Atlanta Braves Offseason Thread

[eaglegolf018]

This will work out for Tommy as well I think. California guy. Always pitched well on the west coast. Hope his arm comes back. He had filthy stuff. Even when he got hurt, the slider and curve was just downright sexy

[Roosterboy]

Originally Posted by cockyjordan3

Traded Tommy Hanson to LAA for Jordan Walden. Saves another 4 million dollars and gets us a solid young bullpen arm. Great deal.

That is a shame..I thought Hanson would be that power arm to lead the staff with Jair.

[GamecockFan7689]

Originally Posted by Roosterboy

That is a shame..I thought Hanson would be that power arm to lead the staff with Jair.

Really thought they would gel well with Derek Lowe too. That sinker is going to be nasty for us.

[MikeTrainNC8]

Originally Posted by Roosterboy

That is a shame..I thought Hanson would be that power arm to lead the staff with Jair.

What is this, 2010? haha

I used to believe that too.. How crazy both were talked abuot as All stars/potential Cy Young guys not even 2-3 years ago, and now they are obsolete

[markymark550]

I liked Hanson, but it was clear that he wasn't going to develop into the ace they were expecting. Good decision to move him to free up salary for another bat and solidify the bullpen in the process. I wish him well in LA. Hope he can stay off the DL, although I suspect that won't be the case.

[2four2Gamecock]

From Pro Sports Daily:

"They still were working several possibilities, but as the last full day at the Winter Meetings wore on Wednesday it sounded as if the Braves might leave Nashville without making a deal for a left fielder or bench help.
"Last night we started exchanging names more and getting information, and some of the 'asks' were beyond what we were comfortable doing," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "So we crossed some conversations off the list. We still have a couple of open conversations, but I'd say we had probably four or five more specific conversations going on and we were able to cross a couple of those off last night because of the high 'ask.' We're still continuing to talk with a couple of others."
Wren doesn't divulge specific players the Braves are pursuing, but it was known they explored potential trades for outfielders including Arizona's Justin Upton, Colorado's Dexter Fowler, Cleveland's Shin-Soo Choo and Kansas City's Alex Gordon, and Toronto's Emilio Bonifacio. They hadn't gained much if any traction on any of those.
Bonifacio got traded last month from Miami to Toronto, and until the Winter Meetings it wasn't though that Toronto would consider trading the speedster, who can play all three outfield positions and all the infield positions except first base. The switch-hitter stole 30 bases in 33 attempts in 2012 despite playing just 64 games because of thumb and knee injuries. He batted .258 with a .330 on-base percentage.
So far it's believed Toronto is holding off trading Bonifacio a while unless they're blown away by an offer. But he could be available eventually, and might be a good fit for Atlanta."

[jch81]

I would not necessarily be opposed to starting the year with Prado in left field and giving Francisco a shot a 3b. He has lost more weight according to reports and is supposedly hitting very well in winter league.

[COCKDIESEL]

The only thing I don't get about the Handon trade was. Why wouldn't Minnesota take him for Span?

[eaglegolf018]

Just signed Reed Johnson back. That was a piece we had to have this year. Glad they got that done.

[eaglegolf018]

Originally Posted by COCKDIESEL

The only thing I don't get about the Handon trade was. Why wouldn't Minnesota take him for Span?

The only thing I can figure out is they wanted prospects. Not a guy that's making a good amount of money and isn't under team control very much longer. But then the word is they wanted Minor. But settled for Alex Meyer as a prospect. Idk what to believe.

[Roosterboy]

Agreed.
Getting Reed Johnson gives us a solid role players who can also be a strong bat off the bench.
We still need a leadoff hitter, but I'm liking the shape the team is taking.

[eaglegolf018]

The thing I would like to know, is Juan doing this good work off of lefties? I saw nothing last year that said he can hit lefties or breaking balls. I'm not against him starting. He's an outstanding safety valve, but needs to be the last resort.

[GamecockFan7689]

Glad we got Reed Johnson back. Great hitter off the bench that can fill in for a start on a regular basis if need be. Much better option than people like Constanza.

[eaglegolf018]

Apparently we signed Blake Dewitt today as well. Didn't realize it until I was looking at the roster just now.


Well here is what it looks like RIGHT NOW. Assuming we go in right now with this team.


