Atlanta Braves at the faux Winter Meetings Epilogue

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The Atlanta Braves simulated trading for Trey Mancini at the FanSided Mock Winter meetings. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) /

Okay, now what?

I knew that none of the free-agent pitchers left fit my idea of at least a two-percent performance increase, that left ‘building a stronger lineup’ as the next option.

Earlier in the process, I’d contacted the Dodgers about Joc Pederson. At first, they were shocked that a competitor would deal with them. I found that odd and assured them I was ready to deal. They replied with a list of names, and I said all but one were available, then they went dark. I found later they had traded Pederson to Cleveland.

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I circled back to a name I’d had on the list for a while without acting on it and contacted the Orioles GM to discuss the possibility of a package including Maikel Franco for Trey Mancini.

I didn’t have Franco, the Phillies traded him to the Tigers in a salary dump, but I believed I could grab him to flip. An offer like this is a pretty common step towards a three-team deal.

The Oriole’s GM said no to Franco and asked about Johan Camargo. Signing Donaldson made Camargo expendable, and as soon as I found Brock Holt remained on the market, I made the trade for Mancini.

Do you want to deal?

I still had Inciarte and lacked a pitcher, but I didn’t see a team that matched up. I received a message from the Padres offering Hunter Renfroe for Inciarte.

That’s a trade I talked about often here, but I didn’t jump on it. Something simple had slipped my mind: if I traded Inciarte I had Cristian Pache on the 40-man roster in an emergency and could always add an unsigned veteran on a minor league contract later.

Instead, I spent wasted a night trying to deal for Mitch Haniger with a GM who wouldn’t tell me what he wanted. Trades are not a take it or leave it ultimatums, they consist of negotiations with offers and counter-offers. If one side won’t at least put you in the right zip code, it’s impossible to hit the target. In the end, it worked out better for the Atlanta Braves anyway.

I wasted more time when I contacted the Cubs after the Haniger talks collapsed. The Cubs appeared eager to trade Ian Happ, and the switch-hitting utility player with 20 homer power fit my needs. The Cubs could have landed William Contreras for Happ and a pitcher, but they stopped talking. That’s not only bad negotiating, it’s also rude.

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