Atlanta Braves Rumors: Reading Between Conflicting Lines
Aug 6, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson (31) signs autographs prior to a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Dodgers won 10-8. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Meanwhile, back over at BaseballEssential…
…Murray presented what I have to describe as positive information. Three pieces of it, in fact:
- There has been a conversation about a deal for Miller and Pederson
- There would be more players involved than just these two
- Additionally, he adds (from what sounds like a second source) that the Dodgers are known to be willing to move Pederson for a controllable starting pitcher… which exactly fits the situation under discussion.
Do I then doubt Jon Heyman’s take? No… I don’t actually have to doubt it. But when viewing both pieces of data side by side, I do have to measure the ‘weight’ of each one, and Robert Murray’s rumor certainly seems to carry much more weight than does Heyman’s. Given Murray’s later note as well… yes, I believe his account as fact.
Had Heyman added something like “Farhan Zaidi told me directly that…”, then that would change the weight substantially. Since he didn’t say that or intimate the strength of his source, we have to use what we see before us.
BEST GUESS: RUMOR TRUE.
…and if so, I really want to hear the end of this story – the multiple players involved part. Even if the trade ultimately doesn’t happen. That might be fascinating to dissect later on.
I make this call not because I want it to be true; rather I judge the content involved and the detail and it makes more consistent logical sense to fall on the ‘true’ side. That’s also not to say that anything will happen as a result of the conversation that seems to have taken place… the outcome of a trade does not determine the veracity of a trade rumor.
Meanwhile… the Dodgers are still clearly interested in a frontline starting pitcher, and are still linked to Zack Greinke, though I also continue to question their dedication to the Greinke pursuit. At the moment, he seems to be set up to choose between only the Giants or Dodgers… and LA might be just as happy to pocket the extra draft pick and the possible $250+ million saved (after payroll luxury taxes). But they also wouldn’t be opposed to having San Francisco breaking the bank instead.
And all of this happened before the end of Monday…