MLB Trade Rumors: Braves Rumors
I mean, can you believe this crap?
First, the White Sox are interested in Andruw Jones. That seems like a longshot because Andruw has a no-trade and the White Sox hate Scott Boras, but who knows, maybe an extension would get that done. Trading for Jones would make Brian Anderson expendable, and Anderson seems to me like Bobby Cox’s kind of player–young, great defense, could improve at the plate. Maybe Anderson and one of Chicago’s starters would get that deal done.
Because if there’s one thing that the Braves need, it’s to trade the only outfielder they have who can hit for someone who can’t hit at all. Brian Anderson is probably the worst everyday player in baseball:
Year Ag G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP +--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+ 2005 23 13 34 3 6 1 0 2 3 1 0 0 12 .176 .176 .382 13 1 0 0 0 2 2006 24 134 365 46 82 23 1 8 33 4 7 30 90 .225 .290 .359 131 2 3 2 5 3
None of the ChiSox starting pitchers was particularly good last season, and their best was Jose Contreras, who remembers the Bay of Pigs. Bobby isn’t a moron. Neither is Schuerholz.
November 17, 2006 — All-Star left-hander Tom Glavine, who isn’t signed yet and who has said he’ll pitch for the Mets or Atlanta, told The Post yesterday he is not leaning toward Shea Stadium or Turner Field.
“I would say right now it’s a pretty solid 50-50,” Glavine said in a phone interview.
Glavine’s remark is telling because although it is still early in the off-season, he has had almost a month since the Mets’ season ended to consider his future. His remark should also be worrisome, because although the Mets are optimistic he is going to return, if Glavine is at 50-50 now, there’s certainly a strong possibility he will pitch in 2007 with the Braves.
Glavine admitted the Mets own the “business” edge but the Braves have the advantage because his family is in Atlanta. The 40-year-old, who said the choice is “truly a difficult decision,” said he doesn’t figure he will make a choice before Thanksgiving.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11172006/sports/mets/glavine_50_50_mets_mark_hale.htm
I’m still watching this from a-far. I kind of want Glavine to come back, and I kind of don’t. I don’t think he will, but maybe I’m wrong.
David O’Brien in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution says the problem may be not years or even money, but the fact that Glavine probably wants a no-trade clause in his contract, but John Schuerholz has a strict policy of giving no one a no-trade clause, including Glavine.
If the money can be sorted, I, too, would like to see Glavine return & win #300 in a Braves uni. (I’m sentimental that way.) In ’07, I’m pretty sure he’ll be better than Kyle Davies.
Beyond that? Dunno.
The market is too crazy right now — the last thing we need is more onerous, over-inflated, multi-year contracts, even for Glavine. I’m still hoping we improve the team via trade — right now, that seems the better way to insure that we get a dollar’s value for a dollar spent.
I know I’m still mad at MLB Rumors, but in their defense, the Andruw Jones to the Chicago White Sox rumor is souced to a newspaper, so I have no real problem with them posting it.
Yes, but the part about trading him for crap — and “crap” is a nice way of describing Anderson — is all their speculation.
Why do we still bother to read that page? The page has proved over the past year that it is full of false rumours. I don’t believe a single thing on that page.
Why are we all mad again??
…and for those of you who wants to see Glavine coming back…yes, I would like to see Glavine coming back as well. However, I think the chance of Maddux coming back is greater than Glavine. That’s how likely I think Glavine will be back.
Perhaps JS will strike a deal with Boras to take Maddux for this year so a slight discount can be accepted for Andruw next season. How about that!
Pedro, I am not mad. I am just saying that page is full of false rumours.
Marcus Giles HAS to be out the door if the Braves are being so obvious as to have Glenn Hubbard teach Kelly Johnson to play 2B.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061112&content_id=1739440&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
Why would you keep Marcus if you have talented 2B waiting for their turn to shine. Also if they trade him to San Diego he can reunite with his brother.
