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Rumor: Atlanta Braves making Cristian Pache available in trade discussions

By Alan Carpenter

ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 01: The Freeze races around the outfield after the fifth inning of the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers at SunTrust Park on August 1, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 01: The Freeze races around the outfield after the fifth inning of the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers at SunTrust Park on August 1, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 12: Billy Hamilton #6 of the Cincinnati Reds dives to catch a ball in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on September 12, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 12: Billy Hamilton #6 of the Cincinnati Reds dives to catch a ball in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on September 12, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Why Do That?

The major league dustbins are littered with players who have premium defensive talent, but couldn’t hit or get on base with any great manner of efficiency.

In quick recent memory…

  • Juan Lagares –  OBP barely .300, no power to speak of, great glove.  Injuries and a career .260 average have done him in.
  • Billy Hamilton – released by the Reds this Winter after getting too expensive to justify keeping, given a career slash line that begins with .245/.298.  Speed isn’t everything if it’s sitting on the bench.

By contrast, the Braves already have a Gold Glove center fielder who is hitting enough (.289/.337 overall) to look very good by comparison.  On top of that, he’s under team control for as long as the 2022 season.

Certainly, you know what you’ve got with Inciarte; everything with Pache is still about ‘projection’ and ‘potential’.

So with teams looking for center field help (both the Mets and Reds qualify here; so does Cleveland, Miami, and several others), Atlanta is thus making a value judgment here:

  • Pache’s glove will get him to the majors – the BA crew made a point to note that his ‘floor’ is very high because of that alone
  • Because they have the luxury of knowing they have Inciarte locked up, they can afford to ‘sell high’ on Pache to get something else of need
  • Center field is a definite position of need in the majors, which also plays into this equation

Despite the possible shortcomings, Pache’s personal ‘window’ remains lengthy: he played at the AA level last year at age 19…he’s barely 20 now.

At this age, he’s still projectable as a quality major league contributor, and his hitting absolutely could still come around.  It’s thus quite understandable that the Braves could get good value for him via trade.

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