We looked at the 5 worst Atlanta Braves deals.. but there were more ‘worsts’ to regret.
As the world turns, the Atlanta Braves move closer to the trade deadline. We’ve explored a top 5 worst trade list, but there are yet more cringeworthy moves in our beloved team’s history.
With an eye to the future, we’ll look again to our past and highlight 4 more trades that, depending on your perspective, belong on the list or at least deserve serious consideration. The discussion is what it’s all about.
July 30, 2015: Hector Olivera
The Hector Olivera debacle. This was a three team trade, so let’s see how it turned out for each team.
Who got who?
- Braves: Hector Olivera, Zachary Bird (minors), Paco Rodriguez, and a competitive balance round A pick (from Marlins)
- Dodgers: Bronson Arroyo, Luis Avilan, Jim Johnson, Jose Peraza, Alex Wood, Mat Latos, and Mike Morse
- Marlins: Victor Araujo (minors), Kevin Guzman (minors), and Jeff Brigham
Explaining the deal:
Essentially, the Dodgers shelled out a ton of salary relief in the deal. They paid $28 million of Olivera’s salary (his signing bonus) and picked up another $18 million in salary spread across the players listed.
In addition to the $14.3 million in salary relief the Marlins got, they also received relief pitcher Jeff Brigham, who pitched to a 5.90 ERA over 12 appearances, four of them starts. Both other arms, Victor Araujo and Kevin Guzman flamed out in A ball.
So, the Braves, instead of getting Olivera at full price, got a massive discount on a Cuban prospect, who at the time had slashed .348/.392/.493 in the minor leagues. The Braves also received two additional minor league arms.
Olivera was thought to be a possible cornerstone in the rebuild.
What we got:
As said above, Olivera, who was 29 years old at the time, looked good… on paper. Olivera only appeared in 30 games for the Atlanta Braves, hitting two home runs in 98 at-bats. Then, in 2016 while in Washington, DC he was arrested for assault.
Olivera was traded later to the San Diego Padres in what was largely a money deal in which we acquired Matt Kemp.
That was a positive for the Atlanta Braves, as Kemp played in 171 games, hitting .278 with 31 home runs and 103 RBI. In the end, his legs failed him
Olivera last played in 2017 for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League, and hasn’t been heard from since.
Zachary Bird toiled in the minors and is now out of baseball. Although we rehabbed Paco Rodriguez from Tommy John surgery, he never appeared in a game at any level in our organization.
What we gave up:
The Atlanta Braves had just acquired Bronson Arroyo from the Arizona Diamondbacks where they took on salary for a prospect, and that prospect was Touki Toussaint. The Dodgers took on a portion of what we owed Arroyo.
Luis Avilan seemingly came out of nowhere with little to no prospect fanfare and in his first 106 appearances in 2012 and 2013 for the club, pitched to a 1.69 ERA as a left-handed specialist.
Over the next two years, he was much more average, in those 112 appearances, he complied a even 4.00 ERA. The latter number has played much closer to his career averages, but Avilan has by and large been a good, and sometimes spectacular relief option.
The Atlanta Braves initially acquired Jim Johnson two years removed from 101 saves and an All-Star appearance in 2012 and 2013 with the Baltimore Orioles. He produced good results in his 49 appearances before the trade, apparently so much so that we acquired him that offseason again. In 2016, he was worth 1.5 WAR, in 2017, -0.9 WAR. Johnson’s success was so centered around his sinker, and after his breakout, he only showed flashes of that dominance.
Jose Peraza was our number #1 prospect when our farm system was very thin. That’s not to say that Peraza wasn’t a talent, but it would be interesting to see where he would slot in looking at how stocked the farm was been the past three seasons. The Dodgers dealt him to the Cincinnati Reds, and in the four seasons since, he’s got a career batting average of .274 with 27 home runs and 141 RBI. In 2019, he has been used more off the bench than in previous seasons.
The biggest hurt was Alex Wood, but throwing out his 2017 season where he was lights out, he has always been the same pitcher that we got rid of. He’s a solid arm, probably a #4, and has dealt with his share of injuries. He still hasn’t thrown a pitch for the Cincinnati Reds, where he was traded this past offseason, in 2019.
