The latest from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic comes via a series of tweets…
- With the Pirates enjoying a midseason resurgence, general manager Neal Huntington made it clear last week that he’d like to strengthen the club’s roster prior to Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline. The Pirates have since been connected to relievers Keone Kela and Brad Brach in trade rumors, though they’re also interested in upgrading their starting staff. Pittsburgh, like many teams, is seeking a “controllable starter,” Rosenthal reports. However, he suggests that the Bucs don’t appear to be aggressive suitors for Rays right-hander Chris Archer, who’s under control through 2021 and has drawn vast interest leading up to the deadline.
- Rangers slugger Joey Gallo was in the rumor mill Saturday, though it’s “unlikely” the team will deal him this summer, Rosenthal hears. Meanwhile, teammate Jake Diekman is the likeliest Ranger to end up on the move, Rosenthal adds. The left-handed reliever possesses a strong track record and an affordable salary ($2.7125MM), but he’s not controllable beyond this season. Diekman, 31, has pitched to a 3.79 ERA/3.48 FIP with 10.89 K/9, 5.45 BB/9 and a 45.4 percent groundball rate in 38 innings this year. Along with his control problems, Diekman has been surprisingly poor this season versus left-handed hitters, who have slashed .273/.429/.364 against him (on the other hand, righties have only hit .192/.292/.309). Historically, Diekman has been tough on both lefty- and righty-swingers.
- The Braves have interest in both Diekman and fellow Rangers reliever Kela, Rosenthal and Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggest. Moreover, Atlanta’s willing to move left-hander Luiz Gohara to upgrade its team, per Rosenthal, with Sherman noting that the Rangers have been scouting the 21-year-old. Gohara hasn’t pitched much in the majors this year (19 2/3 innings, nine appearances, one start), in part because of injury issues. But he showed well during a five-start debut in 2017, after which Baseball America ranked him as the game’s 23rd-best prospect. There’s a “good chance” the Rangers will acquire Gohara if he “shows anything at all” in the minors Sunday, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
- Sticking with Texas and Atlanta, Rosenthal reports that the Braves have greater interest in bolstering their pitching (perhaps via Diekman and Kela) than acquiring Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre. Rosenthal doesn’t rule out a Beltre acquisition for the Braves (though, as a 10-and-5 player, he’d need to approve the trade), but he points out that incumbent third baseman Johan Camargo has actually outhit the eventual Hall of Famer this season. The switch-hitting Camargo, 24, has done so on a league-minimum salary, too, while the 39-year-old Beltre is owed the balance of $18MM.
Fatboy
Wow, what an insightful comment. Thank you for lending so much to the article.
Lawl!
Articulate, for a Padres fan.
So is CC Sabathia.
Bet he would beat your time in the 40…
If the braves trade gohara then beltre better be part of that package. 2 avg relievers for him is a joke. Yes we need the upgrade, but that’s selling really high. We have plenty of lower ranked prospects that can be packaged together
Get involved in the negotiations then.
Why are you so high on him? There’s plenty of other prospect options.
Clearly you don’t know what you’re talking about. Kela is not an avg reliever. He’s a very good, but not elite, RP, and Diekman is solid too. Above avg I’d say.
Sounds like it would be a package of Diekman, Kela. Kela is already better than average and controllable/young, don’t discredit youngness or control for a good backend of the bullpen.
Kela is not average
Kela is a stud reliever not average. You will have to pay to get him, and the Rangers are not adding Beltre as a throw in. Too funny!
Kela is not a ‘stud’ reliever. LOL.
He is not even middle of the pack in MLB right now. Let’s put it more mildly, Vizcaino makes Kela look horrible, and that says it all. His Low and mid leverage games are more frequent than his high, and his average lead is better than all but a few relievers. Unbelievably,in only four of his 23 saves (17%) did he have a one run lead. Most relievers are somewhere between 40-50% of saves entered with a 1 run lead. In other words, his save percentage has been aided big time.
You guys can go on and on about how good a mid-3’s ERA reliever with average peripherals is a stud, but trading Gohara for Kela and Diekman(total nothing) would be a horrible move. The OP is correct that the Braves should be able to get those two for a far lesser package.
