Look, I don’t want to dwell on it, but I want to say one thing… Marcell Ozuna is no different than Hector Olivera and should be treated as such by Braves fans. There’s no room in this world for physical abuse of a person you’ve sworn a vow to love. I hope he’s played his last game in a Braves uniform. Now, onto the discussion, Early Braves Outfield Trading Partners.
The Braves find themselves hovering around .500 with a surprise full-time opening in the middle of their lineup. Anthopoulos fully admitted when the offseason came to a close, that he was worried about depth. Since that day, he’s been busy signing, trading for, or claiming everyone else’s trash:
- Signed Jesse Biddle
- Traded for Orlando Arcia
- Traded for Edgar Santana
- Signed Dylan Lee
- Signed Jesse Chavez
- Signed Will Latcham
- Signed Trevor Kelly
- Signed Chris Nunn
- Signed Tyler Flowers
- Signed Shane Greene
- Claimed Jay Flaa
- Signed Tanner Roark
- Signed Jonathan Lucroy
Unfortunately, the players that have appeared in the Majors (Biddle, Santana, Flaa) have all performed like castoffs and, with injuries in every nook of the team, the buy-low strategy has wreaked of desperation forced upon Anthopoulos by the front office (granted, Anthopoulos could’ve just consolidated those funds and grabbed 1 competent reliever). Hopefully, the Ozuna situation will lead to his contract being voided (Passan thinks it’s a possibility) and the Braves can fill LF with a good player who is also capable of being a good human.
It’s early, but there are several teams that could be open for business already. Let’s take an early look at some players that could be available should the Braves choose to act soon.
Baltimore Orioles
Trey Mancini is the obvious choice from the Orioles, but Anthony Santander might be the cheaper option and I feel cheaper, especially in terms of prospects, is where Anthopoulos will land. Santander is carrying a .750ish OPS, but has hit the ball pretty regularly and can play an average corner OF.
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are putrid and will likely stay putrid for at least another year and that just so happens to be the amount of time Robbie Grossman has left on his contract. With a 2 year sample in increased ISO and a very healthy walk rate, Grossman could be of a lot of use.
Cincinnati Reds
If the Braves were really looking to make a splash, look no further than Jesse Winker. The kid is blowing up baseballs and it’s no fluke as his Statcast data is filled with red. Nick Castellanos is also a great option and also comes with elite Statcast numbers, but comes with a near identical financials as Ozuna. Tyler Naquin was picked up off the scrap heap and is performing well thus far in 2021. He also brings good Statcast numbers, and as an added bonus, would have 2 more years of team control.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Bryan Reynolds is doing good things for the Pirates and has some serious pedigree. There’s also no doubt that the Pirates would make trades if they felt they were getting better long-term answers. However, Reynolds feels like a long shot, in both fit and in terms of need as power is not his strong suit.
Arizona Diamondbacks
David Peralta will almost definitely not be a Diamondback by season’s end. He’s guaranteed $7.5 MM next season and I’m sure they’d like to cash him in before then. Peralta hits the ball really hard, but has 0 loft. Still, he’d be fine at that price.
Minnesota Twins
I don’t think they’ll trade him…and he’s injured, but Byron Buxton was finally doing what the Twins thought he was capable of before going down with injury on May 6th. Still, he only has one more year of control and that could lend the opportunity to sell high on Buxton. If made available, I’m sure the Braves would be interested.
Texas Rangers
While I’d like to discuss Adolis Garcia, I don’t think the Rangers would be willing to deal him unless it was for a king’s ransom and no one’s going to pay that on such a small sample. However, I think the Rangers would definitely listen on Joey Gallo. While’s he’s hardly the game changer that many thought he’d become, he’s a power threat at all times and, while he carries a heavy K-rate, he also takes a TON of walks (top 2% in league). As big as he is, he’s also extremely agile and plays a pretty good OF.
Thanks for reading “Early Braves Outfield Trading Partners”. If you enjoyed this, take a look at our latest Minor League Prospect Report.
Thanks for the trade possibilities. As much as we all disagree on many things, it appears moving on from Ozuna post haste is something we can all agree on. Question is should we give Arcia or possibly Waters (I understand he’s probably not ready), an audition for a month or so or do we make a move asap? At what point will we have to give up the least? We should have at least a prorated $12 million to spend this year, the prospect haul is the problem.
@Ryan, I looked over the possibilities and came to most of the same conclusions you did. I think Reynolds is a “no go”. He’ll be part of the Pirates post-rebuild. Winker and Castellanos (and Charlie Blackmon) would be too expensive and likely considered “core” to their teams. I also think Mancini and Santander are considered part of the post-rebuild core of the Orioles. Santander is going to end up being one of the best Rule 5 pickups of all time. Buxton would be good but I doubt the Braves’ ability to swing that trade.
