Braves aren't shopping Escobar
Yunel Escobar returned to the Braves lineup on Thursday night and as
long as he remains healthy, it appears he'll stay there throughout the
remainder of the season and likely beyond.
While Escobar doesn't necessarily into the same untouchable category inhabited by Tommy Hanson, Jason Heyward and Brian McCann, he seemingly doesn't have much reason to wonder if he's going to be moved before the July 31 trade deadline.
Early Thursday evening, a Braves source once again confirmed that the club hasn't made a single attempt to even explore the possibility of moving Escobar. But he did confirm that rumor mill has at least led some teams to inquire about the availiability of the highly-skilled shortstop.
The Braves certainly aren't going to handcuff themselves by publicly stating that there is no way that they'd deal Esobar. I mean, I guess you have to leave the door open to the possibility that Rangers GM Jon Daniels might one day wake up in a charitable mood and offer an exchange of Neftali Feliz and Elvis Andrus.
In short, the Braves aren't going to move Escobar unless they are blown away with a blockbuster offer that provides the return of another high-quality, affordable shortstop.
Johnson update: Kelly Johnson is eligible to come off the disabled list on Saturday. But with Johnson hitting just .238 in the six games he'd played for Triple-A Gwinnett entering Tuesday, you have to wonder if the Braves will at least keep him down there until at least July 27 when his rehab stint expires.
With Brooks Conrad and Martin Prado, the Braves have two capable second baseman to play at the Major League level. Plus bringing Johnson back to the Majors might not necessarily enhance his value to the Indians or Cardinals, who have previously shown interest in him.
If Johnson is moved he'll likely either be part of a package or part of deal with a club that is looking to move one of their disappointing players, whose salary is in the neighborhood of Johnson's ($2.8 million).
Soriano watch: If the Braves were to fall out of postseason contention, Rafael Soriano will defintiely gain even more attention on the trade market. The Braves might also look to move Mike Gonzalez, who is also eligible for free agency at the conclusion of this season.
An American League scout said that he's often hesitant to take a mid-season chance on Braves relievers because of Bobby Cox's tendency to send them to the mound with great regularity. But he also added that there are a number of teams that will try to put Soriano at the back end of their bullpen.
The Tigers are searching for a closer and Dave Dombrowski and Frank Wren have proven they certainly like to deal with each other.
While Escobar doesn't necessarily into the same untouchable category inhabited by Tommy Hanson, Jason Heyward and Brian McCann, he seemingly doesn't have much reason to wonder if he's going to be moved before the July 31 trade deadline.
Early Thursday evening, a Braves source once again confirmed that the club hasn't made a single attempt to even explore the possibility of moving Escobar. But he did confirm that rumor mill has at least led some teams to inquire about the availiability of the highly-skilled shortstop.
The Braves certainly aren't going to handcuff themselves by publicly stating that there is no way that they'd deal Esobar. I mean, I guess you have to leave the door open to the possibility that Rangers GM Jon Daniels might one day wake up in a charitable mood and offer an exchange of Neftali Feliz and Elvis Andrus.
In short, the Braves aren't going to move Escobar unless they are blown away with a blockbuster offer that provides the return of another high-quality, affordable shortstop.
Johnson update: Kelly Johnson is eligible to come off the disabled list on Saturday. But with Johnson hitting just .238 in the six games he'd played for Triple-A Gwinnett entering Tuesday, you have to wonder if the Braves will at least keep him down there until at least July 27 when his rehab stint expires.
With Brooks Conrad and Martin Prado, the Braves have two capable second baseman to play at the Major League level. Plus bringing Johnson back to the Majors might not necessarily enhance his value to the Indians or Cardinals, who have previously shown interest in him.
If Johnson is moved he'll likely either be part of a package or part of deal with a club that is looking to move one of their disappointing players, whose salary is in the neighborhood of Johnson's ($2.8 million).
Soriano watch: If the Braves were to fall out of postseason contention, Rafael Soriano will defintiely gain even more attention on the trade market. The Braves might also look to move Mike Gonzalez, who is also eligible for free agency at the conclusion of this season.
