Not a lot of real action on Winter Meetings Day 1 involving trades or signings – that was expected – but there’s a whole lotta posturing going on out there
The Atlanta Braves made a ripple of new news on Monday – but it’s still par for the course for Alex Anthopoulos: hold the cards close to the vest and keep up the poker face… a perfect combination for their Las Vegas venue.
The Braves’ General Manager had an early afternoon meeting with the media on Monday in which precisely one snippet of information was noteworthy. It was this:
#Braves GM Anthopoulos said teams have inquired about not just their many prospects but also major league players. He said he could envision a deal involving moving a big-league player(s).
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) December 10, 2018
Okay, that’s both interesting and potentially scary. Mark Bowman adds a bit of clarification:
Some teams have gotten the sense the Braves are willing to trade both Inciarte and Foltynewicz. Acuna's presence make Inciarte understandable. To move Folty, the Braves would likely need to fill multiple needs and/or have the confidence another deal would land a front-line SP
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 10, 2018
Good – moving Mike Foltynewicz would indeed make no sense whatsoever… even if there was an ‘ace-level’ pitcher acquired, for that would be close to a pointless lateral move.
Inciarte is another matter entirely. Bowman points out that Ronald Acuna Jr could indeed handle center field if needed, and in truth, Atlanta has a few similar players who could occupy the lead-off position in the lineup (including Acuna, of course, as he did so quite a bit in 2018).
But in addition to those players, there are numerous others who could be considered for a trade deal to one extent or another. The exceptions would likely be Freddie Freeman, Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Folty, and Brian McCann.
Depending on the deal, a case could be made for essentially any other MLB player to be dealt, particularly if an advantageous upgrade happens for the Braves as a result.
But so far… “nothing is close“. We’ve heard that phrase a lot lately, so let’s go to the Rumor Desk…