International Signings, Trades and the Braves
By Fred Owens
Trades and the Future
This morning one of the sports writers I respect the most tweeted a couple of times saying things those who watch closely know but may have slipped under the radar of others.
Teams that have talked to #Braves say their deals in last 24 hours could be a template for their approach to more trades in July. . . .
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 3, 2015
#Braves have let clubs know they're open to dealing from pitching prospect depth in a trade for a bat. They've asked about young catchers
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 3, 2015
That the Braves will trade pitching to acquires their needs shouldn’t be a surprise. When your only currency is pitching that’s what you trade. Inquiring about young catchers isn’t a surprise either. The shine has gone off of Christian Bethancourt for those front office who want performance now so they must either fix what’s broken or move him somewhere he can.
A new young catcher is an obvious need and Gary Sanchez is my prediction on target. I think we match up with the Yankees for this and it probably won’t involve a pitcher. I digress. If pitching is your trade piece you look for teams that need pitching but not necessarily this year.
Bullpen
Jim Johnson’s pitched well enough recently to raise his trade value for a contending team. He won’t return a superstar on his own but he should get a solid piece and as part of a package maybe more.
As maligned by fans as Luis Avilan is he’s pitching to a 3.23 ERA and 1.141 WHIP. His other peripherals look good as well; 2.99 FIP and 3.15 SIERA and 50% groundball rate are solid and the shortage of LHRP makes him valuable.
David Aardsma was a good sign and has been productive. He could return something but probably not enough by himself to make the trade worthwhile.
Jason Grilli’s extra contract year either value added or a burden assumed for teams looking for that back of the bullpen arm. He’s 39 and would pitch next year at 40, that’s the downside. His velocity hasn’t dropped and he remains successful if stressful in the ninth. he could bring a similar return to Johnson.
In no particular order, teams like Toronto, Texas, Minnesota, the Cubs, orioles, Angels and Athletics could seek that kind of help.
Starters
The starters with trade value are Shelby Miller, Alex Wood, Julio Teheran and to a lesser extent Williams Perez. I do not expect Miller to go. Teheran is a sell low guy but should he turn it around this month his value could climb. Aside from Miller, Wood likely has the most value because he’s a lefty, he’s pitching well and he’s controllable. Perez is valuable only as part of a package.
Next: Expendable minor leaguers