According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Atlanta Braves catcher Evan Gattis is currently in Houston undergoing a physical.
The #Astros have brought #Braves catcher Evan Gattis into Houston for a physical today. They are one of 3 teams aggressively pursuing him.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 14, 2015
It appears as though the Braves could be nearing a deal for the slugging catcher. This would continue the trend of trading away nearly every available veteran asset, other than Craig Kimbrel, Freddie Freeman, and Andrelton Simmons. To start, Jason Heyward was sent to St. Louis, while Justin Upton now resides in San Diego. Is Gattis next? Speculation had been high after the first two moves were made that Gattis would soon be traded, but rumors seemed to cool off recently.
Gattis hit .261/.317/.493 with 22 homers and 52 RBI last season, so trading El Oso Blanco obviously weakens a lineup that already lacked punch. We knew the rebuild was happening, but this confirms it once again.
Houston is loaded with prospects, so if they are in fact the most likely trade partner I’d count that as a positive. However, according to Ken Rosenthal the Braves are not set on sending him to Houston just yet.
#Braves say they’re keeping their options open. We’ll see.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 14, 2015
The Braves have certainly not been boring this off-season. Confusing? Sure. Depressing? Maybe. Never boring. Stay tuned!
Update: It looks like Gattis is indeed going to Houston, according to Joel Sherman.
Told Dexter Fowler will NOT be part of Gattis trade to #Braves. It is 3 prospects going from #Astros. 2 top-10-ish types from system
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) January 14, 2015