Well, there are plenty of reasons to keep Marcus if not for the money issue.
The Braves are also interested in Brian Anderson? or lean one(the White Sox) side? Andruw could be traded but just yet. There’s no reason why the braves have to trade him right now.
Of course, Peavy. He is a still inexpensive and useful one. I guess Peavy is encouraged by the results of B. Webb who is a winner of the CY. When we are on a different footing, can we trade Peavy? I’m sure that’ll be an answer.
I think One rumor begets another.
How about looking at Luis Gonzalez nad Tony Armas as free agents this year?
I think both could be acquired at a reasonable price. Gonzalez still had nice offensive numbers last year, is a real prfessional, and is a guy that appears to keep himself in excellent condition. Also he’s had post season experience and been on a championship team.
Armas is another story of course, but is a pitcher that has always had potential. Maybe if you get him away from the _spo’s, he’d get better results.
This trade doesn’t look like it would be good for the Braves, but it wouldn’t be so bad if we could trade Pete Orr and Tyler Yates for Albert Pujols. I think that trade is every bit as plausible as the White Sox tade. I wonder how long it will be until MLB trade Rumors starts writing this one up.
kc #6 and Mac for starting this thread….thank you. I thought I was the only one who thought that page was absolutely worthless.
here’s another one from MLB trade rumors….
Angels Pursuing Andruw Jones Trade?
According to Halos Heaven, the Braves hope to send Andruw Jones to the Angels for Ervin Santana and Nick Adenhart. Of course, Andruw would have to be amenable to this deal to make it work.
Baseball Prospectus’s Kevin Goldstein wrote, “Adenhart has come all the way back from Tommy John surgery to establish himself as one of the top righthanders in the minors.” Among right-handed starters, Goldstein ranked Adenhart behind only Homer Bailey and Philip Hughes.
Meanwhile, the L.A. Times (subscription required) says the Angels have made an offer to Alfonso Soriano and have interest in J.D. Drew. Mike DiGiovanna speculates that Drew could command a four-year, $56MMish deal.
The only problem with trading Druw is who is going to replace him in center. If we trade him for young pitching then we would still have LF and CF to fill. And if Aybar cant do it, then a leadoff hitter. BTW, I hope we don’t trade Andruw…he’s one of my favorites and we should try and lock him up.
Francoeur would move to center, though I guess then you’re worried about right. Or Langerhans would be an okay hitter in center.
ATL- Carl Crawford
TB- Kyle Davies, Phil Stockman
They’ll get the two pitching prospects that they want and we get our LF/CF and leadoff guy we want.
Just saying…..
“How about looking at Luis Gonzalez nad Tony Armas as free agents this year?”
NO!
Agreed Dan…although I kinda like Tony Armas….for some reason.
And I heard that the Cards are trying to get Gonzo….
Carl Crawford, I think, is signed until the end of the 2010 season. If so, the Devil Rays would be pretty dumb to trade him.
And they want top pitching prospects. Why take Phil Stockman, plus the Braves don’t really have that. Would Anthoney Lerew, Kyle Davies and Matt Harrison work? I doubt it.
“here’s another one from MLB trade rumors…..”
“ATL- Carl Crawford
TB- Kyle Davies, Phil Stockman
They’ll get the two pitching prospects that they want and we get our LF/CF and leadoff guy we want.”
Gentlemen, honestly….
Davies, Stockman….I don’t care who we give up for Crawford…they just want at least 2 pitching prospects…
Dave Roberts? What does everyone think? He could solve the left field and leadoff problem.
I dont want Roberts….
No on Roberts, he is old and could break down before we see any use from him and then get stuck with 5 mill a year.
That is so two days ago Hate King. The Braves are no longer after him because he is demanding too much money (about five million a year) and too many years (three.) Plus leadoff is so overrated.
