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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop and rumor wrap: waiting for the green flag to drop

By Alan Carpenter

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 20: Michael Brantley #23 of the Cleveland Indians singles against the Chicago White Sox in the ninth inning at Progressive Field on September 20, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The White Sox defeated the Indians 5-4 in 11 innings. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 20: Michael Brantley #23 of the Cleveland Indians singles against the Chicago White Sox in the ninth inning at Progressive Field on September 20, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The White Sox defeated the Indians 5-4 in 11 innings. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 05: Adam Duvall #23 of the Atlanta Braves fails to catch this single hit by Christian Vazquez #7 of the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning at SunTrust Park on September 5, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 05: Adam Duvall #23 of the Atlanta Braves fails to catch this single hit by Christian Vazquez #7 of the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning at SunTrust Park on September 5, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Things to Watch For

At the end of this week, we hit the non-tender deadline… the point at which the Braves must declare their intentions to offer (or not) contracts to players still under team control.

  • Adam Duvall is a non-tender candidate, as might be a couple of relievers.
  • 40-man roster slots will be needed for the addition of any new additions… the 40-man is full as of today thanks to Rule 5 Draft protections made earlier.

Of course a trade acquisition could also involve making space via either trading away a 40-man occupant or a DFA.  If there is a DFA announcement after the non-tender deadline, that would be noteworthy.

This is also the week that you’d expect things to start popping… with things ramping up over the next 2 weeks:  the first holiday is done and many free agents (and their families) want to know where they are heading by Christmas so that they can get all of their ducks in a row for Spring and beyond.

Rumor Round-up

Here’s the latest on anything that could possibly involve the Braves… which is pretty much ‘everything’ as the Braves are known to have ‘checked in’ on virtually every single meaningful free agent.

In general, this is a run-down of everybody that’s been publicly connected in recent days by speculative writers… and a quick Yea/Nay on whether the thought is legitimate.

PITCHING – STARTERS

  • Zack Greinke is being shopped… Arizona allegedly believes they can deal him and his entire contract.  I have doubts.  Philadelphia might be the only team crazy enough to do that.  Atlanta certainly wouldn’t.
  • Corey Kluber (or Carlos Carrasco or Trevor Bauer)… one of these is likely to be dealt (my opinion), and for a bigger return than what the Mariners got for James Paxton.
  • Madison Bumgarner.  The Giants ought to trade him… and since they have a new GM in town, he might very well consider it.
  • Noah Syndergaard.  If I were placing a price on Thor, it would be ‘more than Paxton’ and ‘less than Kluber’… but not a lot less.  Mets and Braves really don’t seem to match up that well, regardless.
  • Nate Eovaldi.  While Atlanta has been mentioned in connection with him, you’d have to believe that he could suddenly handle 200 innings if you sign him… and he managed 143 total innings (minors, majors, post-season) in 2018… the first innings since 2016’s 124.  The only time he exceeded 155 was in 2014 (199.2).
  • Sonny Gray.  Watch out here.  If the Braves were going to get somebody on the cheap, it’s this guy.  Before you complain, check his non-New York splits in 2018:
    • .223 Batting average against
    • Slugging .320
    • ERA 3.17 (in the AL)
  • Julio Teheran.  Gotta think he is going to be shopped, but if so, it’s happening very quietly.  It would make sense to keep him until/if a new frontline starter is obtained.
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