Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Winter Meeting rumor, news roundup

As the 2018 edition of baseball’s Winter Meetings begin, let’s take stock of where things stand with the Braves… and with a few rivals.

The Atlanta Braves and 29 of their closest Front Office friends have now gathered in the desert to talk about the business of baseball this week in an annual pilgrimage known colloquially as ‘The Winter Meetings.’

The ‘desert’, of course, isn’t some sand dune someplace – it’s being held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, of course.  Far be it for a convention among an industry whose leaders are millionaires to be held in less accommodating accommodations.

The Winter Meetings is/are a trade show, a job fair, a series of seminars, awards presentations, topical breakout sessions, workshops, league meetings for the various minor leagues, charity events, and… a chance for General Managers to meet again in face-to-face sessions to talk about how they want to configure their teams for the upcoming season(s).

Already we have some news on a few topics, so it’s time for a round-up of that news… before the any of the ‘real’ news starts – which could begin be late on Monday and run through late Wednesday.

Anything else would probably wait until next week as players interested in getting matters settled before Christmas choose their new locations for 2019.

So with that as an introduction, here’s what we know as of Sunday night…

New Hall Walkers

This is choice of 2018 the veterans’ committee, which should be a boon for Fred McGriff… meaning that if Baines and his career 38.7 bWAR and 384 homers is Hall-worthy, then certainly McGriff (56.2/493) might at least find favor with the committee… in a few years.

But perhaps the Crime Dog might need someone in his corner once that opportunity arises (and Andruw JOnes as well):

Lou Pinella missed out by a single vote among the 16-member commission.  Baines made it by that extra vote… 75% on the nose.

Watch Out for the Padres

I have no idea what they will end up doing, but at the moment, they’re into… everything:

Well, there’s no way they are getting any of those players without at least considering SS Tatis Jr.  But we’ll have to watch this play out… though mind you, I have no idea what they’d do with players having 2 years or less of team control (Realmuto, Gray).

The Braves and the Outfield

This from new AJC beat writer Burns via MLBTR on Saturday:

"The Braves, who are seeking outfield help, contacted the Mariners about Mitch Haniger and the Diamondbacks regarding David Peralta, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. However, Atlanta was turned away in both cases, per Burns."

I’m still sticking with the thought expressed on Saturday that Atlanta should at least explore tying Peralta to Zack Greinke, but at the moment, there’s no indication such a thing is even being contemplated by the team.

Meanwhile, Michael Brantley is looking for something in the 3 or 4 year range at $20 million annually.  That’s going to have to come down a lot to allow the Braves to even engage.  3x$15 might be more to their liking.

So with 3 top choices looking unattainable right now, the Braves are ‘still in touch’ with Nick Markakis. We haven’t heard much about what Andrew McCutchen is looking for, but he’s clearly another viable option.

There might be another avenue, though:

I cannot imagine that Matt Kemp would be among those that the Braves would entertain for a corner OF spot in 2019… but Puig or Pederson?  Price will be a factor.

The Braves and Starting Pitching

If Atlanta can get Cleveland off of Pache and Toussaint, then a deal might be available; but it seems that nothing is imminent, because…

Well, that was December 3rd and Corbin and Eovaldi are both off the market.  The intent – I guess – is to get more teams interested in talking with them after not signing one of the top free agents.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Cleveland will trade one of Bauer or Kluber… they just don’t know which one right now.

Meanwhile, are other things being held up by another domino?

That unknown ‘fellow free agent pitcher’ kind of screams ‘Keuchel’.  Speaking of him…

Would the Braves sacrifice a draft pick to get Keuchel?  Sounds like it’s plausible.

So maybe there’s some movement this week?  Would a package of Wright, Anderson and Inciarte work to get Kluber, perhaps?  If the Braves are willing to give up that much, I’d actually shop those players to either of Miami or Seattle first and see if that buys anything.

Here’s one more development…

Okay, this could be the actual newsflash of the entire weekend – the notion that either or both pitchers could be made available by the Jays.  So pay close attention to that bit.

Chuck is Re-employed

The former Braves pitching coach is now a member of the Mets organization.  Good for him.

More on Realmuto

The Mets prospect list isn’t exactly robust, so if Conforto and Nimmo are being held onto (reportedly 1 of them could be dangled), then they are going to find difficulty getting traction in trade talks for the All-Star catcher.

Finally, this

That’s actually a pleasant surprise… now all of the Red Sox/Yankee games won’t drone on past midnight… at least not on a routine basis.

It’s still tough to say whether the Braves will come away with any deals at all this week, but there are a lot of balls in the air… no doubt.