Braves: Scratch Dave Roberts off the Braves’ list of potential free-agent acquisitions. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that the Braves are no longer interested in Roberts, who could command a three-year, $15 million contract.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061116&content_id=1741979&vkey=hotstove2006&fext=.jsp
Roberts sucks.
What the hell is with the Carl Crawford fetish. If Thorman or KJ (assuming we trade Giles) play to their projected production the’yre both better than he is.
Only suckers beileve ANYTHING that MLBrumors.crap has to say.
On Andruw. Say to yourselves 10 and 5, 10 and 5, 10 and 5. Druw is a Brave in 2007. Count em, I did. (probably butchered the quote)
whoa, sorry boys. obviously i haven’t been up here in a while.
“What the hell is with the Carl Crawford fetish.”
It’s because he’s really good. But he’s never going to be a Brave so I don’t get why people talk about him. It’s like talking about getting Albert Pujols.
And no, Johnson and especially Thorman are not better. They’re cheaper and here already.
It looks to me like Anderson’s batting average for 2006 is above the Mendoza line.
Imagine the defense of a Langerhans, Anderson and Francoeur outfield.
Your an idiot if you think KJ and Thorman are better than Crawford…Thorman might have more power but thats where the comparisons stop. Crawford is fast as hell, he can hit for average and last year he showed he has a little pop.
http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/player.jsp?player_id=408307
Look at that….I saw him play last year….defense is very good….
Imagine the defense of a Langerhans, Anderson and Francoeur outfield.
Now imagine their offense… Ugh…
Above the Mendoza line! Whoopee! Let’s trade for him and sign him to a ten-year contract!
Now imagine their strikeout total and OBP!!!!! UGH…….
Who is everyone taking today…The Ohio State or Michigan???
Who is this Anderson guy? Why do you guys hate him so much? Schuerholz won’t trade Andruw for prospects so there’s nothing to worry about.
Alabama
Pedro….this is that Anderson guy…
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/player.jsp?player_id=435042
I have to take Michigan. This is an extremely emotional game and I doubt that they will go down today. Also they play better when they are ranked #2 and the game is broadcasted by ABC.
Wait! wait! wait! wait!
The White Sox want Andruw for him? Are they CRAZY? What makes them think that JS will trade Andruw-a clutch hitter- for a class A player in a major league uniform?
I don’t think that the ChiSox would really offer that deal. The MLB Trade Rumors guy was being spectacularly clueless.
I guess cause they are offering Brandon McCarthy with him….
Mac,
True, but we were hearing this alot last year.
I was just kidding anyway about Anderson, though I do think outfield defense is underrated. Most seem to want only offense out there.
I would do the other trade MLB Trade Rumors links to, involving the Angels.
Just got word from a good Angels source that the Braves are hot on the Angels to trade for Andruw Jones. They want Santana and Adenhardt, though. Might be too steep. Okay, okay, IS too steep. But it was a deep enough negotiation that it reportedly took up quite a bit of each team’s GM’s time at the GM meetings this past week.
http://www.halosheaven.com/
Losing Andruw Jones is obviously hard, but he’s not coming back after 2007. Might as well get something for him if possible.
That’s like offering the Cards a bat boy for Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter.
That’s like offering a gift card at Target to the Twins for Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano.
That’s like asking Barry Bonds to take a doping test with no supervision.
That’s like giving the prison keys to a con and telling him not to escape while you download music.
That’s like offering $51.1 mil to a minor league team just to talk with someone who doesn’t speak your language and has never pitched to a real mayor leaguer. (that’s a joke)
This is getting a little old.
What do people think of Yunel Escobar’s shot at making the team this spring, with the big rebound he experienced in the AFL? Maybe he’s an answer at 2B.
Never heard of him.
Report: Braves, Orioles talk Hudson deal
The Braves and Orioles could be discussing a Tim Hudson trade, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports.
