Atlanta Braves, buyers and sellers?
By Ryan Cothran
What are Atlanta Braves’ Tradable Assets?
1. Starting Pitching: It’s no secret that the Braves have been stockpiling Starting Pitching. Looking at 2016, the Braves have a surplus in Starting Pitching candidates: Shelby Miller, Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, Matt Wisler, Williams Perez, Mike Foltynewicz, and Manny Banuelos. Furthermore, both Max Fried and Daniel Winkler will return to action, the latter likely in a relief role and Fried likely at AAA.
Analysis: My hope is that the Braves don’t go off course and trade an impact starter, rather sell-high on someone like Williams Perez who likely doesn’t have a future home in the Braves rotation.
2. Wily Veterans: Not only did the Braves spend this offseason trading for every single blemished starting pitching prospect in the Majors, but they also made it top priority to go out and grab numerous veterans to mentor the young players. Players like Kelly Johnson, A.J. Pierzynski, Juan Uribe, Jason Grilli, Jim Johnson, Jonny Gomes and Cameron Maybin have trade value to teams looking for particular needs.
Analysis: 1-year contracts likely won’t bring back much but Braves could continue to stockpile B-type prospects or prospects fallen from grace in trades like this. Maybin, Gomes, and Grilli could bring back a bit more considering the built-in options that could keep them around for multiple years. After years of hearing about lack of veteran leadership in the clubhouse and not sure whether it had an effect on performance, I’m now a believer. This team behaves so differently on the field than the teams we’ve seen the past 2 years. If the Braves are selling to compete, Kelly Johnson, Jim Johnson, A.J. Pierzynski, Dana Eveland, David Aardsma, Nick Masset, and Juan Uribe are the most obvious candidates due to their 1-year contracts.
3. Blocked Minor League Talent: Jose Peraza is coming around. His OPS is above .700 and 5 of his last 6 games have been multi-hitters. Jace Peterson emerging both offensively and defensively at 2nd base and the defensive wizard Andrelton Simmons at shortstop, the Braves have been pushed to try and find a position for Peraza, moving him to CF for some starts. Then comes Cameron Maybin who is having a career year in CF and is under contract for next year with an option for 2017. Furthermore, Mallex Smith is annihilating Double-A and truly looks to be the CF of the future. Peraza is in a tough spot. Joey Terdoslavich could also be looked at in this light, but the light is dim.
Analysis: If the Braves can get an OF prospect of equal value, I think they need to greatly consider it. Peraza’s true calling is at 2b and the Braves are just fine there. While I think Peraza could provide serious value to the Braves as a super-utility player, he might be best served as a trading chip.
4. Underperforming Major Leaguers: While Christian Bethancourt is trying to prove to the Braves that he belongs in the Major Leages (since demotion, he’s sporting a .911 OPS), his run at the MLB level was brutal both offensively and defensively. And we all know the deal with Chris Johnson. His contract really handicaps the front office’s options, so he’ll likely have to be paired with a more useful player to be dealt, and even then some of his contract will have to be gobbled.
Analysis: Sell them. Sell them both. If the Braves can get a backstop that will be here for a few years and will provide offensive and defensive stability, make it happen. Admittedly, I’m biased here, and have never liked either player, Chris Johnson personally, Bethancourt professionally.
Overall Analysis: If the Braves are building for next year and beyond, every single player under control for the rest of this year, or this year and next, should be dealt. If the goal is to try to win the division this year, sell select veterans to re-stock some of the prospects consumed in other trades.
Next: Braves Trade Targets