An American League scout said that he's often hesitant to take a mid-season chance on Braves relievers because of Bobby Cox's tendency to send them to the mound with great regularity. But he also added that there are a number of teams that will try to put Soriano at the back end of their bullpen.
The Tigers are searching for a closer and Dave Dombrowski and Frank Wren have proven they certainly like to deal with each other.
Well, now we have more reason to stay alive in this race because I don't want to get rid of Soriano and Gonzo. I believe that kelly will end up being traded. I hope we are buyers and not sellers. If we trade for a bat it better be for a player that is not a free agent after this season aka Holliday. And He will not get the money that he is looking for after this season, unless he signs with the bankees.
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Mark--what do you think the going rate of a rent-a-top-notch-closer is? Matt Joyce for Sori straight up?
I'm not a big fan of the deal but realistically, we'd be lucky to get that much...
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Matt Joyce? Why on earth would we want him? If the Braves fall out of contension, trade soriano to the Fish, he'll just end up on the Yankees anyway. Hell, trade him to the Yankees. Apparently Melkys on the block... Get him. I doubt that, but who knows right?
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It will be a sad day if we lose Gonzo and Soriano, especially if we don't see anything come of the bullpen reconstruction we did after the Reitsma era. I know Bob Wickman doesn't want to give up his managerial position at Burger King, but we might have to persuade him to do so for the 2010 season if we lose both of those guys.
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The Tigers have NOTHING in their farm I would want. Did anyone else see Gonzalez admitting his arm was overused? Wow, that's sort of calling out Bobby's bullpen management. Which has been worse than piss-poor.
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Kelly Johnson will be gone by the end of July even if its for a crappy prospect. I think we should trade gonzo for a good prospect or 2 . That would allow for extra money to sign soriano after the season. He is the Braves bullpen at this point almost automatic everynight!
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You said it P-dub... and judging by this sentence from Mark, apparently Bobby is known throughout the league as a bullpen abuser - "An American League scout said that he's often hesitant to take a mid-season chance on Braves relievers because of Bobby Cox's tendency to send them to the mound with great regularity.".. Word has traveled...
I really don't see us moving Soriano. We need him beyond this season. I've been saying all along that the pieces are in place to win now with the exception of adding a big bat. Look at these trends:
2006-2007 - Above average Pitching / Defense. Average offense. Terrible bullpen blowing games left and right.
2008 - Below average starting pitching. Above average offense (Tex / Chipper). Above average bullpen.
2009 - ABOVE average Starting Pitching. ABOVE average bullpen. Average offense.
If we knock up our offense to "above average" we have what we need to contend. And we're set up with our pitching to contend for a few years. Losing reliable closers would mean we're back to 2006 blowing late innings games. John Smoltz would have been a 20-game winner had the bullpen not imploded every start he made. We need our bullpen in tact for the future.
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Braves sign David Hale, 3rd round pick:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=429
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This is from the Gonzo article:
"Gonzalez has made 45 appearances this season, compared to just 36 appearances at the All-Star break in 2006, his last full season of work. Coupled with his return in June of last year from 2007 Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery, the heavy workload took its toll on the 31-year-old.
"The arm was overused," Gonzalez said. "As professionals, we know that sometimes we have to ask for a day off. I never did that."
Over the past few weeks, Gonzalez said he began to notice the pain and could feel his performance gradually deteriorate. However, he felt he could still get his job done up until his outing against the Rockies on July 9.
"Nobody in this clubhouse is without aches and pains," Gonzalez said. "But I was on the mound in Colorado, and I couldn't feel the ball coming off my fingers. It was ridiculous. I'm in a Major League game, and I couldn't concentrate on the batter. I didn't even know who was hitting. That's when I had to shut it down."
The tendinitis in his left elbow caused Gonzalez to miss the final three games of the Braves' series against the Rockies. In the first game of that series, Gonzalez was tagged for two runs in two-thirds of an inning.