The Orioles would likely give up either Adam Loewen or Hayden Penn in a package for Hudson, who has been quite a disappointment in Atlanta. He’s owed $33 million for three years or $44 million for four, so any team acquiring him would be taking quite a chance. Nov. 18 – 11:39 am et
Source: ESPN Insider
http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=MLB&id=2812&line=196940&spln=1
I want Chris Ray!
yeah…i’d prefer Chris Ray and maybe Patterson…or Markakis(not likely)…
I would mind trading Huddy to the O’s….that’ll give us alot of money to work with…
oops…wouldn’t*
@51
Young kid. Played in MIssissippi last year and batted .264 in 428 ABs. Light hitter, just 21 doubles and 4 homers for a .346 SLG.
I wonder if JS will go after another former Brave….Gary Matthews Jr.
Come to think of it, the Braves have a lot of people who are low in the SLG department.
Here’s Adam Loewens’ stats
http://thebaseballcube.com/players/L/Adam-Loewen.shtml
And here is Hayden Penn’s
http://thebaseballcube.com/players/P/Hayden-Penn.shtml
By just the stats…im leaning towards Loewen.
@57
Heh, nice thought, but seriously, he’ll get an extra $6 million just for that one highlight reel catch he did. lol
@59
hahahaha…yeah probably.
@60
It is a nice idea, but I think the market is going to get way too inflated for us to sign someone. We have to make a deal. Let Matthews, Jr. bust with someone else. I think he has Mark DeRosa syndrome. 😉
Like Salty and others, Escobar struggled in Miss. this season. He is still highly regarded. Even though it was only twenty-something games, Escobar’s .407 batting average made him the AFL batting king. He had played SS and was tried at 2B, I think, like Eric Campbell.
csg posted this before: http://www.minorleagueball.com/story/2006/11/15/172646/64
Escobar’s ranked 7th overall best prospect. I don’t think we’d expect him to play Giles’ former role, or to leadoff. If we get our leadoff hitter from LF (KJ, if he’s more comfortable there?), maybe Escobar would be a fairly nice, cheap option.
I’m not a big fan of trading for prospects. I like trading for a real baseball player and maybe a prospect.
Chris Wells….the freshman…busting off a huge 52 yard run.
MICH-7
OSU-14
Busty Olney:
Hearing a lot of chatter about a possible Atlanta-Baltimore trade built around right-hander Tim Hudson, a free agent coveted by the Orioles a couple of years ago. You would have to assume that either Adam Loewen or Hayden Penn, two of the Orioles’ better young pitchers, would be involved in the discussions. If that’s the case, I’d keep Loewen rather than deal him for Hudson, considering the veteran’s increasing inconsistency — his WHIP has climbed in each of the past three seasons, from 1.075 in 2003 to last season’s 1.44 — but I would use Penn as a bargaining chip in a trade for Hudson.
From Atlanta’s perspective, the best thing that might come out of a Hudson deal, clearly, would be the increased payroll flexibility. Hudson is owed $6 million for next year, but then $13 million for ’08 and ’09.
Seeing as Tim Hudson has never been a free agent, I highly doubt that he was ever a free agent who Baltimore highly coveted.
pedro, weren’t you the one who asked in another thread why I would ever want to look at minor league stats?
So it looks like this Huddy to the O’s is really catching on….Loewen is the guy we should try and get….but Hayden Penn is fine. I hope we can get an outfielder too(Patterson/Markakis or a prospect)
“Seeing as Tim Hudson has never been a free agent, I highly doubt that he was ever a free agent who Baltimore highly coveted.”
Either it was a mistake or he meant to say Baltimore wanted Hudson when he would become a free agent after the 2005 season (he had only one year left when the Braves traded for him.)
Brian Anderson is a solid prospect who plays good defense in the outfield. His numbers in the majors have been crap, but give the kid a break; he’s only 24, and his minor league numbers indicate he could develope into a solid hitter. His BABIP has been noticably lower than his career numbers since playing in the majors, and I still think he’ll be a very solid ML player. Also, keep in mind that the centerpiece of any deal for AJ would be pitching and not a similar CF. Anderson is a guy who can play the position well and might develope a decent bat to go with it. I wouldn’t mind platooning him in CF with Langerhans until one distinguishes themself, provided we get sufficient compensation.
