Multiple reports over the past few weeks have linked the Brewers to free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel, though there have also been indications that the team doesn’t have the payroll available to sign the seven-time All-Star. However, owner Mark Attanasio didn’t slam the door shut on a potential Kimbrel signing Saturday, telling Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that whether the Brewers pursue the 30-year-old is up to general manager David Stearns. “He would help any team,” Attanasio said of Kimbrel, whose reported asking price looks sane in light of his vast career accomplishments and current skill set.
- Meanwhile, in the Brewers’ starting staff, right-hander Corbin Burnes is yielding home runs at a historic rate, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com observes. Burnes surrendered three homers in each of his first three starts, making him the ninth pitcher since 1908 to be victimized to that degree, per McCalvy. Although Burnes owns a a ludicrous 64.3 percent HR-to-fly ball rate across 14 1/3 innings this season, manager Craig Counsell said the Brewers aren’t planning to pull the 25-year-old from their rotation. Rather, they had Burnes meet with members of their analytics department to determine whether his fastball, which has left the yard eight times this year, has become too predictable, Haudricourt tweets. The hard-throwing Burnes’ sudden homer proneness is particularly unexpected given that the former top 100 prospect seldom allowed HRs in the minors; further, the long ball didn’t haunt Burnes to an alarming extent during his 38-inning major league debut last season.
- Braves catcher Brian McCann is aiming to come off the 10-day injured list April 17, the first day he’s eligible to return, David O’Brien of The Athletic reports. McCann landed on the IL with a right hamstring strain, temporarily derailing his homecoming season in Atlanta after just 19 plate appearances. Fortunately for the Braves, fellow backstop Tyler Flowers has come roaring out of the gates this year, which has helped offset McCann’s absence.
- Giants first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin may be heading for the IL, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Austin, whom the Giants acquired from the Twins on Monday, suffered a right elbow injury in a throwing drill on Friday and will go for an MRI. The 27-year-old has gone 3-for-9 with two walks at the outset of his Giants tenure.
Don’t worry about pitchers giving up HR’s……
The ball is juiced this year. I see veteran OF’s that are late taking off on contact as they aren’t used to balls carrying as they are. Haven’t seen this since the steroid era.
What’s amazing are the number of HR’s in non-domed parks where the ball should not be carrying in the cold April weather. Just imagine when the warm weather and high humidity hits. It looks like well over a dozen guys will hit over 50 HR’s this season.
Strikeout. Walk. HR.
Launch angle not juiced balls. Every player is working on launch angle.
that is what they want you to believe…but balls are juiced…ever since pitchers said balls were different in 2017 post season….mlb trying to create more offense…not a fan of them tampering
njmlins,
Correct.
Launch angles have nothing at all to do with veteran OF’s not breaking initially on balls that wind up over their heads but stay in the field.
MLB has juiced the ball for more HR’s the same way the NFL legalized offensive linemen holding and outlawed DB’s from chucking WR’s in order to bring offense into their game about 10-12 years ago. On it’s way to flag football.
That along with the epidemic amount of K’s assures that starting pitchers can’t last into the 8th inning 95% of the time. Just watched Verlander shut down the Mariners, but he had to leave after 6 innings because he was up to 105 pitches. He had 11 K’s and that ran his pitch count up. On it’s way to hitting off a tee.
Different game. Don’t compare stats to what happened in the past. MLB games now come down to the 12th guy in the bullpen that just got called up from AA ball.
juiced or not, not everyone has HR issues, just as not all hitters strike out because strike outs have gone up. Burnes has an issue, just as all pitchers who have his HR issues. Really, he should be down in AAA or in the bullpen right now. as i said at the start of the season, i dont get why they moved Anderson from the rotation just to shove Burnes in.
They will get a new shipment for balls come summer time I feel MLB is purposely using juiced balls during the cold month to create excitement for TV viewers with All the Basketball playoffs /Hockey Playoffs and NFL Draft they need viewers to keep the ratings up
Big Corb will be fine. Dude is a stud.
Um, no he’s not. He’s a 2-pitch max out pitcher that is a failed SP and will only be a bullpen arm. Just like the others in the Brewers rotation…which is a mess.
To each his own.
Clearly you either don’t know what you’re talking about or haven’t watched Burnes pitch.
The #1 reason he hasn’t been pulled and the Crew wants him to be a starter is bc the guy has 4+ legit pitches.
Hader only has 2 which is why they never moved him to starter.
Burnes has 4 offerings plus or better. Not sure where you got the idea he was a 2 pitch max effort guy. Especially bc his fastball was about 96 as a reliever and as a starter it’s right about 95.
Also not sure you even read the article seeing as how they specifically said 8 of his 9 HRs were off fastballs. If all he could throw were 2 pitches he wouldn’t be a very effective reliever either if his fastball is homer prone.
