Rumor: 3 tweets that might drive fear into Atlanta Braves fans

It’s getting a bit too close for comfort, this pursuit of Oakland pitcher Sonny Gray.  Especially as the rule of engagement have become known.

Let’s get to it:  the Atlanta Braves, now free of Jaime Garcia, are definitely on the prowl.  Yesterday we heard from Joel Sherman.  Today it’s Jon Morosi with a lot more detail:

All right, let’s be clear on this right up front.  The Atlanta Braves are not offering Ronald Acuna in a trade deal.

How do I know this?  Because if so, Sonny Gray would not be pitching right now in Toronto (okay, as of this writing, he’s also losing 4-zip in the third, but he is pitching).

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Teams said to be interested in Gray the most right now are the Yankees, Braves, and Nationals.  However, the Nationals’ interest was contingent on medical reports involving Stephen Strasburg, and indications are that he’s going to be fine – maybe not even missing his next start.

So the top-rated center fielder (Victor Robles, according to the new MLB Pipeline chart) will stay a National.

The next one on their list (they almost like the Braves now) is Ronald Acuna:  8th overall and probably only behind Robles because of a bit of over-hype fear after not having him on the Top 100 board at all last year.  My belief is that this is the guy the Athletics are targeting.

Well, duh, but they can’t have him.

The Competition

The Yankees have a center field candidate, too – one they would be willing to part with.  His name is Estevan Florial.  He’s their 5th ranked prospect and #91 on the new MLB Pipeline board.

But the A’s don’t really want him as much.  How do I know this?  Because the Yankees – flush with young outfielders at or near the majors – would not have any qualms about giving up Florial.  He’s 19 years old – like Acuna – but taking more of a normal progression back in low A Charleston.

He can hit, and he has shown power, too, with not-elite-but-decent speed and solid fielding skills.  He’d be a good ‘get’ for Oakland, but either they want somebody closer to the majors or … they want Acuna.

So that’s pretty much the deal for Sonny Gray if the A’s want a young center fielder… though the Braves might try something else.

Something Else

There’s a sleeper in the system that the Braves are probably trying to talk Oakland into.  It’s Cristian Pache.  18 years old, at low-A Rome.

Pache has all of the tools except power, and at 6’2″ 185, that could still come.  one thing he has that the others don’t is elite speed.

Ben Chase actually had Pache ranked sixth on our TomahawkTake midseason prospect chart.  You can check out his glowing scouting report at this link, but catch this little snippet from there:

"Defensively, Pache is flat-out elite. He has an incredible arm, having struck down 21 hapless runners via assist in just 124 defensive games in his minor league career thus far. He has double-plus instincts in the outfield with plus range."

Acuna actually has more steals (35) than either Pache (22) or Florial (16), but Pache also has 7 triples in 88 games.  And the Braves are probably willing:

Just to underline that point, Bowman reiterated in another tweet that “There is absolutely no way the Braves would include Acuna in any potential deal for Gray.”

So Why Sonny Gray Again?

My guess is that the Braves are making a serious pitch for Gray.  The package probably includes Cristian Pache and a toppish prospect pitcher as the headliners, with a couple of others.

Many are asking about why Atlanta might be doing this at all… actually, the question is rather properly pointed, coming from Martin Gandy:

Fair point.  But I doubt that this is Coppy’s plan.  Instead of that, what if the price turned into something more like this?

• Cristian Pache
• One of Anderson/Fried/Wentz/Sims/Bryse Wilson
• Blair or Wisler
• A wildcard 30+ prospect

If that were acceptable to Oakland (hopefully their scouts are watching – last I saw, they were checking our Yankee prospects), then the Braves could retain virtually all of their stock of premium pitchers and still get one in return.

That would give the Braves a projected rotation of something like this going into 2018:

• Teheran
• Gray
• Foltynewicz
• Newcomb
• The Winner of the prospect sweepstakes determined in March.  Or Alex Cobb.  Or Chris Archer.  Or whatever Coppy has up his sleeve by the off-season.

Oh, by the way:  for a pitcher like Gray that grew up in Nashville, which team do you think might have a better shot at inking him to a longer contract after 2019?  The Yankees or the Braves?

Future Scope

One of the reasons I believe that Coppy wants to obtain another front-liner like Sonny Gray is because of what we saw in 2016:  Aaron Blair and Matt Wisler both started okay, but neither were entirely ready for the majors… and still aren’t.

Having 2 or 3 prospect rookies in the rotation is a recipe for repeating that experience.  Having a lineup more like the list above would put the Braves in a better position to win more often.

My own personal bias?  If that kind of a package is acceptable to the A’s, then I’d be all for it, for it preserves the best of farm while looking toward the future. The outfield of the near future is starting to look like Kemp, Inciarte and Acuna… with no room for a talent like Pache anyway.

All that said, I certainly would not go much further in the price for Gray.

I dare say that the Yankees are drawing the same kind of line in the sand – Billy Beane will have to pick one winner from those two entries.

We should know the full story by the weekend.

Next: Another Option... Which Makes one Shudder

It’s 4-1 Toronto now – but Gray is through the 6th inning with no further damage.  5 hits allowed, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts.  None of the runs were earned.