Speaking of said compensation, McCarthy, Anderson and a good reliever might be okay. But with Chicago trading Cotts recently, I’m not sure if this has a chance of happening.
@34 An idiot is the guy that believed that we acquired Jake Peavy for Giles and crap.
I didn’t say that Crawford is better than Thorman and KJ but that potentially they are both better.
Thorman’s minor league career and pattern look almost exactly like Adam LaRoche’s. He’s kinda worked out for us. Johnson’s has shown the ability to hit for average and power but most importantly the abilty to get on base.
player A career .292 .326 .434 2.6 mil
player B career .285 .361 .448 3.8 mil
Player A is Crawford. He’s a pretty good player with below average power and OBP for a left fielder. Your going to mention that he is a prodigious base stealer to which I say, so what?
Just for comparison Player B is Marcus Giles. Giles a good defensive second baseman who over his career has outhit Crawford. My point is that Crawford is an ok player but if the D Rays want anything more than Horacio Ramirez for him, pass. Again I don’t understand the love everyone on this list has for a barely above average left fielder.
Anderson sucks. The Braves have Langerhans already, and he’s a better player than Anderson, and Francoeur is a better player, and KJ is a better player. What possible use would we have for a guy with no power and a .220 batting average? He’s a worse hitter than Henry Blanco.
There’s just no love for Henry Blanco.
Poor Henry
Jones to the ChiSox sounds insane.
Anyone wanting Hudson is close to insane, yet I do not If I want to see him gone yet, I cant believe he has nothing left, but to lose his future salary I guess we would have to take whatever is offered.
I think it’s entirely logical that the Orioles want him. Who is there? Leo Mazzone. He was the pitching coach of Tim Hudson the last time he was successful.
Anderson has some decent minor league stats, but he’d be lucky to be a 7th slot everyday CF in the majors.
I posted about this a while back, stats and all, and I don’t feel like dredging up the numbers again, but LaRoche was SIGNIFICANTLY better than Thorman at the same age in both AA and AAA. Thorman has hit pretty well in the monors, but not as well as LaRoche. Further, LaRoche’s 2006 production could not have been predicted from his monor league numbers.
So to anyone who’s looking to equate Thorman with LaRoche, please know that 1) LaRoche was always better, and 2) he’s gotten even better since then.
Wow, I said “monor” twice….would you believe an argument made by such a person?…
Ok I’ll bite:
Thorman 2004 Greenville 252 .326 .406 732
Thorman 2005 Mississippi 305 .360 .506 866
LaRoche 2002 Greenville .289 .363 .410 773
LaRoche 2003 Greenville .283 .381 .511 892
Thorman 2005 Richmond .276 .313 .438 751
Thorman 2006 Richmond .295 .360 .466 826
LaRoche 2003 Richmond 295 .360 .466 826
‘but LaRoche was SIGNIFICANTLY better than Thorman at the same age in both AA and AAA.’ Really?????
I agree that predicting Thorman’s future performance based on his similarity (or in your opinion lack there of) to LaRoche is folly. My point was that trading anything of ours of value for Carl Crawford is even more folly. The Rays and their effed up management will try to leverage Baldelli or Crawford into a talented pitcher hoping that an equally effed up team will fall in love with the high batting average and stolen base totals that are those two players only major offensive contributions.
Sam, Leo and Huddy didn’t get along well with each other.
Pujols arrested for crack possession
http://buccoblog.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/2006/11/pujols_arrested.html
Ha Ha different Pujols
If we look at their minor league stats, Chuckie and Davies are both better than Adam Loewen or Hayden Penn. The key thing is actually dropping Hudson’s salary to go after a replacement in another front line veteran.
Sorry to change the subject, but I just got back from seeing Casino Royale, and it was very very good.