Keone Kela has a career H/9 of 6.8, a career K/9 of 11 and control of two plus pitches. He’s an established closer by 25. If you don’t want your team to trade for him, that’s fine. But you look silly trying to act like the dude isn’t extremely talented or downplay his value.
You think too highly of Gohara
Could not agree more. Gohara has a lot of talent, but Braves fans are acting like he’s a future ace when he’s proven very little to this point above A ball.
I’m not saying he can’t or won’t reach his potential, but if you look at the phenom prospects who go on to become true No. 1 starters, they’re almost all peerless in the minor leagues — even while very young for their levels. That has not at all been the case for Gohara. The Jose Fernandezes, Chris Sales, Clayton Kershaws, Felix Hernadezes, etc., never struggled the way Gohara has at times in the minors.
To act like this guy is some can’t-miss prospect is crazy IMO. If I were trading for him, his floor would scare me as much as his ceiling excites me.
Will you stop with your obsession with every single Braves prospect. Like Cmon dude. You guys are so rich with prospect talent that guys in your minor leagues are complaining about the lack of playing time. There is no reason the Braves shouldn’t go out and get a quality player or 3.
I think these relievers are lower top 30 prospect (in braves organization) worthy. But they are not worth elite top 100 (overall) prospects. Yes I think we can go trade for a player or two, but top 100 prospects better bring in a excellent controllable return
We’ll give you Gausman and Bundy. What’s your offer in return?
Kela would have 3 years of arbitration control. How much more controllable do you think you are going to get?
“Excellent controllable return”. Has to fit all the criteria, not just 1 …
Cmon let’s make a deal. What’s your offer
Both of those pitchers are terrible.
Actually Bundy and Gausman both still have Ace potential. People love to spit on Orioles pitchers. But the Al East is the most offensively talented division in both leagues.
But you Braves fans all seem to be obsessive with your prospects and down on every other player in the league. Same with your GM
I don’t like either pitcher, so If forced to make an offer it wouldn’t be good. I think our prospects can come up and pitch just as bad as those guys can. For Bundy (at best) I would offer 2, lower half top 30 prospects. I’m not entirely sure on the Orioles needs, but that gives u an idea. Considering the orioles are just giving away players though, I would prob start by offering a bag of peanuts and popcorn, and build off that
There’s already reports stating that ATL has said they will not trade Gohara for pen help. If they are showcasing him, it’s for something else.
Yeah I just saw that. The story is changing.
They should go after Profar too
Gallo, Diekman, Kela, Beltre for Swanson, Gohara, Demeritte. Gallo can play 3rd and OF and Camargo moves to SS. Camargo has comparable defense to Swanson and he can at least hit with a little pop.
Gallo is a terrible 3b. Swanson is NOT getting traded.
Camargo, .257
Swanson, .245
It’s worth the cost to “upgrade”
nothing says we are going for it like trading your starting SS, putting a guy who has barely played 3rd this year there, and moving your current 3b to SS.
it’s strange that they likely can get both rps for gohara so you want to trade Swanson for Gallo essentially long term.
Swanson for Kela straight up would almost be fair. Kela is a stud, Swanson is nearly a dud. Camargo while not spectacular, would in my mind be an upgrade at SS. Gallo and Beltre for Gohara is fair. Gohara hasn’t exactly set the world on fire albeit small sample size. Gallo would immediately improve the bench while capable of spelling Markakis in the outfield and Beltre at 3rd if culberson doesn’t do the platooning at 3rd. Diekman automatically improves the pen while virtually only giving up demeritte who isn’t a superstar prospect. Really it’s a great trade that improves the overall team. So yea that tells the fanbase we are serious about improving the team.
Your grading Swanson way too harshly. He may not be living up to most expectations with the bat, but for the salary he has been VERY productive. 2.3 bWAR so far and 1.4 fWAR hardly qualifies as being a dud.
I disagree with just about everything you said. Swanson has 2.3 bWAR and he’s only 24. Hardly a dud. Johan is similar enough to Beltre to make Beltre unnecessary. Gallo is an AL only player. Gohara has dealt with an ankle injury, the death of his father, and his mom having open heart surgery, not to mention being moved to the pen. He’s only 21 and isn’t eligible for Arb until 2021. Diekman is average and would be a minimal upgrade to Freeman. Gohara for Kela and Diekman might not be enough, but it would be real close.
