Prior to the emphatic comments by Braves general manager John Coppolella in which he denied that his team will trade Freddie Freeman, Freeman’s name came up in trade talks with the Astros, three sources told Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. The scenario being discussed is described by Passan as a blockbuster that would’ve included five other players, but he also adds that the discussions “went nowhere” when Freeman’s name was brought up. Passan goes on to examine the Braves’ rebuild situation, noting that the team is poised not only to pick third in next year’s draft but is also rumored to be preparing for massive expenditures on the international prospect front, as others have suggested as well. While there’s risk in centering a rebuilding effort around young pitching due to the generally volatile nature of pitching prospects, the Braves are doing so at a time when the next winter’s free-agent market is bereft of quality arms, which could prevent them from the feeling the frantic need to add arms that so many clubs experience each winter.
A few more notes on the Braves…
- Despite the re-signing of A.J. Pierzynski, the Braves haven’t given up on young catcher Christian Bethancourt, writes MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Both Coppolella and president of baseball operations John Hart spoke highly of Bethancourt when asked by Bowman, but as he writes, few foresaw the defensive struggles Bethancourt has endured in his young career. Bethancourt’s arm — given an 80-grade by some scouts — has lived up to the hype, but he he’s surrendered 14 passed balls in just 73 games as a Major League catcher. His rate of one every 44 innings is far and away the most frequent in the Majors, as Tyler Flowers’ rate of one every 80.4 innings was the next most-frequent among catchers with 600+innings in 2015, Bowman points out.
- David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, meanwhile, offers a different take on the Braves’ opinion of Bethancourt (Twitter link). O’Brien notes that in spite of whatever kind words the Braves will publicly make in regards to Bethancourt, his sense is that the organization now believes that, in hindsight, he was overrated as a prospect. The team, of course, won’t say that, but Bowman did note in the above-linked column that it was somewhat telling when Bethancourt started only 14 games after being recalled from the minors in August last season.
- Braves 2015 first-round pick Kolby Allard underwent a second back surgery after the completion of the Gulf Coast League season, the Braves blog ChopCounty.com first reported (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Mark Bowman spoke to a Braves official who said that this surgery was less severe than the last operation that Allard underwent to repair his back (Twitter link). A stress reaction in Allard’s back suffered back in March caused his draft stock to slip, as he had previously been considered a potential top five pick. Allard lasted until the Braves’ No. 14 pick, and he threw six innings of one-hit ball with 12 strikeouts and no walks in his small sample of GCL action after signing.
I think you mean 12 strikeouts and no walks.
Woof. Yes I do. Thanks. Fixed.
Hope betan court can still prove himself
We’ve seen enough of Bethancourt. The kid has had ample opportunity to make a statement and has failed to do so. Cut your losses
Absolutely right
Very silly to cut a 24 year old catcher – positionally they are historically the slowest starters.
Well I can’t discredit that, but maybe Braves fans in general, including myself, are slightly spoiled by the expectations of a catcher.. Brian McCann and Evan Gattis set the bar early in their careers.. I’m really not sure what their position has to do with whether they can hit or not to be honest.. The kid just can’t hit, nor has he shown such ability at any level along the way.
Historically the Braves have had at least productive catchers in Lopez, Estrada, McCann, Gattis, and AJ. It’s always been a position of strength that doesn’t get enough notice.
Evan Gattis was already 26 by the time he joined the Braves. And he doesn’t offer a lot outside his power. McCann was 21 when he came up, but he was a generational talent offensively. You’re going to be disappointed with almost anyone if that’s your comparison.
Catchers can develop more slowly than other positions simply because there is more involved in their development. A catcher’s daily duty involves a lot more than any other position (how to handle pitchers, pitch framing, lineup strategies, etc..). It’s also the most physically demanding position to play, which isn’t always going to be an easy thing to adapt to.
It’s not uncommon for catchers to develop more slowly. I’m not saying that I buy into Bethancourt proving people wrong, but it wouldn’t shock me either.
Normally I would agree but this team isn’t even trying to compete in 2016. Might as well give him extra time to see if he can figure it out
It might not be likely but whatever, it’s not like we have another catcher that’s MLB ready anyway.
