Breaking news via Joel Sherman of the New York Post on twitter, and repeated via MLB Trade Rumors:
Word is #Braves pushing Gattis hard. AL teams interested since he could DH and play the field more sparingly
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 10, 2014
Can confirm report by @JoelSherman1 that #Braves’ Gattis is being pushed aggressively.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 10, 2014
This news is disheartening, for certain, but fans of this site had the heads-up on the possibility of this move a month ago when we explored the Pros/Cons of trading El Oso Blanco. But “pushing hard” tells us multiple key things:
- The Braves have made the decision to hand primary catching duties to Christian Bethancourt
- The Braves have made the decision to leverage Gattis’ considerable trade value at this time
- The Braves have chosen not to use Gattis as a left-fielder
Honestly, this is the smart play: any other use of him is probably destined for lesser results – whether we’re talking playing time, on-field performance, or future trade considerations.
However, the proof is in the pudding and this move will ultimately be judged in one way: what will John Hart get in return?
More from Sherman
Sherman is on fire this morning, but among the nuggets from his story is this:
"The Braves finished next-to-last in the majors in runs scored. Yet Atlanta is expected to use bats to fill what it sees as its bigger immediate need in the rotation.Atlanta will talk Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Evan Gattis with teams. That trio, along with Freddie Freeman, were the only Brave hitters who had positive offensive campaigns in 2014."
He indicates that Gattis is clearly being pushed the hardest right now – and that makes sense, of course. But it does appear that other options are indeed on the table.
This is gonna be a busy time over the next month in Braves’ Country.
3:45 EST UPDATE: What??
#Braves Hart said flatly that reports of them pushing to trade Gattis are wrong. They'll listen, but not pushing any trades at this point.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) November 10, 2014
So… two of the best baseball writers out there – Sherman and Rosenthal – are… flat-out wrong? Hmmmm. I still gotta think some wheels on this story. Yes, it’s way early in the Hot Stove season, but for certain, this is the time of year in which the General Managers are starting to have conversations with one another. And some of them (or their staff members) do talk.
Atlanta Braves are Shopping Evan Gattis – TomahawkTake.com – Nov 10, 2014