His defense, hustle, spark, and chemistry being overlooked dramatically. Personally like Camargo as well, but I don’t project his ceiling as high as Swanson and is floor is also lower
How is Gallo an AL only player? you clearly have not seen the boy play the OF, great corner outfielder with a serious arm. He runs well too for a big guy.
No
see when you start your response with this guy is a dud and is fair for this other guy who is close to a Dud (even if I think your assessment of Swanson is wrong), you have lost all credibility.
I remember my first beer
Cute. Doubtful I’d get drunk off just 1 though. Besides, I don’t drink. Great rebutle though. You really told me.
I was trying to give you an excuse for your stupid proposal
Where you think Gallo fits anywhere in the Braves lineup is beyond me.
Looks much better than Flaherty on the bench, worse case scenario.
Why would the braves give up a ton of prospects to put Gallo on the bench?
Agree with Mack.
Swanson over Camargo over long term. Anything more than Gohara for two relievers is too much and not needed
Wasting resources on relievers. The Braves are filled with overhyped pitching prospects. Most will fail and should end up in the bullpen. Go after starting pitching.
You base this on?
Kela, Diekman & Beltre for Gohora, Ynoa & Phillips
Gohara would probably be enough to land all 3
Personally, I would rather be reading about us going after Stroman, Gray, or Archer. How about Teheran with package of prospects for either?
Funny you still value Gray in the same sentence as Stroman and Archer. At least Archer has 3 years of control at a reasonable price to fall back on his recent mediocre numbers.
I would not consider Archer to be a safe upgrade to Teheran at this point.
Teherans issue seems to come in the fact that his Curve is not as effective as it once was and hitters are pulling the ball with more authority. Otherwise though, everything looks roughly the same. This might be something that can be worked out, and if not, its still not quite as bad as…
The issue with Archer seems to be a loss of movement and/or ability to throw a pitch completely – his Sinking Fastball after the 2014 season, which is where most all of his FB value came from. That has led to him changing his pitch rates completely and consequently seeing dramatic spikes in hard contact allowed, HR/FB and the inability to keep BAbip in check that you would expect when a pitcher becomes so hittable. If outside of Tampa Bay, there is a fairly strong possibility Archer is Sonny Gray
Quite possibly. Kudos for the Archer – Gray comparison. Both in my view are overrated.
The Braves should wait until Donaldson comes of the DL and see if he is right physically and then consider an August trade for him. He is a perfect fit with that team in multiple ways. The price wouldn’t even be big at that point in the season. Maybe even pick up Stroman as well since he has come on strong after coming off the DL. That would be interesting.
Yeah, I am sure it will be easy for TOR to sell off his 2 marketable players to a former Blue Jay GM he is still in the shadows of, and then explain himself to a TOR fan base that has seen nothing but a step back since he assumed his role.
Yes to Donaldson, no to Stroman, in-terms of how easy it would be to deal. Jays are thin on pitching for next year and can still use the controllable Stroman. Regardless of who’s GM, if the Jays can get a solid return from Atlanta I think they’d have no problem dealing with AA.
The step back can be spun. Current regime doesn’t have to same media fanfare AA had, but ownership owns the TV/Radio that broadcasts their games. It certainly helps when it comes to messaging.
It will be a lot easier for Toronto to deal with Atlanta than it will for AA to give the Jays any top prospect to help their future.
Any easier than say ATL dealing with LAD – his most recent employer?
That may prove to be tough seeing both LA and ATL are making trades to improve their respective clubs. Not sure if either would want to make a deal at this present time, but they did make a trade involving Matt Kemp.
Something needs to happen though this bullpen is killing the Braves slowly. Still need a bat even though I am a Dansby fan I hope a move for Beltre happens and Camargo can play both spots on the left side
Would like an OF bench bat as well Granderson comes to mind as does Maybin
Snitker is killing the bullpen via the way he uses certain pitchers in certain situations. Freeman is one such example, and then expecting Moylan to put out fires. Moylan could have been used far more often with the bases empty, but no, Snitker puts him into the game with inherited runners constantly which is extremely unfair to Moylan.