After resting those three games and the three days of the All-Star break, Gonzalez said his arm feels better, and that he was ready to pitch if called upon. Cox seems a little more cautious and will wait to use Gonzalez for at least a few days. "
If Cox had just been cautious with him in the first place we wouldn't be in this position. http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090716&content_id=5897048&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
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I understand the Braves fiscal "responsibility" from a business perspective, but it would certainly be nice to see these guys become successful in a Braves uniform. We're considering bring Elvis back? Sure, prospects are always a risk, but his defensive skills have never been a question--why trade a guy and then trade back for him only to give up even more in return. Can we trade Wren to Texas as well and get a GM in return?
As a fan--and not a baseball business man--it would be great to make a run at Holliday and/or Dye. Payroll aside, a big bat could give us a chance at the East title. Let's shop Kelly Johnson and/or Ryan Church to see if we can replace either Gonzo or Soriano (we need to hold onto one); then make a big push for Holliday.
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BravesTheRant, perhaps I'm wrong, but I believe Mark's comment with regards to reacquiring Elvis was with tongue-in-cheek.
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And, right now I'm not sure that I'd consider Holliday a "big bat." A better one, yes, but not one that would push us over the hump given his average performance this year. And, if you're Beane, why would you give up Holliday for a package including an underperforming Johnson, or average Church, when you could just hold on to him and, perhaps, get some high draft picks instead.
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Ummmm....to bobbycoxismyfather well i dont believe that package could get Holliday,but at this point i cant see Oakland holding onto him.They cant get the draft picks bc they cant offer arbitration.If they offer Holliday arbitration he is gonna take it due to underperforming and settle for the 1 year 16-18 million dollars that he will be awarded.Its true.
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I think Escobar in the line-up will help them :)
http://tribechick.mlblogs.com/ -TC
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Man I hope the fish take 3 of 4 from Philly!
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Holliday would be an even worse acquisition than Teixeira. He doesn't bring the spectacular defense that Tex did and he isn't anywhere near the hitter. Atlanta really should stay away from Holliday. Holliday isn't having that great of a season so I don't see any reason to go after him.
http://moneyball.mlblogs.com/
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Good to hear that the Braves aren't shopping Escobar. I think we would be stupid to trade him despite his occasional discipline problems. He's still one of our better hitters, plays good defense for the most part, and is under contract for cheap for the next few years. I don't think we're gonna find another shortstop that can give us similar production at a similar price. As for Soriano, I REALLY hope that we don't trade him. In fact, I feel like we should try to do whatever we can to sign him in the offseason and bring him back next year (and that's regardless of how we finish this season). In my opinion, he has been our MVP without a doubt in the first half of this year. I don't even wanna think about what our record would look like right now without him. I think it would be a mistake for us to let him walk in the offseason also, unless the Yankees offer to overpay him ridiculously, which is always a possibility. I don't really see that we have anyone else in place in the organization to take over the closer's role if he leaves, though, so I really hope we make a push to re-sign him even though I know we are working with limited funds and there are holes offensively on the team that need to be addressed also. On another note, I was glad to see that Bobby gave Manny Acosta a chance in the seventh inning last night. I hope he does that more throughout the rest of the season in order to lessen the workload on Moylan, Gonzo, and Soriano a little bit. Knowing Bobby though, that may be wishful thinking...
Also, I just saw a guy suggest on ESPN Insider in the "Team Fixes" article that the Braves should try to make a push for Scott Rolen and move Chipper over to first since he's starting to struggle a tad defensively at third base. I actually really like this idea. Trading for Rolen or another power-hitting third baseman and moving Chipper to first would at least help out our power production. However, defensively it might be a lot to ask for Chipper to switch to a position that he's never played before in mid-season. I think he could probably handle it, but it's still risky. What do you guys think?
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I hate the idea when people suggest just moving someone to first. Playing first base takes footwork that even an above average athlete can't handle. It is easily the most underrated position in baseball. But playing third base can make the transition a little easier. If he were to attempt to move it needs to be in the off season. Making the move mid-season could be an absolute disaster.
