Chance, but not a good one. I can't see them hanging onto everyone, especially the guys in last year of contracts before free agency, two of whom are drawing plenty of trade interest: Jim Johnson and Uribe. And they're trying hard to trade CJ, but might have to attach him to another player, one they don't necessarily want to lose but might have to in order to dump the last two years of CJ's deal. Could do that in offseason but would like to do it now. And it'll be interesting to see if they move Maybin or wait to see how much more of a market there will be for him in offseason, which carries some risk, of course, that he might get hurt or revert to previous seasons' form (though I don't see the latter happening; he's not doing this with smoke and mirrors).
Performance. It's about performance. He had a bad season in 2014, and he really struggles against righties, and this season they've face more righties than in any season in a long time, so that's particularly problematic. But if they were to move Uribe this month, he might get a chance to play more rest of season, then could deal him in offseason.
You're forgetting the $7.5M he's owed next season. The $9M salary is 2017. And the $1M buyout is for a $10M option in 2018. So yes, it's too much to eat after this season, I'd say. They'll trade him, even if they have to attach to another player to get it done. At worst, they'll eat half of it or whatever to trade himi.
No. Johnson in clubhous is not a problem at all. Although his comments to Bowman yesterday did not sit well with front office. That was viewed as unprofessional.
Don't know about long-term, but he's put himself in position to get more playing time and continue to be evaluated. Could be at least a fourth outfielder.
That's why they might hold onto them, other than the two you mentioned, who are the two I just said a few minutes ago would be hard to hold onto because they might get legitimate good returns in a trade for them: JJ and Uribe. But Pierzynski's probably more valuable to Braves and their young pitchers the rest of the season than he is to other teams, unless a team had a catching injury all of a sudden. His reputation around league isn't great because of past incidents, but he's been terrific with Braves in clubhouse, with management and coaches, etc. Nothing but good in his dealings with Braves this season. I could even see them consider bringing him back next year in role he had initially signed on for -- backup catcher.
Freeman isn't "dictating" anything. Other players were suspended for 80 games, or in case of pitchers they needed to rebuild arm strength after being out a few weeks, etc.
Adding a front-line starter making top dollars (in both of those cases well over $20M per year) is not in the blueprint, nor should it be with all the pitching they've stockpiled. Having so much good young pitching will allow them to spend or trade for a bat or two in the next couple of years.
Don't know. Perhaps, but they'd have to get a significant return in that deal, not going to give up Teheran just to dump CJ's salary without getting back something of value.
If he does, then that's problematic, because Chiti was in the minor league system before he left, and Teheran only worked with him during spring training.
I don't see them making that kind of move until the offseason. Don't see them taking on significant salary right now before the deadline.
We're not certain of anything; these guys have surprised us plenty. However, you should make note of the fact that they talked to Lester in mid-November, before trading for multiple high-level pitching prospects including Wisler, Folty, Banuelos, Fried.
I would say he doesn't profile as a third baseman, offensively or really even defensively, as I've been told by a couple of people in the organization. But I don't want to say that because I'll have people on here give me 2-3 other players on the team who don't profile at a current position, etc. So I'll just say, no, I don't see Peraza playing 3B.
Don't know if it would make more sense, but it's a possibility. Just depends on how Braves management sees Maybin, whether they believe this is the player he is now, going forward. He's not been bothered by nagging (or worse) injuries that always slowed him down in the past. Bigger, stronger guy now, maybe that's part of his whole improvement, in addition to staying healthy. Plus, he's really taken to all that Seitzer has preached about approach.
Don't know, but I'd say better chance he doesn't get moved. Tough to turn over the catching to Lavarnway and Bethancourt the rest of the way, especially when you're not likely to get anything of significant value for Pierzynski. As I said earlier, I think his value is greater to the Braves right now than to other teams. But that could all change if a team had a catching injury this week.
Markakis is in RF, not LF. And no, it doesn't mean 3B has to be manned by a power hitter. But yes, you need to get more power from somewhere.
Isn't throwing. Don't know when he'll be ready, since he's not on any timetable yet that I'm aware of. I don't think there's much if any chance the Braves tender him a contract. Could always return on a cheap deal as a FA. I just don't think he's big part of plans going forward, after all the issues with the shoulder.
If they wanted to add a veteran starter, they could do it without it being a No. 1-type making a ton of money. The Braves need to give their young pitchers a chance to show what they can do, to sort out what they have, etc. Next year seems likely time to do that, before they move into the new ballpark. In all areas except wins, Miller has pitched like a top-of-rotation starter this season, an ace. He should have 10 wins, without question. So if this is who he is, they have enough pitching to fill out a very strong rotation without adding a No. 1 type, especially not a free agent who'll be overpaid and get more than $20M a year.
No, El Stinko. I'm sure they and the other teams that passed on Mike Trout have no regrets over not taking him.
No, I have not. If anything, to the contrary, they've said they like what their investment is looking like as the Braves move toward a new ballpark.
I could see that. But I think they'll want to wait a little longer to see what their other guys -- Wisler, Fried, Jenkins, etc -- look like in the next year. But it's always a a hard decision, do you wait, or do you try to sign a guy to a long-term extension before he's arb-eligible or right when he's arb-eligible for first time. Can get a lot more expensive when you wait, since the closer he gets to free agency, the less a pitcher or player is inclined to jump at the long-term security and sacrifice some potential bucks.
Yes, it is hard to imagine. But it happens. Lot of great players didn't go in first round.
