2015 Atlanta Braves

[Amoo316]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

AJ's deal last year was 1 year for 2M, from what I saw his deal this year is 1 year for 3M, I'm sure that didn't hurt. I can only assume as an organization they felt Bethancourt (SP) would perform better then he did this year, or they probably would have tried to lock AJ up for a couple of years prior to last season.

CB played in 48 games last year hit exactly .200 and had a WAR of -0.1
AJ played in 113 last year hit exactly .300 and had a WAR of 1.6.

Interesting thing about AJ is almost all of his numbers last year were right at or above his career averages. he'll be 39 next year and he's on a 1 year deal. Not sure where we turn if CB doesn't make serious improvements this coming season. CB is definitely the better defensive catcher and both guys had an extremely close CERA so at least he's not costing us on the defensive end. CB in fact ranks higher in CS% then both Wieters or AJ, by a good bit.

All in all CB could be an acceptable starter if we want to play the defensive catcher route, but we need every bit of help on offense we can get right now. Plus he's only 24, so there's still room to grow on the offensive end.

[decga]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

They just traded Simmons to the Angels for Aybar & prospects. Excuse me for this What the F@Dk!

[KSUowls]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

They just traded Simmons to the Angels for Aybar & prospects. Excuse me for this What the F@Dk!

^ This times 1000.

Young and affordable shortstop under team control for the next 4-5 years with an elite glove for a couple pitching prospects WTF!? If you tell me we got some can't miss position prospect with a Mike Trout bat sure, but more unproven pitching!? We just traded one of our very few answers in the starting 8 for more pitching prospects?????

WTF

[TheMatrix31]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

What a despicable franchise this has become.

[KSUowls]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

Olivera's age doesn't concern me for a few reasons. One, Cuban seasons aren't as long, so when a player gets to the point where an American who's been in pro ball since his late teens or early twenties and is starting to lose some ability, Cuban guys have proven to stay stronger later. Two, a big part of the reason to stay away from established players when you're rebuilding is cost. They're established, and thus cost more, hurting against your salary restrictions. In Olivera's case, it lowered his cost.

He'll only be 32 in 2017, and 35 when his deal expires. Worst case scenario, he's a .250/.310/.400 hitter with 15 hr at 3b. If that's the case, and Wood is a sub 4.00 era pitcher and Peraza can get on base at a .340 clip (which may be a stretch), then it's not a great deal, but it's still not a disaster. But if he can be a .280/.340/.450 guy with 20 hr in 2017 and 2018, at roughly $6 million, it's a fantastic deal unless both Peraza and Wood exceed expectations.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Sorry haven't checked these boards in forever.

It isn't just a matter of playing in major league seasons or not. Less tread on the tires by not playing the MLB seasons helps a little. However, the human body is still 30. The body does not continue to grow (unless you're barry bonds) when you are on the other side of 30, it doesn't heal as fast, and even the most insane of athletes are not the same at 30 as they are 20. It doesn't mean that they are over the hill, but with very few exceptions are guys able to maintain the same level of athleticism into their mid and late 30s.

The main issue I have is this. Wood and Peraza clearly had trade value if they were able to land Olivera who is a projected big bat, while also not taking on the money. Big bats and money have a price tag, and if Wood/Peraza were enough for that then what could it have gotten us that would be more useful to a team in rebuild mode?

I question the move even more now that we traded one of our few answers in the starting 8 for more prospects...love prospects, but somewhere the strategy isn't quite aligning.

[decga]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

As I stated last year. The F.O., management. They do not care about who shows up at Turner Field in its final year. Its apparent they don't care about the product on the field. Its becoming very hard to display my Braves pride. Hell I can deal with only winning one World Series in 14 years, but we were competitive. Screw this!

[Amoo316]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

I actually don't mind this move. Simmons is a little younger and much better defensively, but I didn't think the gap between these two was high enough to get 2 pitching prospects along with Aybar.

Here's a quick ESPN piece on the deal with names on the two additional pieces:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14115615/andrelton-simmons-atlanta-braves-losangeles-angels-trade-erick-aybar

[Speedy]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

We going to be historically bad next year.

[KSUowls]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

Newcomb was apparently rated #37 prospect by BA in their midseason report. The other guy was not in the BA top 100.

Ayabar adds offense we didn't have with Simmons, but he's only a stop gap. He'll be a FA after 2016.

Simmons however has a glove that could get him to Cooperstown, he's young, he's relatively cheap and he's under team control for many more years. I hope that Newcomb is the next Clayton Kershaw, but this just makes no sense to me. Simmons wasn't untouchable, but this team needs bats. Where are the position players? This team doesn't have the money to outbid in free agency, and if we end up trading all of this acquired pitching for a 29 year old bat down the road I'm going to scream.

I could get behind the Kimbrel and Gattis trades at the beginning of the season because I could see a strategy. There seemed to be a plan. WTF is the plan now?

[Speedy]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

I don't see what the strategy is either.

KC has shown you can win best with defense, pitching and speed. Who knows though...maybe the GM thinks the WAR of both of these players in 2-3 years will vastly outweigh what Simba can provide.

It's certain we weren't going to contend with him regardless in 2016.

[KSUowls]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

So, I was looking up Newcomb to see what kind of prospect we got as the centerpiece.

#37 prospect according to BA. He did crack the top 25 of Kieth Law however

From Keith Law

Newcomb shows three above-average pitches now and has one of the lowest-effort deliveries in the minors, but he's still working on command and control, having succeeded at the University of Hartford by dominating bad hitters with pure stuff. I like his chances to develop into a No. 2 starter in time, given his size and stuff, although I think he's behind other pitching prospects his age in terms of refinement.

....initial reports were we were asking for Matt Harvey type talent, what happened?????????????????????????????????????????

I need the GM to tell me what the plan is now, because I can't freaking see it.

[decga]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

I don't see what the strategy is either.

KC has shown you can win best with defense, pitching and speed. Who knows though...maybe the GM thinks the WAR of both of these players in 2-3 years will vastly outweigh what Simba can provide.

It's certain we weren't going to contend with him regardless in 2016.

Its not about contending is it really... We were supposedly have money this year and next. That was with the Simmons and Freeman contract extensions. What about your fan base? This very bad... Heyward, Kimbrel and Simmons were very nice young men. No look at me guys ! WTF! WTF! I am very upset! Yes Aybar can play SS and lead off, but that Freddie G will probably drop him to 8th in lineup if he struggles.
And another thing the Angels have the best up the middle defense for the next 3-5 yrs. All they have to add is a catcher. They can smell another World Series or two...

[Speedy]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

What's odd is Anaheim needs pitching and trades away two of their top pitching folks. It's a bit of a head scratcher on both ends.

[decga]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

What's odd is Anaheim needs pitching and trades away two of their top pitching folks. It's a bit of a head scratcher on both ends.

Its oblivious these guys aren't good enough pitchers for them. #37 prospect my butt. If you aint in top 10 .... With Simba gone ERA's are going to be more inflated in "A"..

[aukevin]

Re: 2015 Atlanta Braves

What a joke.