I think we still need a short term solution until M. Harris or Waters (or Pache) can break out. Those are our long term solutions. I would have included Kole Calhoun if he wasn’t injured. Matt Joyce would be nice too. I like any of Naquin, Grossman, Peralta, or Gallo. Noting that Ozuna was also likely a future DH candidate, certainly Gallo may be the best fit as OF for now and DH (or rotating DH) in the future. I also like the fact that we have swung recent trades with the Rangers, Twins, and Tigers. I don’t think we’ve been able to swing anything with the Reds or D’Backs in a long time. To me, Gallo is a prime choice. He might also benefit from a change of scenery – I can see him being energized being in Atlanta with our young guys. And the Rangers cannot be unhappy about having gotten Allard and Folty (he of the 95-97mph fastball yesterday).
Honestly , I think Minnesota has great options.
I can’t see them trading Buxton or Kiriloff.
But ,I could see them moving Kepler or Larnach.
I think Kepler would be a nice fit while giving Waters and Harris 2 years to be the next man up!
How is Shane Greene coming along?
I’m currently in “burn it all down” mode, so excuse me while I take a break from posting for a while before I say something regrettable.
Amen to the comments made before mine.
Just finished reading Lords of the Realm, and it got me depressed all over again at the state of labor relations between the owners and the union.
@2 – you mention needing time for Harris, Waters or Pache to be ready. Come to think of it, we are really down at 2 outfielders. Reasonable expectations were that Pache would at least be replacement level. He seems a long way away from that.
@7 – If we think of it as replacing the output of Ozuna + Markakis, it doesn’t seem as daunting.
‘ Marcell Ozuna is no different than Hector Olivera and should be treated as such by Braves fans. There’s no room in this world for physical abuse of a person you’ve sworn a vow to love.’
Fine words, Ryan, but in these days too easy to say just that and thereby exclude everyone else to whom we have an obligation. Probably just an oversight. Most would say those we don’t know or love are entitled to expect precisely the same respect in how we treat them. Would you agree?
Why do I ask that, is it necessary to? Isn’t it obvious? Please reread post #100 on our Political blog where you were asked on April 9th to disavow any future online contact with various hate groups espousing violence something Rob had posted you were in the habit of doing. ‘Nasty’ was his word for the worst of them.
No response from you to this day to being asked then to offer assurance that this would not happen in the future. Or disagreement that you can’t represent this blog and its members and keep that company.
I’m duplicating this now ‘upstairs’, a good idea that is a little quiet just now.
@9
Excuse me? Are you serious here? You asked on the political thread if I chum up with white supremacists? And you wonder why I didn’t want politics on the blog? Geez man… I’m a father of 2 girls, a teacher to young kids, and a real-life spokesman for minorities.
If you speak to me on this blog like this again, you will get the permanent uninvite. This is despicable.
I created the Hammers logo to give back to Hank Aaron’s charity to raise $ for inner city baseball teams.”All the proceeds”.
Next time, send a damn email…
I have visited the political page once or twice. It’s not my bag and never will be.
I think Castellanos is the shiny item on the shelf that you can’t have. I do like Peralta. I wouldn’t mind a deal for Blackmon but Colorado will need to kick in some money.
blazon, whatever you’re saying I said, I didn’t say that.
It just seems time to belly up to the bar for trading. We can’t wait until the deadline. Adrianza/Heredia is just not gonna make it except as a stopgap. There really is no one else in the system right now that will fill the gap. I really think the Rangers are our best bet. Seems like the Braves can expect to not pay enough on Ozuna’s contract this year to afford Gallo without any money changing hands. But a trade for Gallo will require a commitment. Using the baseball trade value simulator, the only prospect the Braves have that could be the core of a deal would be Muller. I came up with Ball/de la Cruz/ A. Jackson/Muller for Gallo/RHRP (low value 40-man like Hunter Wood). I can’t see the Rangers passing that up. Muller might be their top pitching prospect and Ball/Jackson should certainly make up for Gallo’s power potential. And they need a catcher. Both de la Cruz and Jackson might step right into the active roster.
This is exactly the kind of trade AA should be all over. Fills our gaping gaps (OF and RHRP) and doesn’t really cost the farm.
@ 10/12
Ryan…It took 6 weeks and a reminder to suss you out. Now I have it I shall leave, best to my pals here.
Rob, you did…chapter and verse, ‘nasty.’
Is Gallo the talk of Braves trade talk because the Rangers are the only team that is known to be selling? Otherwise, I’m not sure I understand the Joey Gallo love.
At this point, I don’t think there will be any improvement to the offense until mid-July unless one of the guys in AAA can contribute at the major league level. In-house solutions only, I’m afraid.
Almonte’s contract has been selected. Flaa was optioned to AAA and Ynoa to 60-day IL.
@Rob
Diamondbacks are also ready to sell.
