Atlanta Braves: the omnibus Jacob deGrom discussion thread
Here’s the Point
Allow me to list the pros and cons around a deal for Jacob deGrom. Your mileage may vary:
PROS
- Would deGrom make the Braves better? Absolutely.
- Would deGrom be an asset that makes the Braves playoff-worthy immediately? Yes…. imagine a rotation in which Julio Teheran is the FIFTH starter.
- Would deGrom be worth the price of admission? That depends, but he is under team control through the end of the 2020 season, and therefore not a rental. Even if you think the Braves aren’t ready to do this in 2018, there’s always 2019 and 2020.
- If you’re intending to spend something to win the division in 2018 (make no mistake: you can’t afford to do this to simply play for a Wild Card berth), then how close to that price would deGrom be?
CONS
Okay, there’s a laundry list in this column:
- The price.
- Who are you willing to give up, Braves fans? Riley? Pache? Allard? Wright? Anderson? Muller? Wentz? Gohara? Expect at least 2 names from that list to be involved if not 3 or 4.
- Would the Mets take what Atlanta is willing to surrender? Personally, I’m keeping Folty, Newcomb, and Soroka. And Acuña and Albies, for that matter.
- Somebody has to decide: is this THE GUY that the prospect capital should be spent on?
- Will the Mets want an inflated premium price because they’re in the same division and need multiple reasons to forget that deGrom will be beating their brains in for 2+ more years?
- Are the Braves ready to go for it? If so, that might mean doing something else big for 2019. You’d be ‘pot committed’ and effectively force open the ‘winning window’… if you’re not ready to do so, then you don’t go there.
- Is starting pitching the biggest need now? Or if you think the bullpen has the bigger need, then would deGrom effectively make them better too (it’s possible)?
THE DIFFICULT BITS
- deGrom sports a 1.55 ERA before tonight’s contest in Denver. His value will likely never be higher. That’s kind of a problem for the Mets. If you have a $200,000 Lamborghini to sell, but nearly all of your buyers have only $100,000 to spend, then what do you do? It’s tough to have a viable auction amongst just 2 buyers.
- Truly, there’s only about 6-7 teams with enough prospect capital to do a deal that the Mets can reasonably accept: 3 of these are in the NL East, one is the Yankees. Immediately, that makes GM Sandy Alderson cringe. The others are the White Sox and Padres, neither being ready to jump into this sweepstakes… probably.
- I could add the Blue Jays, but they are a lot closer to tearing everything down and building around the very same players that would have to be dealt to get deGrom.
- Maybe the Cardinals? But they have other issues and would face uphill climbs against 2 teams in their own division.
- I mention the Phillies, but I don’t expect they are quite ready to jump in.
- If the Mets are going to sell deGrom (and/or Noah Syndergaard), then they must cash in. It’s the only thing that would justify dealing either pitcher. But there has to be a serious dance partner.
The Comps
The most recent trades of comparable value have been these:
- CHRIS SALE – Boston sent Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe, and Victor Diaz… 2 premium prospects and 2 others (Basabe is now Chicago’s #13 prospect; Diaz is not ranked). This was a Winter trade, but feels a lot closer to the better comp, even for a mid-season deal.
- JOSE QUINTANA – This was a deadline deal last year. The Cubs spent most of the rest of the quality in their farm system in Eloy Kimenez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose and Bryant Flete. Jimenez is now the ChiSox’ #1 prospect, Cease is #5, the others are not ranked.
Of note: the White Sox did not choose to exclude the Cubs with their trade. True, they play infrequently, but the Southsiders had to be wary of possible local headlines extolling the virtues of their ex-player and his exploits with ‘the other team in town’.
More from Tomahawk Take
- Braves News: How the Braves got their name, mailbag, more
- Atlanta Braves Mailbag: New Year’s Edition
- Braves News: Atlanta makes a pair of trades, prospect debuts, more
- Atlanta Braves History: How the Red Stockings became the Braves
- Braves News: Atlanta Braves acquire Eli White from the Texas Rangers
Happily for them, the Sox have been spared much of that as the magic wands of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer seem to need a recharge.
But that was about the White Sox and Quintana. Would Alderson, Fred Wilpon and the Mets do a major deal with the Braves, Phillies, Nationals, or Yankees? They might have to, since these are the clubs with the needs and the means.
I am prepared to be surprised, but I don’t think deGrom gets dealt… at least not this year.
IF the Mets decide to seriously entertain the idea, then yes – you will hear about rumors that the braves are talking with Alderson. Who wouldn’t? Besides, Alex Anthopoulos is not shy when it comes to trades… heck, he’s the one who traded Syndergaard to the Mets.
But get prepared for a lot of silliness in the meantime. Hopefully I’m not guilty of too much of that.