House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves trade away promising OF Randy Ventura

By Alan Carpenter

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 29: A bat and gloves in the Atlanta Braves dugout before the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on May 29, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 29: A bat and gloves in the Atlanta Braves dugout before the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on May 29, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – MARCH 13: A fan flies the Dominican Republic flag during the game against Cuba during Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic on March 13, 2006 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – MARCH 13: A fan flies the Dominican Republic flag during the game against Cuba during Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic on March 13, 2006 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Details Get Fuzzy From Here

You’ll note that the announcement from the Braves mentions nothing about the monetary component.  Cincy was in the $5.25 million spending pool bracket.

According to Baseball America, the Reds have been very slow to sign anyone this Summer.  Only 3 names are listed on the signing tracker, topping out at $100,000 for Cuban OF Ruben Paz and with no numbers provided for the other two teens.

The Braves have 14 players listed thus far, with only a $300K and a $185K expenditure noted.

So why did Atlanta need more spending room?  How much more did they get?  And perhaps more importantly, why trade away Randy Ventura?

About Ventura

There is certainly reason to think that the Braves could ultimately regret trading him away.  Ventura was starting to blossom in the lower minors.

This season at low-A Rome, the 5’9″ Dominican-born Ventura (now 20) was hitting .294 with 29 steals and roughly a 20% K Rate with .338 OBP.  He’s been a singles hitter – .325 slugger rate with 7 doubles, a triple, and 1 homer.

But Ventura was getting some praise from multiple sources:

Baseball America (May 12):

the under-the-radar signing of Dominican outfielder Randy Ventura in February 2015 could be as beneficial as any recent acquisition.

"The 19-year-old jumped to an impressive start at low Class A Rome this season by hitting .359/.419/.397 in 22 April games. His combination of speed, feel for the game and ability to put the ball in play has caught the eye of the South Atlantic League."

Blake Silvers in our pages just last month:

"One player that sticks out as a future possibility for the Atlanta Braves when looking at this year’s low-A Rome Braves team is speedster Randy Ventura, who is among the best in the South Atlantic League… eighth in the SAL in batting average (.297), tied for second in stolen bases (26) and third in hits (97)."

Ben Chase from two years ago:

"There were a few highlights from the weekend, but another reason to keep track of DSL Braves outfielder Randy Ventura. He took over the Braves organizational lead in stolen bases this weekend when he stole his 29th base of the year. To put that in perspective, Eury Perez stole 28 in 60 games for Gwinnett before his promotion to Atlanta."

But now he’s been dealt to the Reds.  And we’re left to guess why.

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