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I think that Kelly should stay in the minors until someone gets hurt because in my opinion, Conrad is just a better hitter.
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That sounds OK in theory, shadowmonkey13, but Kelly Johnson is out of options and position players can only stay on rehab assignments for 20 days.
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Let's trade Kelly for a nifty A level shortstop or a 3B prospect. Failing that I think you try to get a warm 6-pack for him. We finally have some team chops in the infield, let's not screw it up by bringing Kelly back up.
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Tonight's Lineup
McLouth 8
Prado 4
Chipper 5
McCann 2
Anderson 7
Escobar 6
Church 9
Kotchman 3
Jurrjens 1
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Goodie! Ryan Church is playing tonight! I really want to see him beat up on the Mets, but I'm going to a Poison/Cheap Trick/Def Leppard concert so I'll most definitly miss the game. Good luck boys (Or break a leg, but this isn't theatre, and thats something you don't want to say in sports, especially if its a Brave, but If its a Met, well I don't have any problems, By the way this is the longest run on sentance in this blogs history, cool huh?). Let me know what happens y'all...
http://knoble.mlblogs.com
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Kevin Goldstein believes Heyward has a chance for a call up in September with the way he's been smashing the ball, heres more:
"Jason Heyward, OF, Braves (Double-A Mississippi)
Thursday's stats: 4-for-6, 2 2B, HR (1), 2 R, RBI
In his first 10 Double-A games, the 19-year-old outfielder is batting .417/.476/.639 (average/on-base/slugging). He's suddenly developing at a tremendous pace, and one has to wonder if he's suddenly in line for a September look, as one of the reasons he stayed with the big league team so long this spring is that manager Bobby Cox just liked watching him play so much. "
Anyone remember that great catch he made in ST. Rob a homerun. I don't remember who it was against, but I think thats the point in which I realized the boy was pure gold. A ligitament 5 tool prospect.
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theman107, perhaps someone correct me if I'm wrong, but everything I've read and heard suggests that the Athletics aren't unwilling to offer Holliday arbitration.
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That's right bobbycox. I read somewhere they won't offer it because he'll accept because he isn't having that a great a season. He'll get way more in arbitration than he will through free agency.
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I think we should package Gonzo and .Kelly for a proven middle relief pitcher. This will accomplish 2 things. It will show Soriano that he is our closer for the future and as much as Bobby likes to use the bullpen, it would give us another strong arm that could chew up innings. We need to sign Soriano to a long term contract before he declares for free agency and since we won't be able to afford both Soriano and Gonzo we should at least get something for Gonzo via a trade
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I think we need to package Gonzo and Johnson for a proven middle relief pitcher. This will accomplish 2 things. This will show Soriano that he is our closer for the future and as much as Bobby uses the pen, it would give us another stong arm that could chew up innings. We wont be able to sign both Gonzo and Soriano next year so we should get something for Gonzo now. I think we need to offer Soriano a long term contract now before he elects free agency.
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why wont this post?
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The Braves seem to be buying at this point which is awesome to see!! We need to hold onto both Gonzo and Soriano though.. Maybe instead of looking at Holliday the Braves should look to the Nationals and maybe a package for Adam Dunn.. That is a power bat that would push our offense over the top!! Hear me out..package a deal around Shafer and Kotchman maybe throw in Brandon Jones and a young pitcher.. Hayward is our future outfield w McClouth in center and Dunn can play first!! He has this year and 1 more year on his contract for 10 million per.. That opens the door for Freedie Freeman after that.. Plus trade Johnson for a couple minor leaguers.. That would free up rouhgfly 4 million+ between Johnson and Kotchman.. Then not bringing Hudson back next year would free up another 12+ mil to give the braves around 16 million.. 10 to Dunn and the rest to resign both Gonzo and Soriano.. if the Braves raise their salary a little more again that will give them even more more money.. I know ppl will think Im stupid giving up Hudson but the guys we got now have the 3rd best era in baseball so our starters are great and under contract next year!! Just food for thought what do you guys think?
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