At least Yost and Cox had a clue of how to use Moylan, Snitker doesn’t.
Teherán should be move to the bullpen, he is to inconsistent to be a starter and maybe a change of scenery will do him best. The Braves have should to much patience with and I think it should end sooner than later.
Showed instead should
Nothing like strengthening the bullpen than sending an inconsistent starter there to solidify it? Are you chief engineer of the levee in New Orleans?
Why so abusive?
Because the levee broke.
Lol
I believe I said inconsistent as a starter, and also change of scenery for him included the bullpen. Pitching one inning instead of the whole game could change things for him. Nice name by the way.
Teheran is perfectly fine as a starter, he just can’t be the number 1 guy. Too much pressure on him. If he was the 2-3 we’d be happy with his numbers
I’m not happy with his numbers, no matter his spot in the rotation. I wonder if he’s one of those proverbial “change of scenery” candidates.
Some struggling starting pitchers do much better when moved to the pen, but I don’t know if Teheran would be one of them. I haven’t looked at his game logs, but his inning splits imply that the first inning is his hardest to get through. I don’t know how that would translate to being a reliever, but on the surface it doesn’t look good.
can we get anything in return for Luke Jackson AND Sam Freeman lol?
Emilio Bonifacio possibly
Lol. Exactly. How they are still getting innings is beyond me. There are better, if not no worse, options in minors.
Showed instead of should
The way I see it Beltre would replace Swanson, not Camargo.
Camargo would shift to SS ideally
Of the talented pitching prospects that rounds out the elite group, Gohora is my least favorite. He has discipline issues.
His bulky frame is going to be join injuries every year just like now. His potential is substantial but for both relievers I could let him go. Kela is really the draw here. He’s just 25, has years of control and his fip is 2.48.
Diekmen really is pretty middling. His 3.48 Fip indicates he’s a little better than his ERA. He walks to much, 5.4 passes per nine but he gets away with it because of a good 10.9 so/9. He’s serviceable and nothing more.
this ^
You have to watch Diekman to appreciate him. I think some of his troubles were at the beginning of the year but also look at his road home splits on ESPN, Almost all of his runs are in Arlington. About the same amount of innings and of the 16 ER he has total, 15 are in Arlington. He also seems to be one of those pitchers that does better when the game matters. He does not pitch well in the mop up situations.
Who would even want Gallo? He’s terrible, not even a poor man’s Adam Dunn.
Gallo is on pace for a 2.0 WAR season after putting up a 3.0 last season. Bruce has been nearly replacement level since 2014
The issue with Gallo comes mostly in his inability to play 3B and the resulting opinion people have of him off of that. In reality though, he’s been a plus fielder in the Outfield, his bat even in this sophomore slump season is still above average, and he is controllable cheaply for years to come (with most similar hitters not falling off the cliff until their age 30 season – something which is still 6 years away for Gallo)
He’s likely only slightly above average if playing exclusively in the Outfield, but that still holds quite a bit of value – especially when coupled with his age and control.
Kela is a horse with control.
Gallo can play 3rd just fine – he just doesn’t like the wear/tear on his body.
How about packaging Teheran, S. Freeman and a mid-level prospect to Tampa for Archer?
Oh man, can you grab us a thing of milk while you’re taking out the refuse? Might as well include Wisler and Luke Jackson in there.
Maybe we can also include some SunTrust blueprints they can use in the development of their new Ybor City stadium.
Thanks for adding Wisler. Can’t imagine how I forgot him in my earlier mention of Jackson and Freeman
@acmeants
You were just kidding … right …?
Would like to see Braves trade either Gohara or Allard to SDG for Francisco Mejia straight up.
Gohara for Fred McGriff. Crime Dog plays 1B, Freeman shifts to 3B, Camargo and Swanson platoon at short. Bring back Deon for bench strength and Knucksie to bolster the rotation. Boom! A six-game series win against the Indians. Take it to the bank.
That’s interesting, but it sounds like SD has their sights set on a package for a top-of-the-rotation arm. I’d prefer Gohara going than Allard, but either would be interesting. SD was smart in seeing that there’s a glut of catching right now.
Mike Minor could return and Kela for Gohara and maybe expand a deal including Teheran., Swanson etc. Make it a big time trade… could help both clubs.