@78
Forgot that, oh well.
Now I don’t have an explanation on why he sucks. lol
While LaRoche was better than Thorman in AA (age 22-23 in both cases), Thorman was the better player in AAA (age 23-24). Adam had a better ML debut, albeit with a lot more playing time.
As for how to look at these numbers, remember that the Braves’ minor league affiliates are some of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the minor leagues. This not only reduces the power numbers of hitters like Thorman and LaRoche, it also makes pitchers look better than they really are (in the case of comparing James and Davies to Penn and Loewen).
Regarding Carl Crawford, guys who play great defense in the OF, steal 50 bases, and have OPS larger than .800 do not grow on trees. Combine that with the fact that Crawford was only 24 last year (meaning his power may develope further) and you’ve got a very good leadoff hitter who the Braves would do very well to acquire. Consider this: he’s already performing at this level and he’s the same age as Thorman.
@77
You didn’t include their ages in the comparisons:
Age 21 (A+)
Thorman 702
LaRoche 666
Age 22 (A+)
Thorman 819
LaRoche 918
Age 22 (AA)
Thorman 732
LaRoche 773
Age 23 (AA)
Thorman 866
LaRoche 892
Age 23 (AAA)
Thorman 751
LaRoche 826
Age 24 (AAA)
Thorman 868
LaRoche —
I’ll give Thorman credit for steady improvement, but he just didn’t hit as well as LaRoche.
As for how to look at these numbers, remember that the Braves’ minor league affiliates are some of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the minor leagues.
This, I believe, makes the difference between hitters even larger than it appears.
If we unload Hudson, it doesn’t really matter who we get in return. The point is, his salary won’t be ours to pay anymore.
(Note: I like Loewen. He’s a tall, power lefty, and I think he could become great.)
Look, I’ll admit I have thing for Andruw, but I have a thing for Andruw because he is a player of historic proportions who is not yet 30 years old.
I’m supposed to be happy imaging an outfield of Anderson/Langerhans/Francoeur? I love watching Francoeur play–just ’cause he is fun to watch play–but there is no evidence that any one of these three is an above-replacement-level hitter. Andruw is on a pace to clear 600 career home runs, and pretty easily. This is not something that many people in the history of baseball have done or will do.
Go back over Mac’s 44 greatest Braves. Hall of Famers are rare. Andruw isn’t a hall of famer yet. But he darn well could be. He is worth a little bit of money. There have only been a handful of centerfielders in major league baseball history who have had or will have the kind of career for which he is headed….
If we got Anderson, I guarantee you he wouldn’t start full-time. It’s more likely that he and Langerhans would platoon in center, with maybe the other one coming in defensively late in games to take over for the Diaz/KJ (?) platoon in LF. It’s absurd to think that Brian Anderson would be used as a one-to-one replacement for Andruw Jones.
Also, don’t pan him based on last year’s numbers. I’d be surprised if he hit below .250 again in his career, and I would expect his career average to end up being around .270-.280. Playing full time, his line will probably look something like .270-.280/.350/.450, which makes his a decent-hitting CF with good defensive skills. Put him in a platoon situation and those numbers might improve a little.
Trading Andruw Jones for Brian Anderson is like… replacing your circulatory system with tiny straws linked together with duct tape.
The whole “Thorman or LaRoche” thing is pretty stupid. Anyone with a brain would rather have LaRoche at first next year over Thorman.
After the 2007 season, Andruw can also be afforded by only a handful of clubs…and the Braves aren’t one of them.
Nobody wants to trade Andruw because they think he isn’t good or because they think we have a replacement who could even come close to Andruw’s numbers. But we’re on a budget, and we simply won’t be able to afford Andruw a year from now.
Trade him and get some young pitching.
