Sep 23, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Atlanta Braves infielder Freddie Freeman (right) is congratulated after hitting a game winning three run home run against the New York Mets in the ninth inning at Citi Field. The Braves defeated the Mets 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
So, Have You Stopped Beating Your Wife?
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The line above is from a Looney Tunes/Bugs Bunny parody of a 1950’s Groucho Marks TV show “You Bet Your Life”. This particular line then further developed into a euphemism for someone trying to deny the undeniable – it assumes that the person interrogated (Elmer Fudd in the cartoon) is beating his wife, and subsequent denials sound hollow and unconvincing.
Such is the case with trade rumors.
Once it is learned or leaked or … whatever… that some team is talking to another about some player or another, then it can be difficult to deny that this happened.
That, of course, it especially true when things like this occur:
10AM Thursday…
The #Braves aren't shopping Simmons, but they do realize there's a chance he could bring a big return. So they'll continue to listen
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) November 12, 2015
…yet a scant 8-1/2 hours later…
Source: Andrelton Simmons has been traded to the Angels. #Braves
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) November 12, 2015
You Never Know
Obviously, all trade rumors – which include even casual conversations among team execs – will not result in trades. Yet over the past year, I’d have to think that people would have to believe that almost anything is possible.
That’s particularly true with the Atlanta Braves, but certainly not exclusively so. Heck – there was nothing on anyone’s radar about Craig Kimbrel being traded yesterday until virtually the moment it happened.
Such is the quandry we’re all in with yesterday’s hints that Freddie Freeman and Julio Teheran are being ‘seriously’ shopped around. As was pointed out, there’s actually only a very few teams in the position of both needing a quality first baseman and having the financial wherewithal to take Freeman.
That said, Mark Bowman does raise a good point about him here…
@binman74 why would a team trade for Freeman now before seeing if the wrist is healthy. Salary goes to $20M in '17.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) November 14, 2015
He also tweeted that it appears Freddie’s wrist did not require surgery. That’s clearly good news – and with another 3 months before he has to start swinging a bat (and 1 month of rest and vacation already completed), it’s reasonable to think that the wrist will be fine for March action.
Of course, any team seriously interested would also (a) ask for the medical reports; (b) eventually do their own physical; and (c) recognize that they would be making a multi-year commitment. I would have to think that if there was anything more interesting going on, that we would be talking about surgery.
Late yesterday we saw both a report that the Cardinals had spoken with the Braves about Freeman… and then we saw a denial of the very same rumor. How do you react to that? Heck, you could argue that there are ways in which both parts may have been true to some extent or another.
Beat The Clock
I seriously doubt that we’ve heard the last of these rumors – rumors in general of course, but also about Freeman specifically. I am also on record as hoping that he’s still with us on Opening Day, and indeed for multiple Opening Days to come.
There is still plenty of time remaining in this Off-season Buying and Dealing spree that is already very well underway. Sometimes things happen in a flash – witness both the Simmons and Kimbrel deals. More often, they take a little longer.
We won’t report everything we hear – but we will advise our readers on the things we think are credible, and I don’t feel any need to apologize for a credible report.
Seems these days, most everything has to be considered as ‘credible’ around the Braves. That pretty much means they’ll probably continue beating their wife… represented by we the fans.