House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves must solve third base

By Fred Owens

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 23: A quartet of players including Rio Ruiz - seen here making a throw to first base - had a shot at making the Atlanta Braves' third base job there’s; none did. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 23: A quartet of players including Rio Ruiz - seen here making a throw to first base - had a shot at making the Atlanta Braves' third base job there’s; none did. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves hot corner vacancy – trades

The trade market is always hard to judge but a couple of teams look like a match; first, St Louis.

The Cardinals clearly want a middle of the order bat. A crowded outfield makes a player like Justin Upton – should he opt out – a likely target. Multiple reports say the Cardinals keep calling the Jays about Donaldson and Toronto keeps saying no. That makes Moustakas a perfect fit and their current third baseman expendable.

Jedd Gyorko

Obtaining either of those players makes Jedd Gyorko excess to requirements and the Cardinals could shop him. Since moving to the Cardinals in a trade no one understood, Gyorko’s become the player the Padres expected when they extended him early in his career.

Season

BB%

K%

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

2016 8.4% 21.9% .243 .306 .495 .801 2017 9.8% 21.8% .272 .341 .472 .813

TAv

BABIP

wOBA

wRC+

fWAR

WARP

2016 .292 .244 .339 112 2.3 3.4 2017 .287 .312 .344 112 2.5 4.1

DRS

UZR

FRAA

2016 2 1.7 4.9 2017 16 2.6 12.9

Statistics courtesy Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus

The contract that once made everyone shudder now looks very team friendly, even if the Padres weren’t paying part of it. That they are makes Gyorko look downright cheap.

Next season he earns $9M and the Padres pay $2.5M while in 2019 he earns $13M and the Padres pay $3M. The $13M contract option year – with $1M buyout – even looks a bargain.

There’s something like $23M in excess value in his contract with a projected production similar to his last two years. That means they won’t give Gyorko away.

The deal

The Cardinals also seek to rebuild their bullpen and everyone needs pitching. Perhaps a package of Jason Hursh, Akeel Morris, Ricardo Sanchez and Travis Demeritte would net Gyorko and a PTBNL.

An inventive GM could ask for – recently rumored available – Randal Grichuk as well. Adding Lucas Sims and a low-level PTBNL might be enough to make the deal work.

Gyorko’s contract provides a productive third baseman while allowing Austin Riley to arrive in his own time. It also protects the Braves in the event Riley hits a bump in the road or the Braves move him to left field.

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