House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: who are the sellers?

By Alan Carpenter

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 13: Kirby Yates #39 of the San Diego Padres reacts to striking out Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning of a game at PETCO Park on July 13, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 13: Kirby Yates #39 of the San Diego Padres reacts to striking out Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning of a game at PETCO Park on July 13, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 28: Austin Hedges #18 and Kirby Yates #39 of the San Diego Padres celebrate after a win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 28, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 28: Austin Hedges #18 and Kirby Yates #39 of the San Diego Padres celebrate after a win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 28, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

SAN DIEGO PADRES

  • 45-48 / 2.5 games out of the Wild Card
  • SCHEDULE TO END OF MONTH:
    • @Miami (3), @Cubs (3), @Mets (3), Giants (3), Orioles (2)
    • Also:  @Dodgers for 4 games starting on August 1

The Padres may get the prize for the worst schedule… even though the Marlins and Orioles are on it (and as this is being written, Miami is ahead 7-3 with something going in the bottom of the 6th).

A long East Coast road trip to start that’s book-ended with the Dodgers just after the deadline.  This of course is right after the Braves swept them back at Petco.

The Padres will want to deal and they will be looking toward 2019 and beyond.  Whether they make Kirby Yates available is a very interesting and open question.

They have extra outfielders (not that the Braves need any) but they would want young pitching.  Their GM, A.J. Preller, is willing to do interesting and creative things.. and that even has extended to some things that were a bit underhanded… to say the least.

VERDICT:  expect the Padres to do some trading.  They might call it ‘buying and selling’, but it’s mostly selling to improve them for the next couple of years.

COLORADO ROCKIES

  • 46-48 / 2 games out of the Wild Card
  • SCHEDULE TO END OF MONTH:
    • Giants (2), @Yankees (3), @Washington (4), @Cincinnati (3), Dodgers (3)

Okay, I take that back – the Rockies have the worst schedule.  Good grief, this is ugly.

Things looked a lot better for this team about 2 weeks ago.  They’ve gone 2-8 since and were just smacked around by the Giants.

Despite being just 2 games out of a playoff spot, the Rockies have to be looking at their recent results and their coming schedule and seeing their playoff lives flash before them… as in flashing away into nothingness.

It’s about at this point in the standings where these teams on the cusp have to be wondering “what’s it worth?”.  Do they aggressively pay the price to fill your holes while harming their farm system?

If you manage to become a Wild Card game participant, could you win it?  If you do, what’s your chances of taking out the Dodgers, the likely opponent in that next round?

The Rockies will probably have a ‘come to reckoning’ moment here shortly that makes them realize that their odds are not good at all… and they will probably be tumbling down the standings over the next 2 weeks to cement that decision.

VERDICT:  It was a good try, but the Rockies are done.  Not much selling will happen, but they won’t be buying, either.

Home/Braves News