What if that rangers can trade for bethancourt rangers need a catcher
Not sure Bethancourt represents an upgrade over Chirinos. Higher upside maybe still, but my money would be on Chirinos to outperform Bethancourt next year
Allard did not have vertebrae fused. that was a false rumor
This “hot stove” season has seemed more like a slow cooker.
… it’s acually not that bad seeing its only middle of November
I wonder just how much massive expenditures in the intl market will be..
If we are willing to spend $20mil before penalites, we could legit top talent, and a lot of it.
Well, apparently they already have at least 1/4 of that number committed to just Kevin Maitan. There’s a fairly decent chance that they’ll be spending a high amount.
Bethancourt has a great arm, but his defense is far less than what was to be expected. He seems lackadaisical behind the plate. Isn’t anything really special calling a game or framing pitches. The Braves rotation in 2016 and beyond looks to be very young. We did sign A.J. Pierzynski for 2016, but he isn’t a great defensive catcher himself. I think it is about time to start looking more at a veteran defensive catcher to help these young arms we have acquired reach their full potential unless Bethancourt can really turn things around. Bethancourt also seems to rake in AAA offensively but seems a bit over matched in the majors. I hope he can turn it around in 2016, or we may need to look for a veteran. I would suggest for Bethancourt to spent a lot of time with bullpen catcher Eddie Perez on how to become a solid MLB contributor on both sides offensively and defensively.
As for Freddie Freeman, If I am The Braves. No way am I dealing him unless my socks were absolutely knocked off. He is young, productive, and has a below fair market value contract.
In regards to Allard, He looks to be the real deal in his 6 Innings in The Rookie Ball League. That is to say his stuff was absolutely filthy and the numbers reflect that. The Braves are in full rebuild mode, and Allard has an ETA of 2019. I just hope that and I feel that they will take things slow with Allard let him heal up really well and hopefully he will be a really good one for a real long time.
The Astros willing to take on Freeman’s $100+M deal kinda shows their hand in that they will be major players for Chris Davis, it that wasn’t obvious enough already.
Here’s the type of stuff that has been confusing me as a Braves fan these past few years. They will give up a “top prospect” in a trade that brought very little return after reports say they had an opportunity to work on a trade that could have brought back a bigger return. The Yankees reportedly called first and were told that Peraza would not be moved. Then to top it off, they will not cut ties with a catcher who was the toast of their minor league system and has been a bust. Reports even said guys like Eddie Perez and Javy Lopez said he is too lazy to get better. So, they will change their mind, seemingly overnight, and trade someone who might not live up to the hype but will keep a guy who has proven that he won’t live up to the hype. I know different positions are harder than others to develop but they have been missing the boat for years because Bethancourt “was the future” instead of starting sooner to groom or acquire a replacement. It is the same with the pitching situation. Trade a guy like Wood, and possibly now Shelby Miller because he might not become an “ace type” and they have depth on the way but keep Teheran who costs more and has not been consistant. Teheran reminds me alot of Jair Jurrgens, who also was never the same after an almost identical injury as Teheran, slipping on the mound. I understand that you trade the guys with the most value when you have the best opportunity, I guess I would just like to see better player evaluation and loyalty from both the team and player like we had with Chipper
As far as prospects go, if they haven’t failed then they still have the shine of a star in the making. Peraza had not failed, but we saw that he wasn’t quite what he was hyped as. CBeth on the other hand had been exposed on the ML level. We need him to recoup some value or become a real catcher.
With pitching, Wood, with his pitching motion, was at an extreme risk of injury and he had already had TJ surgery. His velocity was declining and the writing was on the wall. The Dodgers picked up the entire signing bonus of a guy we went tried really hard to get and making his contract really affordable, he only needs to be worth 1 WAR a year. Miller is a different example, it is both hoping to cash in on him at peak value, but also realizing that we probably will not be competitive during his prime. So hoping to get the most for him. Teheran I think they want to shop, but his value is low right now, maybe wait until he proves he has rebounded.
Braves have the third overall pick and will almost 100% take an arm, as usual, but it’d be nice for them to take a proven college hitter (like dansby Swanson) who is a bit more develop and can reach the majors in 2-3 years and contribute to the club.
Trade Fast Freddie ( Freeman ) , Before it’s too Late !