1) SS: Simmons
2) LF: Prado
3) 1st: Freeman
4) RF: Heyward
5) 2nd: Uggla
6) C: Mac
7) CF: Upton
8) 3rd: Fransisco


Rotation of
1) Medlen
2) Hudson
3) Minor
4) Maholm
5) Teheran/Delgado (I think Teheran will win that battle in Spring Training. Just my opinion)


Bullpen

Long relief: C-Mart
Specialist: Gearinn and Avilan
7th inning and 8th inning setups: Walden, Venters, EOF
Closer: Kimbrel


Bench: Reed Johnson, Gerald Laird, Jordan Schafer/Jose Constanza, Paul Janish.


So I ask, where does the pop off the bench come from? Who gets the final bench job? Mejia, Dewitt, or Gattis? And can we really go into the season with Simmons batting leadoff and Juan being the every day 3rd baseman? I think Frank Wren still has some work to do.

[CardiacKemba]

I think there will still be a trade for a solid LF bat. I have a feeling that Wren will ship out either Teheran or Delgado for a bat. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gattis get a shot on the bench either and eventually a shot in LF. That guy is legit and could play LF and backup Mac.4

I just hope they stay away from Dexter Fowler. His splits are ridiculous. He RAKES at Coors but is not very good away from home.

[rnecavs07]

I agree I could live with a solid corner of and move Prado to 3 and have Simmons ay leadoff. Still alot of offseason to go.

[cockyjordan3]

Originally Posted by eaglegolf018

Apparently we signed Blake Dewitt today as well. Didn't realize it until I was looking at the roster just now.


Well here is what it looks like RIGHT NOW. Assuming we go in right now with this team.


1) SS: Simmons
2) LF: Prado
3) 1st: Freeman
4) RF: Heyward
5) 2nd: Uggla
6) C: Mac
7) CF: Upton
8) 3rd: Fransisco


Rotation of
1) Medlen
2) Hudson
3) Minor
4) Maholm
5) Teheran/Delgado (I think Teheran will win that battle in Spring Training. Just my opinion)


Bullpen

Long relief: C-Mart
Specialist: Gearinn and Avilan
7th inning and 8th inning setups: Walden, Venters, EOF
Closer: Kimbrel


Bench: Reed Johnson, Gerald Laird, Jordan Schafer/Jose Constanza, Paul Janish.


So I ask, where does the pop off the bench come from? Who gets the final bench job? Mejia, Dewitt, or Gattis? And can we really go into the season with Simmons batting leadoff and Juan being the every day 3rd baseman? I think Frank Wren still has some work to do.

Janish and Mac will obviously be out for the first month. So we'll have DeWitt and that other backup C we signed yesterday. As of now, Mejia or Gattis would probably be on the squad, giving you that pop and a possible platoon partner for FatJuan (if it's Gettis). Also, Fredi said as things stand now, Upton would be hitting 4th. So I'd guess:

Simba
Prado
JHey
BJ
Fredi
Uggla
Francisco (Mac when healthy)
Laird (Francisco would drop down)

[eaglegolf018]

Originally Posted by cockyjordan3

Janish and Mac will obviously be out for the first month. So we'll have DeWitt and that other backup C we signed yesterday. As of now, Mejia or Gattis would probably be on the squad, giving you that pop and a possible platoon partner for FatJuan (if it's Gettis). Also, Fredi said as things stand now, Upton would be hitting 4th. So I'd guess:

Simba
Prado
JHey
BJ
Fredi
Uggla
Francisco (Mac when healthy)
Laird (Francisco would drop down)

Ok. I like Upton in the 4th spot. He's better than a .246 hitter. Personally, I'm not against getting Hunter Pence. I know he's awkward as can be. Not a leadoff guy but from what I've seen, its an upgrade from Juan playing everyday. Juan can't hit lefties and he cant hit breaking balls. In a division with Hamels, Lee, Niese, Gio, etc. I'm just not ready to have Uggla, Upton, and Juan bringing all those strikeouts into a lineup everyday. Don't want Fowler. Really like the Alex Gordon deal.

[MjGCock]

Man, is Uggla just impossible to move? I wish we would have gotten rid of him and his .200 BA.

[eaglegolf018]

Originally Posted by MjGCock

Man, is Uggla just impossible to move? I wish we would have gotten rid of him and his .200 BA.

Still has 3 years/37 million left on that 5 year deal. Yeah, he's impossible to move. So the point is that he needs to get his crap together. He looks lost at the plate for 2 months at the time