Is Ozuna context voidable because of this .. release with no pay ??
@18
There might be an out but we won’t know for awhile.
@15 @17 I don’t think we’ll get the D’Backs to trade with us – just seems like they’ve never gotten the good end of a deal with us. And, we are focused on Gallo not only because the Rangers are likely to be trade ready but also because he’s a good OF. He’s decent defensively (reportedly has a good arm) and is good for 1-3 WAR per year. He’s not the superstar the Rangers hoped but he’s in line with an Adam Duvall type except he has no significant splits and a better OBP than Duvall. And he’s 27 – five years younger than Duvall. He’s exactly the kind of average to above average reasonably young guy with some upside potential left in him that the Braves can really use. And he could easily move to DH when any of our young OFs are ready in coming years.
Most of the other choices mentioned herein are either peaking or past peak or possibly having a career year. And may not be a whole lot better than a Heredia type. Gallo’s not as good as Ozuna but neither is Ozuna any more – either on the field or off. Even if Ozuna was still viable, a Gallo/Acuna/Ozuna OF would be good and would be DH-ready next year. So many ways Gallo makes sense.
Any love for Mitch Haniger? Seems like he could also cost a lot, but less so than Winker or Buxton of course
@21 Don’t think the Mariners would sell. At least not yet. But, yeah, he’d work fine.
Oh, and don’t ya’ll think we need to sweep the gNats this week? Even if we win 3/4, we only get to .500 not over it. If we can’t, it’s gonna be a long June.
I have zero interest in Joey Gallo and I hope the Braves don’t either.
Almonte is carrying a .489 BABIP at AAA.
Sweeping the Nats would be great, but I’d be happy with 3 of 4. What we really need is 8 of 10 or 15 of 20. Or how about a 20-10 month of June. Of course that would mean they are playing better and with more consistency. How’s that for a hot give?
A couple of weeks ago, some of you may have seen where I posted career MLB stats for Orlando Arcia, Dansby Swanson, Guillermo Heredia, and Ehire Adrianza.
6 seasons: .244/.293/.364, 3.4 dWAR
6 seasons: .246/.318/.393, 4.1 dWAR
6 seasons: .242/.321/.353, 0.8 dWAR
9 seasons: .244/.310/.363, -0.1 dWAR
This is Almonte’s line, and he’s the oldest of the bunch.
8 seasons: .237/.298/.370, 0.9 dWAR
Are we sure they need to find a new outfielder? I think replacing him with replacement-level production is fine if they shore up the bullpen.
@28
That’s fine to replace what he was providing, but not sufficient to replace what we needed him to provide IMO.
I completely missed this, but what’s going on with Ynoa?
Sorry to lose Blazon. He never struck me as being political or angry. Really a head scratcher on what I thought we all agreed was Ozuna’s one way ticket off the team.
On Almonte, I can’t see him on the 40 man roster through the end of June. The hope has gotta be that he stays hot for 2 or 3 weeks. There’s no way he provides long term value.
@Td
I didn’t boot blazon. The only person I tried to boot was Mr. Bill of the Palm Coast Tribune…didn’t work.
You can’t cancel The True Editor-in-Chief.
@30 – the dugout punch! Man, I completely deleted that from my hard drive.
Ryan, I didn’t think you had booted him. His exclamation “I shall leave. Best to my pals here.” Sounds pretty final.
@td
Got it.
Went to the Dacula Memorial Day Parade today…a tradition for our family. Man, it’s a punch to the gut when the Gold Star families walk with hundred or two head shots of those dear souls we’ve lost. And the silent reverence is something else (unlike the rest of the parade).
Folks, I am one of those that believe in team chemistry. Curious to see how this Braves team comes out to play this week, in light of everything transpiring on the field and off.
Ryan – great work on sharing all the info on possible trades.
On two separate notes:
1 – Man, how ’bout those Hawks!!!
2 – Where will Julio be landing? (Jones, not Teheran). But speaking of Teheran, after a decent start, he’s hit the 60 day IL with the Tigers.
Loved the F-16 flyover – – the sound of freedom, baby!
Is Scott a bot?
He appears to have a podcast and be real.
No, Scott is not a bot and he’s a great dude. Been lurking here in the shadows for years.
Baseball is fun! For now!
Morton reels you in thinking he is useful and then he has an episode
Hell far …walk and 2 .. o-2 hits .. and to a pitcher .. duh … some these guys just don’t use the noggin .. Turner got him 1-2 .. right where he wants him.
We’ve had an “Episode,” we’ve had “Hibernation Mode” … Braves are playing the classic hits today. Probably means we’ve got a Triple Grybo that sticks the landing awaiting in the next four innings.
@44
God, you’re right.
Injury limbo? Way to tell it Chip
Chip just referred to Ozuna as being in “injury limbo.” That ain’t it, pal.
