News from around the net that relates to the Braves as we head towards trade deadline time. Last night’s Freddie Freeman powered win over the Rockies (he’s already smacked another tonight) started the week started well and as we head for the break we seem to be finding a way to win in spite of a dismal OBP.Martin Prado will start his rehab at Gwinnett tomorrow night and wisely in my opinion will not try to be back before the All Star break. His return will certainly rejuvenate the lineup and the time off should have him well rested for the post season.
MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Marlins have acquired outfielder Mike Cameron from the Red Sox. Boston will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations in return. So that option – if ever considered – is gone
Meanwhile Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi report that the Astros – current owners of baseball’s worst record – should be aggressive sellers at the deadline in spite of the fact that the ownership situation won’t be resolved by then. His sources say that:
- Hunter Pence is considered a cornerstone of the franchise and will not be traded.
- Michael Bourn whom he characterizes as “a dynamic leadoff hitter, strong defender and accomplished base stealer who would fit the Braves, Giants and Nationals,” will likely be traded because he’s a free agent next year and a Scott Boras client. What it would take to get him isn’t discussed.
Speaking of the outfield, on July 1st the Braves signed former Mets and Reds farmhand Sean Henry and sent him to the Mississippi Braves. The right handed hitting Henry was drafted by the Tigers in 2003 but didn’t sign and was chosen by the Mets in the 20th round of 2003. In his five AA seasons his line is .284/.352/.420 with a total of 28 homers.Though primarily an outfielder he did play a handful of games at third and 69 games over two years at shortstop.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Dodgers are not about to trade away Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier because they feel they are important to the club’s future and the fans would riot if they did. So daydreams of Kemp in center shopuld be put aside. He did note that the White Sox assistant GM Dave Yokum to watch Brandon Beachy and other Braves’ pitchers. Wile we probably won’t trade Beachy he speculates Derek Lowe may be. I doubt that but anything’s possible I guess and it would take a good package to get the Sox to consider dealing Carlos Quentin. Quentin is one of the few right handed hitting power hitting outfielders around. His injury plagued 2009/2010 numbers are a long way from those of his last completely healthy season in 2008 when he hit 36 homers,26 doubles and drove in 100 with a line of .288/.394/.571. He is a corner outfielder though so doesn’t solve the lack of production in center unless Prado moves there. As good as Prado is at everything, centerfield is a specialist position. Centerfielders can play the corners but seldom do corner outfielders move to center successfully. If Uggla continues to struggle however we might see Prado at 2nd again. Having Quentin then makes more sense.
The best way to address the issues we face is to replace the two worst (aside from Uggla who isn’t going anywhere) OBP – offenders centerfield and shortstop – with players who know how to get on. One such player who might be available is the J. J. Hardy. Hardy is having a good season in Baltimore but if they can’t agree a contract soon they would trade him. This year a finally healthy Hardy is .294/.354/.523 with 12m homers and 31 RBI. Both numbers are bigger than Alex Gonzalez year for us and while Gonzalez’ RISP line is .234/.246/.297, Hardy’s .340/.431/.468 is a lot better. Paired with Michael Bourn or similar in center they change the dynamic of the lineup completely.
Time will tell what the GM thinks needs to be done.
Add us as a preferred source on Google