will improve over time as he gets more seasoning. I would be happy with a .320 OBP from him if he hits 30 homeruns out of several positions. I would give him as many at bats as possible. Why not??
I think the braves are going to like doumit. He definitely swings a good bat and while his d is not stellar, it’s not the worst you could throw out there. He is pretty versatile and if you can get him to smile every now and then he should be a welcome addition
Beside the obvious bench strength it allows FG to pinch hit Gattis on days he does not start, just like last year. Gattis off the bench as well as Doumit off the bench depending on the pitcher when Laird starts. I doubt Doumit gets any of Lairds starts.
You know (I hope no one else has beat me to this (quite funny): I think the Atlanta front office was suffering from a case of the delirium trimmings. Wanna know why? They were Jonesin’ for another Jones boy to have on the roster. That can be the only explanation!!! LOLLOL
More than likely this doesnt lead to another move. But I am still holding out that we work something out with Seattle for Franklin. I know that wont likely happen, but I would love to see something like this to happen.
I don’t think a trade for one of the catchers is brewing, but I wouldn’t doubt that this move opens up the option of trading Terdoslavich. Terdo was asked to play winter ball again this year (later than most others) which is a tell-tale sign that the Braves were wanting to sharpen him up for something. With Gamel being signed and Doumit being acquired, there doesn’t seem to be a place for Terdo on the roster if Gamel makes the club.
The Brewers are still without a 1b and are “interested” in Michael Young (that in itself reeks of desperation). I’d like to see a Terdoslavich+Uggla for Rickie Weeks trade go down sometime in the next few weeks. Weeks might not have anything left after multiple injuries have slowed him down, but he costs only 11 million in ’14, with a vesting option if he receives 600 plate appearances (if he’s receiving 600 PA’s, I’m sure the Braves would have no problem paying him the 11.5 million in ’15). This seems like another trade that could be a win/win for both parties, especially if Terdoslavich shows he can hit a bit at the Major League level. Lord knows he won’t be anything more than a PH in Atlanta.
I like the trade because you get a seasoned veteran behind the plate and with Laird as a backup I think he’ll help Doumit on his defense behind the plate. Plus he’s a switchhitter which will be a luxury for Fredi Gonzalez when he gives Doumit a day off or something. I still think that Gattis will get the majority of the playing time behind the plate just need to address the leadoff situation.
Though I’m glad Gilmartin was traded, I’m a little sad that that’s yet another 1st rd arm for ATL that hasn’t really worked out for the club. Minor has been incredible and Sims/Hursh looked good in low ball, but you have to go pretty far back to get production from 1st rd starters in ATL.
a bit surprised a NL team traded for Doumit with how poor he is defensively
Could pretty much see this coming once Kubel was signed. Both Doumit and Kubel were going to play RF and DH. The Twins have Pinto designated for catching and maybe Hermann to back up and of course Mauer in emergency. The Twins trade Doumit and cut $3.5 million and if Kubel makes the starting roster he will make $2 million. The Twins get a power hitter they are familiar with and save $1.5 million.
Unless the Braves are planning to turn around and make another move, I don’t quite get this one. After watching Doumit for a number of years in Pittsburgh, and then following him with the Twins, I can pretty much say that Doumit should not be in the NL, because he should not ever be asked to use a glove. He is not even average at any aspect of being a catcher, is worse at 1B, and is Dave Kingman-esque in the OF. He does have good power, but is inconsistent and streaky with it: he sometimes seems like he has to be reminded not to try for a homer on every pitch. And of course, the concussion problems are a worry.
Having said that, and even though I remember that he was none too happy with Pittsburgh when he left… he can be a fun player to watch, and I hope he does well in ATL.
Generally Spring brings some movement between teams regarding the position of catcher….. Doumit could be part of a package and never play for the Braves. He should be in the AL and the Braves FO will find a partner to flip him to.
Too bad the Braves’ worst OF is in center field. Doumit could have logged a considerable amount of at bats in one of the corners if they could shift Heyward to center. Of course, this creates another huge fielding liability given that Justin is an average fielder at best, Doumit is a bit of a liability, and Heyward is out of place in center
I wouldn’t say Heyward is out of place in Center. He handles it well.
I didn’t mean that as a knock on Heyward. He is a serviceable CF but with Upton and Doumit in the corners I think you would like more range out of your CF.
Kind of like the situation with Jon Jay. He got the job done in CF but he left something to be desired
Too bad the Braves’ worst OF is in center field. Doumit could have logged a considerable amount of at bats in one of the corners if they could shift Heyward to center. Of course, this creates another huge fielding liability given that Justin is an average fielder at best, Doumit is a bit of a liability, and Heyward is out of place in center