Kimbrel asking for 3/50. Thought the Braves could shop in any aisle. I guess not
They’ll sign him after he doesn’t cost a draft pick.
If he goes unsigned, they’ll have to out-bid others who are thinking the same thing.
Which teams do you think will be in the hunt for kimbrel’s services after the June timeframe?
hothothotinc
Will depend on which teams still think they are in contention and if the CBT is still a deterrent to some, but as of right now Nats, Cubs, Brewers, Phillies, BoSox.
Too much can happen between now and June to answer for sure but there are most likely some teams that would consider CK, that did not extend feeler before, once the draft pick sting goes away.
That’s not shopping in any aisle. That’s shopping in aisles that don’t cost a draft pick.
That’s not true. There are some things that you say aren’t worth the cost. Kimbrel and what he’ll sign for and a draft pick isn’t worth it.
You guys are crazy. You want moves to happen just to happen. A deal to deal isn’t good.
A move to happen just to happen? It’s like you’ve never watched the Braves bullpen ever pitch at all.
I want the team to get better in a very obvious glaring weakness. Just because YOU don’t agree with the cost doesn’t mean I’m asking for a move to happen just to happen.
To even utter that statement makes me wonder if you’ve watched a single Braves game at all because the bullpen is unquestionably one of the worst in baseball and this isn’t exactly an unpopular opinion either.
Real talk
MJ…the bullpen has been inconsistent so far…when bad they have been HORRIBLE…but when they have been good they have been lights out dominate! The issue is finding out how to get them dominant for a longer stretch..
I would love to see Kimbrel back in Atl, but as you pointed out they are shopping in aisles that dont cost a draft pick. They are looking and can buy, but aren’t due to the draft pick. They are still fighting against the international penalty…so yes Kimbrel would be great now but losing another way to keep depth down the road is a real concern at this point.
@MJ you obviously do not watch baseball, the Braves bullpen is not the best out there, but they are far from “one of the worst in baseball” I bet the Cubs or Red Sox, even the Dodgers would trade bullpens with us right now.
Actually MJ, 81 game season ticket holder here. Real talk.
The pen isn’t good. There are high spots, like Parsons, and there are low spots. A bunch of the guys in the pen (Sobotka, Jackson) have been victim of a singular bad outing. Guys like Minter, Venters and Viz you have to see if they normalize because of their track record.
Regardless, the players are in the mix to improve THIS version of the pen already. A healthy Gausman already greatly strengthened it. Frankly, I thought Wright and Wilson were more prepared for the bigs, and would slot to the pen when Gausman/Folty returned, but was obviously wrong. Regardless of that, Max Fried and Touki are most definitely ready. There are so many arms that it will start to settle naturally and the pen, while it may not be a top 5 BP, will be greatly improved and will be middle of the pack.
This was EXACTLY what everyone was saying about the rotation after opening weekend, and now the rotation is already showed great improvement. There are SO MANY arms waiting in the wings, you HAVE to give them a chance or you start trading away pieces that you shouldn’t be.
Now as for Kimbrel…did you watch a single Bos game from the end of August forward? 30 teams have passed on him. 30 teams still have. I love him. I wanted him from 2 years ago seeing the math align. Here’s the truth: his Velo is down. That doesn’t counteract a track record….except his most recent sample size bring question into that.
Now, there was an obvious direction to the off-season. I’m not sure if you’ve read a newspaper article in the last 18 months, but the Braves got stripped of a ton of low level prospects. Not only that, but while loosing a class with a 2022-2025 ETA, they also lost the ability to draft internationally. That means that unless the Braves want to have little to no prospects from 2025-2030, they need to draft often and draft well. Does that mean that you don’t offer to qualifying FA’s? Of course not. But when a free agent is leveraging future finances at a premium and a draft pick, it’s almost like trading for that player, and it significantly lowers his FA value. Whatever that sums up to for the Braves (and the Red Sox, and the Brewers, etc.), is less the Kimbrel thinks he’s worth.
The deal has to make sense. If we got Kimbrel, nothing tells me he would be Kimbrel of 2013 and not Kimbrel of the post season. The more recent iteration wouldn’t be a stitch better then what we could fill the BP out with without him. So, yes. That’s a move just to make a move.
And don’t make me illustrate how silly Dallas Keuchel would be to slot in in the rotation.
Shop any isle doesn’t mean spend on any isle. Why are Braves fans so in love with 2019 Kimbrel?
That’s a damn good question.
Because Viz is already on the IL and Minter is still developing. Couple that with a strong division, there is an opportunity to address that weakness without dealing from our current prospects. Granted, the cash and a third-rounder will sting, but trading for a closer near the deadline will cost much more prospect wealth.
Ugh, Austin has been a good luck charm for the Giants. Meanwhile Pillar is punishing the Bluejays for trading him. He’s been on fire
Found a power stroke at one of the hardest places to find one of those lol, it’s been great, too bad they couldn’t reward him with a win when he hit that grand slam the other night.
i dont think Pillar was ever going to net any more of a return. Jays are probably happy with two wild cards and a nice prospect.
