Braves’ GM John Coppolella has already been shown to be a formidable horse-trader early on in his career. But not every goes as well as hoped, and just this Summer, Atlanta missed out on three critical opportunities.
With yesterday’s off-day, today’s Morning Chop will be a little reflective… looking at 3 trades that might-have/should-have/could-have been for the Atlanta Braves this Summer… but ultimately weren’t.
Now or Never?
To hold or sell. That’s one question. If you choose to sell, the timing of the sale is another question. That’s a question mattering as much or more than the decision on whether to sell in the first place.
For example: you might have decided to unload some old books a few years ago… kids’ books in particular. You thought to do the ‘community’ thing…. donate them to a library, or perhaps let them go as part of a garage sale. After all, you never go back and read those Harry Potter books that you picked up way back when they first came out, right?
Of course you may not have realized the typo on page 53 of that first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone would make that book alone worth over $1000, either. This one, in fact, is priced at $1500 on eBay right now.
Timing can be everything.
Let’s look at the details of three chances the Braves had this Summer – and missed on – for getting a chance at prospects like (not better, but close) those raked in by the Yankees and Brewers.
Next: Opportunity One - Finding the 'switch' too late
3 Opportunities Lost
1. JASON GRILLI
The grilled cheese man struggled in his time with Atlanta this year: recovery from his Achilles injury of 2015 just seemed to knock him out of rhythm for way too long.
True: he ended up with a 5.29 ERA with the Braves, but there were an awful lot of 5- and 6-batter innings… if he finished the inning, that is.
When the end of May was coming around, Grilli had just 2 saves. Granted, the team wasn’t exactly providing many opportunities, but at the same time, Arodys Vizcaino was getting many of those opportunities – not Grilli.
As a result, Jason’s trade value was dropping and when Coppy got a call on him, he went ahead and gave Grilli a chance to go to a contender. It was May 31st.
The Braves got Sean Ratcliffe (not to be confused with Daniel Radcliffe). Don’t bother to check the minor league rosters for his name – you won’t find it. He was released from Danville on June 23rd.
Meanwhile, of course, Grilli has been on something of a tear. He’s 3-1 for Toronto with a 1.75 ERA and 2 saves in 25.2 innings… with 37 strikeouts and a 0.82 WHIP. Everybody talks about Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman, but Toronto’s acquisition of Grilli has to rank as the best of the bunch, particularly given the prices being paid for relievers at the trade deadline.
Atlanta missed here – not based on numbers, but on timing. Once Grilli crossed the border, a switch turned on and he became Jason Grilli again.
Next: Opportunity Two - A Bad Time to get Hurt
2. ARODYS VIZCAINO
As noted, Arodys Vizcaino had supplanted Grilli as the Braves’ closer: he was having a better year. The Braves were undoubtedly weighing some offers for their 10 save, 3.00 ERA pitcher with 3 more years of control after 2016.
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But there were a few concerns.
On June 13th against Cincinnati, Vizzy lost some Mojo… walking 3 and losing the game. The next couple of outings were okay, but in 8 of his last 10 outings, there were walks involved… and two more losses. In 4 of his last 5 stints, he was scored upon. In the 5th one, he managed to avoid that, but faced 5 batters.
Then the injury happened. Right side oblique. It was July 15th.
Was he trying too hard? Was this bothering him over the past couple of weeks before it became suddenly obvious? Was it the extended layoff (he hadn’t pitched in 9 days prior to that and only twice in July before the 15th)?
Curiously, had the Blue Jays wanted Vizzy in May instead of Grilli (as you might have expected, given relative performance), then the Braves might have had everything work out perfectly from their point of view.
Of course we don’t have full information, either: maybe they did want Vizcaino back then.
It’s not a bad thing that Vizzy is still wearing the Tomahawk… but he does represent a second trade opportunity that was missed.
Next: Opportunity Three - Found the Groove a bit late
3. JIM JOHNSON
There’s no way to confirm this without Coppolella coming out and stating that this next bit is a fact, but the circumstantial evidence seems pretty strong: it is likely that the New York Mets claimed Jim Johnson on the waiver wire, but the teams were unable to work out an acceptable deal and he was pulled back by the Braves… to remain with the club for the rest of the year.
Here’s a case that mirrors the Grilli situation: Johnson has a 4.06 ERA in the first half, but has been excellent since the break: 2.19 ERA and 0.00 in August… allowing just 2 hits of 17 batters with no walks and 8 K’s.
Had that been backed up a month… a 0.00 July ERA… then the Braves would have been ready to deal. However, that would have been a conversation with ~10 teams and not just 1. Such a situation would certainly have brought another solid prospect back to Atlanta.
Atlanta did get Travis Demeritte for Dario Alvarez and Lucas Harrell. That’s excellent, but imagine what Jim Johnson’s return could have been on August 1st… if he’d already had more zeros on the board by then.
This amounts to a “close but not quite” situation. Teams opted to go after more consistent performance – as known at the time – and spent they’re precious prospects on those pitchers instead. There was interest in Johnson, of course, but obviously not enough to make Coppy pull that trigger. Now would have been a better time to deal him… except that the Mets didn’t have a match and other teams are not allowed to bid.
Certainly the Braves are now reaping the benefit of Johnson’s new-found groove… and we will have that through the end of the year. There’s still the “what could have been” factor to consider, though.
What Did Happen Around the League?
Some big deals… some not as much:
- RHP Joe Smith to Cubs for RHP Jesus Castillo (to Angels)
- Jonathan Lucroy and RHP Jeremy Jeffress went to Texas for OF Lewis Brinson and RHP pitching prospect Luis Ortiz and a “significant” PTBNL (Brewers)
- RHP Josh FIelds to Dodgers for Util Yordan Alvarez (Astros)
- LHP Will Smith to Giants for C Andrew Susac, RHP Phil Bickford (Brewers)
- LHP Fernando Abad to Red Sox for RHP Pat Light (Twins)
- LHP Zach Duke to Cardinals for OF prospect Charlie Tilson
- RHP Tyler Clippard to Yankees for RHP prospect Vicente Campos
- LHP Andrew Miller to Cleveland for OF Clint Frazier, LHP Justus Sheffield, RHP Ben Heller, RHP J.P. Feyereisen
- RHP Mark Melancon to Nationals for RHP Felipe Rivero and RHP Taylor Hearn (Pirates)
That was just the relievers involved in the July 30-August 1st time frame. You would think that Atlanta might have had a chance for something going in the middle of this talent swap.
There’s no blame to be distributed on any of these non-deals. Coppy does not have 20-20 foresight into the future. It is merely a lament that others were able to cash in while Atlanta had to mostly sit on the sidelines with assets that could not be moved, but that happens in all kinds of trading.