(Although, in his defense, I expect he has received the edict from on-high to make — at most — minimal mention of the domestic-violence charges.)
Jeez, people! I go away for a few relaxing days of emergency gallbladder surgery and you guys let things go all to hell. Ozuna, blazon, Los Mets — I’m back now with a lot less bile and ready to right the ship. I’ll take it from here.
How you feeling Jonathan?
@47 I was coming here to say exactly that. Wife and I looked at each other when Chip said that. But yes, he was definitely told by his bosses that that’s what they’re calling all this.
Injury limbo? https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c3ed3570-02dc-4068-9d76-b13aac73e6b1
@48 Glad you’ve recovered, JonathanF. We need you.
Couldn’t have gone better, oldtimer? Almost pain-free here 35 hours post-op. Thanks.
The gallbladder aids in the digestion of fat. Mine lived fast and died young.
The Mets DFA’ed Maybin.
@54 He gets his first hit and then they DFA him. Haha
Glad you’re feeling better, JonathanF.
I know our outfield (and offense, at times) is in disarray, but I love being able to position Heredia/Ender/Acuna LF/CF/RF in the late innings.
After Acuna’s interview, Chip said something to the effect of “Glad to hear Acuna speaking English too.” I would think Chip was probably intending to express congratulations for Acuna learning a new language, but I’m sure some Twitter birds will have something to say about that.
I missed it. Did they do that centerfield selfie?
No selfie … Freeman acts so disinterested … is he pouting over no new contract or just a head case?? How can you go so low after a big year last year ???
It was nice to have a game the proceeded in almost a normal way for a generic win. Decent starting pitching. Excellent relief from the correct pitchers. Just enough hitting (with an add-on run). Beating a team we should beat. We have had so few “generic wins”.
And I guess the bottom line is we had a positive month at 13-12. As weirdly negative as this has all felt, this just doesn’t seem hopeless yet.
The Braves are actually tied now for the most wins in the division, assuming deGrom takes his traditional 1 – 0 loss later tonight.
@57, having three CFs in the outfield to close out games sounds like a good idea, but I’m not convinced that it is in this case. I would be if it were Pache entering rather than Ender, but Ender has slowed a lot in the last couple of years and is probably not a plus defensive CF any more, and I always worry that players who come into the game cold like Ender or change positions during a game like Heredia won’t react as quickly/correctly as usual the first time the ball is hit to them. I wonder if it would have been better to have Ender replace Almonte in left (assuming he has experience there or at least has practiced it). That would be sort of like having Riley play short right field in the shift to keep Albies and Swanson near their normal positions and have one player in an unfamiliar position rather than three.
Following up on that, baseballsavant says Ender has by far the slowest sprint speed of any player classified as a CF this year, and the third slowest of any outfielder. He’s around the average speed for a catcher. It’s possible that Ender was limited by his hamstring earlier in the year, which would’ve dragged down his average sprint speed, and is better now so he’s running faster, but I’m not convinced.
Panda is listed as having the slowest sprint speed of any nonpitcher in the majors (pitchers aren’t listed), slower than Pujols or any catcher. Camargo is tied for fourth slowest.
@64: Sloth never slumps.
@60 – Freeman has been a full-time starter for Atlanta for ten years now. If he has proven one thing over that time he’s proven he’s not a head case. I don’t really understand the “how can he go so low garbage”. He’s batting close to 300 with an OPS around 900 in his last 15 games. He’s still definitely not where he needs to be or where he will be, but he’s not a huge concern. I also hope Freeman and the rest of the team stay away from the selfie stuff. I’m afraid that’s too closely associated with the time bomb that is Marcel Ozuna.
Jonathan,
Best to you & here’s to healing up quickly.
Jonathan-glad you are recovering and back with us. You were far more missed than Blazon will ever be.
@48 Glad to have you back, Jonathan, and to hear you are well. Man, we and the Braves need you more than ever now.
Who needs a gal bladder anyway, amirite?
@63, 64 He’s been slow to a while, to your point, but Atlanta clearly trusts him to patrol CF. My eyes tell me he still gets really good reads, as he’s always done. He seems to be someone who can still play a good CF without having great speed. But you’re right; Heredia(or Ender)/Pache/Acuna would be infinitely better.
Gwinnett pitched a shut out last night. Wright threw 6 scoreless, 8 baserunners, 3 K’s. Arano, Chavez, and Webb all had scoreless innings. Their opponent is 9-15.
I’m a Kyle Muller fan, and his first start was so bad that it’s skewed his overall numbers. But he threw 5 IP, 0 R, 8 K’s, 0 BB in his last start. He’s given up 5 R in his last 13.1 IP across his last three starts as they continue to treat him conservatively. If he rips off a nice run, I could see him in Atlanta by the All-Star break.
recap up about the time of Rob’s last comment.
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