Well I have watch Pillar for years and he can not handle breaking balls away…. national league hasn’t figured it out yet
This is a long sentence with very heavy comma use: “rather, they had Burnes meet with members of their analytics department to determine whether his fastball, which has left the yard eight times this year, has become too predictable, Haudricourt tweets.” Em dashes around the interjection about his fastball being hit for 8 HR make more sense. “Instead” is also a better choice than “rather”.
Also I’m pretty sure you mean “furthermore” instead of “further, the long ball didn’t…” because it’s not being used as an adverb.
klarmore11
Here’s a long sentence for ya.
Please, please stop with the constant blathering and criticism of the writing on this free baseball site, enjoyed by many but brought down by pompous, overbearing a-hats such as yourself who have nothing better to do than criticize others in order to stroke their own egos and probably more.
Have a nice day
I agree. Grammar cops are just plain annoying. As long as the thought is correctly conveyed to the reader, it does not matter if the post would achieve a perfect 100% from the english teacher/professor.
I bet you’re a blast at parties.
Feel better??
Your username is not capitalized.
I like this cat, Austin. He’s got some swag to him. I hope he’s ok.
yeah, he is the extra power bat that is needed to balance out the outfield. on the upside watching the outfield defense with pillar duggar and para yesterday was really fun, especially after the last few years where the giants have had the worst outfield defense in baseball.
Braves not making a push to get kimbrell is an absolute joke
oh just wait, every one gonna say draft pick draft pick blah blah…like a 2nd round draft pick in baseball is worth gold or something. Didnt the Braves just let their 1st round draft pick walk over wrist soreness last year and haggled over like $500k signing bonus?! If they weren’t willing to work that out then they’re not overvaluing a 2nd round pick. Or just simply look at it like you’re drafting Kimbrel with 2nd pick…2nd draft picks in baseball are closer to NBA talent level not NFL worth
Draft picks are more important to the Braves than most teams.
They:
1) lost 13 international prospects from 2016-2017.
2) lost their 3rd round pick in 2018,
3) couldn’t spend more than $300K on any international picks in 2017 and 2018
4) can’t spend more than $10K on any international picks in 2019
5) lose half their international bonus pool allotment in 2020
So, yeah, for the Braves, draft picks are gold.
^^^^see told you lol…hopefully they will make a push to get Kimbrel 2 months from now, even when other teams will most certainly outbid us. But hey we’ll keep our precious 2nd round pick that would’ve crippled the franchise if we hadn’t
If Kimbrel’s trends last year hadn’t been so concerning, he’d likely have a contract right now. Coming off no spring training, he likely won’t be ready until after the All-Star break, and even then may no longer be elite. Is giving up a second round pick for three months of Kimbrel worth the incertitude?
I’m not sure it is.
My bad. I was still thinking in terms of picking him up after the draft. If the Braves signed him now, he’d probably be ready by mid-May. We still don’t know how he will rebound.
If we wanted a pitcher who gave up 4.5 walks per nine, we could have kept Freeman. 🙂
Tone Glavine
Freddie Freeman
Brian McCann
Mike Soroka
Kyle Muller
Drew Waters
AJ Minter
Alex Wood
Antrelton Simmons
Yunel Escobar
Don’t look now, but those names get more impactful the closer to the present they get, and they’re all second round picks.
i get all that and agree but please dont compare Kimbrell to sad Sam Freeman lol
Why not? Their end of season lines were, in a word, comparable.
those are some pretty good cherry picked 2nd round picks names for sure not gonna lie….but only 1 of those names actually helped us get a Championship in Glavine. One day when the Braves have new ownership we can stop with this Losers mentality of being competitive and waiting for the future and go after actual World Series titles.
You have to get to the post-season to get to the WS, and over the last 30 years, the Braves have done that more than most.
exactly, they were happy to getting to post season just to get bounced in the first round more often than not and never did anything change that…guess what we just did last post season? we just trotted the same weaknesses back out there. right back to the old ways it seems huh?
Not hardly. In the old days, we went to the WS 5 times in 14 years. Last year we over-achieved. We weren’t even supposed to be in the post-season.
dang it Terry Mcguirk…didn’t you learn anything from basketball exec’s having burner accounts?!
Seems like you’re really reaching here man. What would you have done differently in those years? If you count the manager they trotted out 5 HoF’s every game. Made moves to get guys like Castilla, Sheffield, Drew. Anything can happen in October baseball.
The problem is that the Braves could use Kimbrel this year, but the next 2 years after that? Not so much, so he becomes a liability. The same fandom that is urging to sign Kimbrel is going to be the pitch fork waving mob that complains that we signed him for 3 (or more) years.