The Tim Hudson to Baltimore thing is getting semi-serious now.
http://www.talkingchop.com
As first reported yesterday by ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Tim Hudson to Baltimore for young pitching rumors have apparently been confirmed by The Baltimore Sun:
Also, an industry source confirmed an ESPN report that the Orioles and Braves have had trade discussions involving Atlanta right-hander Tim Hudson.
The source said the Orioles bristled at dealing left-handed starter Adam Loewen but discussed a package of prospects that included right-hander Hayden Penn.
You know, if Hudson and Giles both go, suddenly the Braves are in a position to extend Andruw or try to sign a big bat for left field. Yeah, they could use an ace pitcher, but I just don’t see how that’s possible.
So if Hudson is traded, it’s:
Smoltz, Hampton, James, Davies and Ramirez? Or is Lerew involved? Will the money make Schuerholz go after Glavine? Is that too many left-handed pitchers?
So many questions.
But I’ll take pitchers above hitters. Free up all that money with getting rid of Giles, Hudson and possibly Ramirez, you sign a free agent pitcher after the 2007 season when Andruw leaves (leaving plenty of money.) Maybe Glavine is a nice one year fit. Who knows? It will be interesting seeing what Schuerholz does, but it probably won’t be much, he says he is focusing on pitching and doesn’t think the team will need any kind of real overhaul.
The only reason for trading any of these guys, Andruw, Giles, LaRoche, Hudson is simple–money. In no trade are we going to get back a player of equal value. And our in house replacements are not likely to be better (Langerhans for Andruw, Prado/Orr/Aybar/K.J. for Giles, Thorman for LaRoche, or Daview for Hudson). But being as we are officially a midmarket team, we can no longer afford some (or perhaps all) of these contracts. I wish it wasn’t the case. And perhaps, as Mac mentions, getting rid of Giles and Hudson would allow us to sign Andruw (which would be nice).
If Andruw wants 16-20 million, I say forget resigning him, even if the money if available through trades.
Also, how is LaRoche about money? He made something like 400,000, the minimum is something like 337,000.
cubs are close to getting Soriano, 8 year deal.
Fox sports has the alert up
8 yrs / 136 million
I’m a little concerned about Andruw and wonder if it may be best to trade him. His weight has gone up and his speed has gone down. I just wonder if nagging injuries will plague him in the near future. If not, I would say to do whatever possible to extend his contract. With KJ, Thorman and Langerhans, we have a chance for one of those three to have an above average (but not remarkable) year. I would still say the priority is for another starter. I just don’t trust Hampton/Davies/ Ramirez to either be healthy or good enough for two starting spots for an entire season.
I believe that what has made Atlanta great is incredible scouting/ development regarding pitching. Of the big 3 – only Maddux could have been thought of as “can’t miss” when we first got him. I know that we’ve lost a lot of our scouting infrastructure – I just wonder how much that is costing us.
“8 yrs / 136 million”
Ouch. He simply will not be worth that. Period.
Maybe the Braves are trying to trade Hudson and Giles so that they have enough money to sign Andruw to a long term deal.
8 yrs/136 mil? He better hit home runs, steal bases, lead the league in both OBP and batting average, make fewer than 10 errors and lead the league in wins and ERA. That’s a lot of money for him.
Fox Sports says it’s really 8yrs/135M, not 136. That’s much more reasonalbe.
Still it’s a lot of money for him. The Cubs should spend that money in something more helpful like charities or trading for Hudson and/or Giles.
You know what else they could do with all that money?
They could buy about 225,000 PS3s(the expensive one)or 540,000 Nintendo Wii’s and give it to almost all of the children of Chicago.
“Still it’s a lot of money for him.”
I was being sarcastic. But it’s amazing how many teams are focused soley on offense. It’s really nice to have a general manager focusing on what matters, pitching.
I think the Mets are focusing on whoever they can get, at any cost. They’ll worry about budget constraints later. This is the Yankees philosophy and it has worked for them, but I don’t think it will work for the Mets in the long run – probably not even next year unless they can sign solid pitchers – not overhyped pitchers or one-year wonders.