Analysis:
This certainly wasn’t good, but when you boil it all down, we gave up what’s amounted to an average reliever in Avilan, what seems to be becoming a utility man in Peraza, and Wood.
The All-Star season that Alex Wood had in 2017 was tragic for Atlanta Braves fans to watch, but he’s largely been average outside of that one season, with injury questions to boot. Remember, some scouts didn’t like that funky wind-up.
Don’t forget the competitive balance draft pick that we got, which turned out to be top 30 pitching prospect Joey Wentz.
Wentz was magnificent in Rome and Florida in 2017 and 2018, and has come on as of late in Mississippi. Over his last three starts, he’s allowed just two earned runs while striking out 27 batters over 18 and two-thirds innings.
Let us also consider that Olivera was eventually turned into Matt Kemp, which provided us with the equivalent of a full season of good production (.278/31 HR/103 RBI).
December 13, 2003: Wainwright for Drew
J.D. Drew was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with Eli Marrero to the Atlanta Braves for Ray King, Jason Marquis and Adam Wainwright.
This deal was more traditional than the 3 team salary dump fest described above, so we’ll get right down to it.
What we got:
J.D. Drew, a Georgia native was one of the most anticipated players coming out of the 1997 draft, but balked at being picked by the Phillies. The following season, the Cardinals picked him 5th and made his major league debut that same year.
While he didn’t turn out to be a Hall of Famer as early speculation may have suggested, he was worth 44.9 WAR over his career.
He actually his best season of his career with Atlanta. Drew hit .305 with a career-high 31 home runs and 93 RBI. That line led him to finish in 6th place in the National League MVP vote.
Surprisingly, that season, he wasn’t an All-Star, but he later made it to the mid-summer classic in 2008 with Boston.
But alas, the Atlanta Braves seemed to have no plans to sign Drew, who was a free agent after the 2004 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers scooped him up.
The second piece in the deal was Eli Marrero. His best year came in 2002 where he had a career high in at-bats, and also had career highs in home runs and RBI for St. Louis.
For the Atlanta Braves, he set a new career high in batting average at .320 and hit 10 home runs in part-time duty.
What we gave up:
Ray King was a big-bodied lefty reliever that definitely had his best years in the first half of his career. He was a workhorse, making 80 appearances for the 2003 club, pitching to a 3.51 ERA.
His 2004 year with St. Louis was one of the best of his career, with a 2.61 ERA over 86 appearances; afterwards, the decline was fairly sharp.
At one time a big prospect in his own right, Jason Marquis had a long career at the major league level, spanning 15 seasons.
He, like King, has his best season with St. Louis in 2004, winning 15 games and losing just seven. In the two years afterward, Marquis was little more than an innings eater for the Cardinals.
In 2006, he led the league in losses (16), earned runs allowed (130), home runs given up (35) and registered a 6.02 ERA. In 2009, Marquis would put together a fine first half and he was an All-Star with Colorado.
Giving up Adam Wainwright may be least part of the reason that the Atlanta Braves have been a bit reluctant to deal starting pitching – ever.
With St. Louis, he’s racked up 151 career wins, finished in the top three of the Cy Young voting four times, made three All-Star teams and won 92 games from 2009-2014. The Missouri native also earned a World Series ring in 2006.
He survived Tommy John surgery in 2011, but after an Achilles injury in 2015, he’s been much less effective. In fact, his lowest season ERA post injury is 4.31, which is his figure in 2019.
Analysis:
This one hurts because of Wainwright. What’s interesting, is like the Mark Texiera trade, we actually got the best from J.D. Drew in the season that we had him. Both Tex and Drew had MVP-like tenures.
Marrero was a nice pick-up for Atlanta, but ultimately, that’s not enough to make up for Wainwright. The Atlanta Braves clearly picked the wrong arm to send over in the deal.
March 25, 1997: Kenny Lofton
Kenny Lofton traded by the Cleveland Indians with Alan Embree to the Atlanta Braves for Marquis Grissom and David Justice.
What we got:
Kenny Lofton was perhaps one of the most electrifying players in the league due to his contact hitting and speed. Lofton had made three consecutive All-Star games with the Indians, then made it with the Atlanta Braves as well in 1997.
