6 days ago, the Braves made another trade to help alleviate the financial burden that was taken on in the original trade with the Seattle Mariners. In the move, the Braves acquired David Fletcher and Max Stassi, sending Tyler Thomas and Evan White to the Angels. Almost immediately, Mark Bowman broke the news that Stassi would be flipped and Fletcher would become the Braves super-utility player.
Then, fast-forward a few days and we get this little nugget:
First off, this surprised me until I was fed this little nugget: Fletcher was 4 days away from 5 years of service, of which he would have no longer been able to be optioned. From AA’s mouth, the reason he was optioned was merely for 40-man roster flexibility. I find this a bit hard to believe. It’s been the Braves M.O. to work with players on their swings if they’ve identified problems and I think that’s what they’re going to do. It’s the exact thing they did with Orlando Arcia. Can Kevin Seitzer help Fletcher like he’s helped so many others?
And no, I’m not comparing their bats. I know Arcia has much more power than Fletcher. However, in his first few years in the league, Fletcher had a .363, .384, and .425 SLG%. These last 3 have been .323,.333, and .326. When players get in their late 20s, that’s when their power should maximize. Fletcher’s is going backwards. Utilizing the winter to work with him and seeing if the work sticks (or doesn’t) in spring will likely provide an answer for Fletcher, and the question is: MLB or AAA?
Or…he could just get traded again.
The 4 days are servie time, which doesn’t start until the season begins so AA is likely being honest. Really, there was no chance anyone was putting in a waiver claim and taking on Fletcher’s contract so this is essentially a freeroll giving the team an extra 40-man slot through the end of spring training. Expect AA to be busy.
Glasgow to LA. What’s going on, AA?
To be fair to AA, on the recent decent-ish free agent SP front, Glasnow & Lugo, between them, have a grand total of 5 seasons over 100 IP in their careers, albeit for different reasons. Lugo (converted reliever) has 3 (101, 101, and 146) and Glasnow (injuries; many injuries) has 2 (111, 120). If part of the idea of getting a SP is to give us more quality depth come postseason-ing in the event Charlie breaks down and/or Max’s blisters reappear, both of those dudes are something of a question mark (at best) to be healthy/ready to help in October and I don’t mind missing out on them. That said, I do still think we need SOMEbody. God bless Bryce, but we shouldn’t be starting him in the playoffs.
Though I WILL concede that signing Glasnow would likely have given us a bunch of excuses to post Mac’s Mike Hampton video over the course of his contract, so THAT’s a loss for sure.
Glasnow is a roll of the dice and wouldn’t have done anything to safely address October starting pitching depth. He’s averaged about 66 IP over the past five seasons, and last year was a career high 120 IP. He could give LA a stellar year. He could also blow out his shoulder in June. Either of those scenarios feels plausible for him.
Glasnow was never going to the Braves with a $25M salary attached and an extension necessary. He was predicted to go to a team with payroll space (Reds) or infinite payroll (Dodgers). The Rays are sending only $4M to the Dodgers in the deal. Also, I’m sure the Rays liked Pepiot better than either Elder or AJSS. I still think we have a shot at either Cease or Burnes. I’d be really happy if they signed Giolitto and extended Fried.
Note that even with Ohtani and Glasnow, the Dodgers are still projected to be second to the Braves in accumulated WAR predictions.
Note that even with Ohtani and Glasnow, the Dodgers are still projected to be second to the Braves in accumulated WAR predictions.Yammamoto too.
If we’re concerned with avoiding the manner of the 2023 playoff exit and want to have SP upgrade in October, do we NEED SP help for the whole season?
Or can we wing it and add on at the trade deadline instead?
We’ve got a new thread.
We will probably be able to get one from the Royals at the deadline. They are not going to compete. That’s probably why all the signings, stock pile your farm system at the trade deadline