Bowden’s Baffling Outfield Options - No Upgrade
Bowden's 12 outfield selections were eclectic, and most did come close to meeting the Braves' needs in the outfielder they decide to acquire To refresh your memory, Atlanta wants someone who’ll perform better than Brian Anderson or Forest Wall and won't cost more than we have to give.
- Eddie Rosario – Been there, done that, thanks for the World Series, but not this year.
- Mike Yastrzemski is 33 with roughly $4m remaining at the deadline and batting .216/.292/.398/.690.
- Randy Arozarena is 29, batting .171/.278/.312/.590 with about $4M left on his contract at the deadline.
- Jesús Sánchez is 26, a rookie, and batting.236/.286/.341/.626 for the Marlins.
- Wenceel Pérez’s Major League career is 48 games old. I have no idea why the Tigers would trade him if he’s good, and I don’t want him if he’s not.
- Jake Fraley is 29 with about $1M left at the deadline and under team control through 2026. He’s batting .283/.339/.362/.701, hasn’t shown any power this year and plays home games in The Great American Small Park. His Baseball Savant page shows a good arm and a lot of mediocre everywhere else
- Gavin Sheets is 28, earns the league minimum, is under control through 2027, and currently batting .238/.345/.421/.765. He’s also a 6’-5 236lb first baseman playing the outfield because the Pale Hose has Andrew Vaughn at first. His outfield defense looks a lot like a first baseman playing the outfield and his offense suffers as a result. He’s batted .172/.274/.263/.537 as a right fielder in 113 PA.
In the too-expensive for too little return category, Bowden suggested Ian Happ and Michael Conforto as options for the Braves.
Happ’s $20.3M AAV contract runs through 2026, and he’s a power bat. Bowden’s post says the Cubs need an impact bat, so I don’t know why they’d move him, but if they did, they’d want more than I’d give up to get him.
Conforto’s a rental earning what’s left of his $18M contract for 2024. He’s batting .241/.294/.431/.725, with a reverse split - .224 with a .691 OPS against RHP and .302 with a .830 OPS against lefties. He’s too expensive and only managed 0.1 fWAR so far this year.
Do any of these names make sense for the Braves?
I swear Bowden threw darts at a list of names while looking the other way when he put Jake McCarthy and Heston Kjerstad on the list.
McCarthy is 27, pre-arb eligible, and plays right field most of the time for Arizona and a lefty who, in limited plate appearances, has a serious reverse split. He sort of almost fits, but why would Arizona trade McCarthy? He’s under team control through 2028 and costs virtually nothing, and they must like him because he plays every day. We don’t match up with anything Arizona needs that we’d trade for him, and if they’re moving an outfielder, Randall Grichuk is more likely to go and is a better fit for the Braves.
When I saw Heston Kjerstad, I nearly did a spit-take. Kjerstad is a stud outfield prospect for the Orioles and Baseball’s #32 prospect. I’d love to have him, but why would Baltimore trade him for anything less than a Major League-ready starting pitcher and a couple of Top-20 prospects? Bowden says the Orioles want a corner outfielder, you know, like that Heston Kjerstad guy so it doesn't make a lot of sense for them to trade him.
If you’re looking for a player to fit Atlanta’s outfield needs, it’s almost impossible to miss Tyler O’Neill and Randall Grichuk, but Bowden did it.
I mentioned Grichuk earlier. He’s a veteran who is currently Arizona’s fourth outfielder. He has what’s left of a one-year $2M contract, plays solid if not spectacular defense, and has splits that allow him to play both ways. He’s also known as a good clubhouse guy and teammate. I doubt he’d cost much and I believe he’d stabilize the bench and outfield.
I mentioned Tyler O’Neill on Twitter (I will continue to call it that) and was told he was traded for a ham sandwich (actually two minor league pitchers) because he was no good. A ham sandwich for a player hitting .256/.356/.512/.868 with 12 homers was a heck of a deal. O’Neill has had injury issues, but the batting section of his Savant page is flooded with red. I like that.
As usual for Bowden, his picks for the Atlanta Braves look like he’s never seen them play and has no idea what type of player they need. I’m not sure if he does this because he knows Alex Anthopoulos does things he can’t understand, he’s just plain lazy, or he likes to see his comments blow up.
Anthopoulos will hold on to the Braves' most desirable prospects because they are the future of the rotation. I expect Elder and others who’ve had some, but not enough, success to stay, to move. We can’t expect him to spin tin foil into gold at the deadline every year, but I’m positive he has the best chance of doing it.