What the Braves weren’t counting on is hampering groin injury. The centerfielder hit .333, but saw his lowest stolen base output (27) when he had stole no fewer than 54 bases in the five years prior, leading the league each season.
He was also caught stealing a league-leading 20 times. The Atlanta Braves let him walk after the season and he returned to Cleveland on a 4 year, 30 million dollar deal that offseason.
Alan Embree was effective during the 1997 season for the Atlanta Braves. The lefty made 66 appearances to the tune of a 2.54 ERA. In 1998, he had a 4.34 ERA over 20 appearances and was traded for another reliever – Russ Springer – that year.
What we gave up:
David Justice was a World Series hero for his solo home run in game 6 that gave Tom Glavine all he needed to bring a title home to Atlanta.
However, after his 40 home run season in 1993 and a good first half in 1994, he never produced at quite the same rate.
After a shoulder injury required surgery in 1996, causing him to miss most of the season, he was dealt.
In the second half of his career, Justice basically doubled the numbers that he put up with the Atlanta Braves. He hit 160 home runs and drove in 522 runs with a Tomahawk across his chest, and finished his career with 305 home runs and 1,017 RBI.
Marquis Grissom is famed in Braves history for catching the final out in the World Series win.
In 1996, he had a career year, hitting .308 with 10 triples, 24 home runs, 74 RBI and 28 stolen bases.
After the trade, Grissom was very consistent. He produced seasons around his career average until his age 37 season. Grissom was typically good for a .275 batting average, somewhere around 15-18 homers and 65-70 RBI to go with 20 or more steals.
Analysis:
The Atlanta Braves gave up plenty of production in this deal. My guess is that since ‘Lofton for Grissom’ wasn’t a level trade straight up, they asked for Justice too. Since Justice probably wasn’t a sure thing after shoulder surgery, they agreed, and also got Embree.
I can only hope this was the logic involved. For whatever reason, the Braves have had a penchant for trading good players for players that were also good, but the front office seemingly had no intentions of resigning them.
Of course, Andruw Jones saved the day here. He manned center field for the Bravos for 12 years, hitting 368 home runs and winning 10 gold gloves.
March 27, 1997:
Jermaine Dye traded by the Atlanta Braves with Jamie Walker to the Kansas City Royals for Keith Lockhart and Michael Tucker.
What we got:
A utility infielder, Keith Lockhart didn’t have a big bat, but he had a good glove. Lockhart hit .248 over his 658 games with the Atlanta Braves, totaling 26 home runs and 126 RBI.
Michael Tucker was a very consistent offensive and defensive outfielder that the Atlanta Braves kept for two seasons, 1997 and 1998. Over his two seasons, he hit .265 with 27 home runs and 102 RBI.
What we gave up:
Jamie Walker pitched for 10 seasons, making 545 appearances for the Royals, Tigers and Orioles. He pitched to 4.13 career ERA and was worth 4 WAR. He may define ‘average relief pitcher’ almost perfectly, and he did it for a long time.
The big boo boo here was Jermaine Dye. Dye had a promising 1996 season where he hit .283 with 12 homers in just 292 at-bats.
He made his first All-Star team in 2000 with the Kansas City Royals, socking 33 home runs and hitting .321 in what was a rousing follow up to a break out 1999 season.
The 6-4, 210 pound right fielder would go on to win a World Series with Chicago in 2006. He finished his career with 325 home runs and 1,072 RBI.
Analysis:
The following applies to both the Lofton and Dye trades. We acquired Fred McGriff in 1993 and still had him in 1997.
Ryan Klesko was moved from first base to the outfield to accommodate this. So, our outfield for the 1997 season was Andruw Jones, Kenny Lofton and Ryan Klesko.
When you consider that, the Braves went into spring training with an incredibly crowded outfield picture when you factor in Grissom, Justice, Dye and whoever else was in camp.
What makes it difficult for me, was return on the trade. We acquired Michael Tucker, who was an oft used fourth outfielder, and Lockhart, who was a bench piece.
With the talent we had that we expended, you have to wonder if we could have squeezed a bit more from the Royals here and the Indians on the Lofton deal.
Let’s hope our deadline deals this year don’t end up on next year’s “worst trades” list.