Rumor: Atlanta Braves find out that Giant relievers are available

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 25: Manager Bruce Bochy #15 of the San Francisco Giants takes the ball from Will Smith #13 taking him out of the game against the Texas Rangers in the top of the ninth inning at AT&T Park on August 25, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The Giants won the game 5-3. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Who’s on the Block, then?

There is nothing official whatsoever, but probably an easier question to answer that the “What’s Happening” query… let’s go through their list:

Mark Melancon. 0.00 ERA/10 innings/3 BB. Age 34.
- Absolutely available. Also will be the hardest to move, given his contract.
Will Smith. 1.35 ERA/6.2 innings/2 BB. Age 29.
- Noted by Rosenthal above. Sounds ‘available’, but not yet?
Sam Dyson. 2.38 ERA/11.1 innings/2 BB. Age 31.
- Might be one of those guys Giants what to sell before anyone determines if he’s as good as he seems on paper.
Tony Watson. 1.50 ERA/6 innings/1 BB. Age 34.
- Has had some excellent years and has started very well.
Nick Vincent. 2.03 ERA/13.1 innings/4 BB. Age 32.
- Journeyman off to a nice start.
Trevor Gott. 2.45 ERA/11 innings/3 BB. Age 26.
- Kind of a AAAA guy;
Reyes Moronta. 3.12 ERA/8.2 innings/3 BB. Age 26.
- Got all kinds of ‘stuff’ – huge K-rates. Probably a guy that the Giants want to hang onto as a result.
Travis Bergen. 7.11 ERA/6.1 innings/4 BB.
- At 25, he’s the youngest of the group, so regardless of performance, he’s likely not included

Who might the Atlanta Braves be interested in from this list? To varying degrees, I would expect it would be everyone down to and including Nick Vincent.

Who might be available? Depending on the offer, the very same list. Let’s talk about that.

Mark Melancon

Let’s begin with Melancon. His contract is clearly a barrier to any reasonable discussion… unless there’s a package deal involved.

He is pitching well again, but he’s also 34 years old and due $14 million both now and next season. That’s essentially Craig Kimbrel territory, and we know how that’s going.

For the Giants to get any kind of return for him would require one of the following considerations:

A significant contract buy-down, commensurate with whatever the prospect return might entail… and I’m not expecting a high-value prospect in any case.
A package deal involving a higher-interest player. That could be another reliever (Watson, Smith) or Madison Bumgarner. That’s less likely.
A major trade deal in which multiple players swap places. Though I could see a scenario or two for this, it’s even less likely than the prior bullet point.

The Braves would likely not even entertain a deal for Melancon unless $10 million of his contract were covered – both now and in 2020. For that, I could see a prospect around #20 on the Braves list going back in return (+/- 3-to-5 slots).

That said, I believe the Giants are probably stuck with him.

Will Smith

Smith is clearly considered to be the prize here. He is a rental, though: a $4.225 million contract is done after this season and then he’s on his own. While the Giants may be thinking ‘July 31’ with him, though, the Braves would be thinking “next flight to Atlanta” (or Cleveland or wherever).

Smith would be a tough “get”, though. Other teams would be involved and the price for him could be steep.

So Smith wouldn’t be about the desire to bring him in; it would be more about how to outbid others and whether such a bid would be worth it.

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