Sorry – I realize Soriano signed with the Cubs. Actually I think the scenario applies to both teams.
People need to stop thinking about “replacing” Andruw with Langerhans or Anderson or whomever. He’d be being “replaced” by an established starter, young talent, and a buttload of cash to sign someone else.
My initial thought was that the Hudson deal might be to clear salary space to sign Glavine, but then it was suggested that the money will be used to sign Andruw. Now that I think about it, it would make the most sense to use it for both: sign Glavine to a 1-year deal with the money from this year and then use that money to ink Andruw to an extension for the years afterwards.
Crazy money for Soriano. Just crazy.
And I think I agree that it doesn’t really matter whether we have the payroll to do it — I don’t want to re-sign Andruw for $15+ million a year. That money would be better spent either on an Ace or spread throughout the roster.
The only way I want to pay Andruw that much — I, too, fear he’s about to break down — is if we all of a sudden are given an LA/NY-type budget. And that ain’t happening.
All this talk of trading Andruw is starting to depress me.
well Sam look at it this way. We either trade him for something or lose him for nothing. I’m sorry but he’s not worth more than 13-14 max per year. If we give him a 5 year contract that will kill us financially. This might seem bad, but I would rather trade him and not give him something ridiculous like what Soriano is getting. He’ll be able to get $20 mil per year somewhere and he wont give us a $25 milion dollar break over the course of 5 years
Two first-round draft picks are hardly nothing. Moreover, neither is having him in the lineup for a year.
I can sum up the Soriano deal in a couple of words. It’s the Cubs. Thats just gross. The fallout is that they have just jacked up the price for Andruw to Manny and A-rod territory. I sure hope that Schuerholz has Andruw’s dad’s cell phone number.
Of course this is this year and next year could bring another market correction especially if some of these guys implode. I would have thought that after the Adrian Beltrae disaster that teams would be leary of doing the long contracts to the incomplete slugger. Oh well.
No, it’s not nothing, Mac, but the picks aren’t worth the same as Santana/Adenhart-type packages, and his absence from the line-up this year would be well worth the increased payroll flexibility in the 5-7 years afterward. Of course, I’m sure I’d feel differently if I thought Andruw were going to stay healthy and in the line-up throughout the life of his next contract.
And, yeah, with the Soriano signing, his price tag just went even higher.
Looking at it differently isn’t helping. It’s just making it worse.
All Met talk up here. Alou a one-year deal for $8M. More Zito talk. We’ll see about that one, but the Mets think they may have locked him up.
Soriano to the Cubs? Good for them. I’m sure he’ll hit a ton of HRs. But he can’t pitch, so I’m not losing any sleep over it.
Saw “Casino Royale” as well. A little long, but pretty action-packed—a fun ride. Also saw this band Centro-Matic, who were just amazing.
Mac-
Are you sure the Braves would offer arbitration to him? I mean, wasn’t Boras the guy who got Maddux to accept arbitration? Depending on what the market looks like out there, we could be looking at a similar situation….
The Braves would be crazy not to offer arbitration, unless Andruw has an awful year. There’s a big difference between a 38-year-old pitcher and a 31-year-old outfielder. And frankly, I don’t think they’d mind the one-year contract, it’s the long-term deal that’s the problem.
Hi folks,
I’m an Astros fan and don’t really have a beef with any of you guys but I noticed the title “Why I hate MLB Trade Rumors” when I was googling something else.
The guy “RumorMonger” who runs that website is a Cubs fan. Anything he posts on that page will be at least slightly skewed toward favoring Cubs and Chicago in general.
I don’t think it’s very ethical when a person claims they run a blog/site about rumors of all the trades and possible trades in MLB, yet they show their bias about their own favorite team. If you want to blog about your team, blog about it, don’t portray your website as something that is neutral when it’s not. That has always been my biggest problem with MLB Trade Rumors.com, plus the fact that they haven’t been right in the 2 years I’ve known about them.