House That Hank Built
Fansided

The 2017 Atlanta Braves Season… How Does Coppy Play It?

By Alan Carpenter

Mar 31, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of mesh seats inside SunTrust Park before a game between the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves in the first inning. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of mesh seats inside SunTrust Park before a game between the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves in the first inning. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 2
Next
Feb 15, 2017; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Bartolo Colon (40) catches a ball while covering first base during MLB spring training workouts at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2017; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Bartolo Colon (40) catches a ball while covering first base during MLB spring training workouts at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

The Catalog

First off, exactly who are we talking about as the leading trade bait players?

There are some others that could be dealt – sure – but these are the primary names that the contending teams will be watching early this season, and solid performances will likely put each high on a list for acquisition this Summer.

But for the Braves… that’s 60% of the rotation and a large plurality of the bullpen.

Back to the Future

If the Braves are indeed in a position to battle for a playoff spot in July, then that might complicate Coppy’s plans.

Beginning in 2018, the Atlanta Braves expect to open up the pipelines of talent – probably introducing 1-2 new pitchers per year and 1-2 new position players as well.

For gap filling, the team should have a ton of cash (perhaps $40-50 million) available to use in luring targeted free agents.  That’s when the team should begin to contend consistently.

What the Summer of 2017 represents, then, is the last real chance to be a significant trade deadline seller for a while… and the last chance to fill the farm with impact prospects before the fruit starts paying off on a regular basis.

But does selling off all of these veterans give the Braves a chance to win late this year?  A year in which the team wants to put a bunch of W’s on the board to fill up these fancy new seats at STP?

It’s a tricky balancing act that may have to be pulled here.  And it may depend on who we’re talking about as to how this is played.

  • Colon or Dickey or Garcia – the best pitching prospect performer in the minors would take the spot of whoever is traded first from this group.
  • If a second starter is traded, then it gets harder for the Braves to maintain momentum… and wins.
  • Josh Collmenter – a bit different here.  For this position, you need a rubber-armed guy who can go 2-3 innings every couple of days.  Premium pitching prospects need not apply.
  • Jim Johnson – If Vizzy is still here, then losing Johnson in a trade would not hurt as much
  • Arodys Vizcaino – If Johnson is still with us, then losing Vizzy…. you get the point.  But if both are traded, then this severely weakens the bullpen.  Somebody like A.J. Minter would need to be brought up.  My bet:  1 closer could be dealt, but not both unless Coppy got an offer he couldn’t refuse.
  • Brandon Phillips – his fate is tied to Albies.  On defense, this switch-up seems to be a wash, roughly.  Offensively, Phillips could have the edge until Albies gets acclimated to major league pitching.

Overall, if Atlanta is doing well in the standings, that will make it harder to justify cashing in these trade chips.  Kinda like the “problem” we had last September as the team was winning games… and lowering their position for the draft.

Conversely, of course, if the team is well back in the division, then the better chance that a fire sale might ensue and all of this hand-wringing becomes academic.

Next: Bring on the Flow

Here’s hoping the team’s first half performance makes it not only difficult to make these decisions, but instead brings calls for additions.

Home/Braves News