Showing posts with label Outlook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Outlook. Show all posts
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Braves Off-Season Outlook
So the Atlanta Braves season came crashing to an end after losing their NLDS series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 4 games. Where do the Braves go this off-season? What moves will they make?
Well it's almost certain that Brian McCann has suited up for the Braves for the last time baring he takes some sort of a major hometown discount to stay in Atlanta.
I could see the Braves bringing back Tim Hudson on a 1 year deal worth around $7M. Everything else I really don't have a feel for. Here's how the Braves current roster stacks.
FREE AGENTS
P Luis Ayala
P Scott Downs
P Freddy Garcia
P Tim Hudson
P Kameron Loe
P Paul Maholm
P Eric O'Flaherty
C Brian McCann
OF Reed Johnson - $1.6M club option with a $150K buyout
PRE-ARBITRATION
P David Carpenter - ARB 2015 - FA 2018
P Mike Minor - ARB 2015 - FA 2018
P Luis Avilan - ARB 2015 - FA 2018
OF Jose Constanza - ARB 2016 - FA 2019
C Evan Gattis - ARB 2016 - FA 2019
P Cory Gearrin - ARB 2016 - FA 2019
INF Tyler Pastornicky - ARB 2016 - FA 2019
SS Andrelton Simmons - ARB 2016 - FA 2019
P Julio Teheran - ARB 2016 - FA 2019
P Anthony Varvaro - ARB 2016 - FA 2019
P Alex Wood - ARB 2016 - FA 2019
C Christian Bethancourt - ARB 2017 - FA 2020
OF Todd Cunningham - ARB 2017 - FA 2020
2B Phil Gosselin - ARB 2017 - FA 2020
P David Hale - ARB 2017 - FA 2020
1B/OF Joey Terdoslavich - ARB 2017 - FA 2020
ARBITRATION ELIGIBLE
UT Blake DeWitt - FA 2016
OF Jason Heyward - FA 2016
INF Paul Janish - FA 2016
P Kris Medlen - FA 2016
P Jonny Venters - FA 2016
P Brandon Beachy - FA 2017
1B Freddie Freeman - FA 2017
3B Chris Johnson - FA 2017
UT Elliot Johnson - FA 2017
P Craig Kimbrel - FA 2017
P Cristhian Martinez - FA 2017
INF Ramiro Pena - FA 2017
OF Jordan Schafer - FA 2017
P Jordan Walden - FA 2017
SIGNED DEALS
C Gerald Laird - $1.5M 2014 - FA 2015
2B Dan Uggla - $13M 2014 - $13M 2015 - FA 2016
OF Justin Upton - $14.25M 2014 - $14.5M 2015 - FA 2016
OF B.J. Upton - $13.45M 2014 - $14.45M 2015 - $15.45M 2016 - $16.45M 2017 - FA 2018
Friday, October 3, 2008
Updated Braves Outlook
I am updating my Atlanta Braves outlook. After reading alot of people's take on the Braves and doing alot of thinking I think the Braves are capable at contending next year and setting themselves up nicely in the future. I say yeah they can contend for a playoff spot next year but I'm more excited to be looking toward 2010 or 2011. Come 2011 the Braves could be legit World Series contenders.
Here is how I would do it. David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution brings up the idea of protentially trading for the Marlins' Josh Willingham. Willingham is one of 17 arbitration eligible players the Marlins have. They won't be able to keep all of them and with their outfield depth Willingham is expendable. So that makes perfect since to me. Willingham could feel the left-field hole until whenever Jason Heyward is ready. He is a 20-25 homerun a year guy when healthy. Another reason Willingham would be a good fit is because he would be a cheaper player than say Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell or any other possible solution to the LF hole. Also the Braves wouldn't have to give up much to get him.
That would allow the Braves to spend money on starting pitchers. I really believe Derek Lowe is number one on the Braves list to feel the ace role. Then the Braves could sign a second level starter such as Paul Byrd or Jon Garland. Say the Braves sign Lowe and Garland. Also say that they bring Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and maybe Mike Hampton back on low base salaries with lots of incentives. The Braves would have the starting pitching depth they lacked this year when three of their starters went down to season ending injuries. The Braves could go into next season with a rotation with this look to it.
Derek Lowe
Jair Jurrjens
Jon Garland
Tom Glavine
John Smoltz
Mike Hampton
Jorge Campillo
That would also allow them to push James Parr and Charlie Morton back to Triple-A where they could get more seasoning. With those moves the Braves could contend in 2009 but also set themselves up nicely for 2010 and 2011 when the next wave of superstar talent is ready.
How would the Braves fill the center-field hole you ask? Well it wouldn't shock me one bit if Jordan Schafer is the Braves opening day starter in 2009. But hey what do I know. The Braves could do all of this or none of this. The great thing about this sport is trying to guess what a team will do during the off-season.
Here is how I would do it. David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution brings up the idea of protentially trading for the Marlins' Josh Willingham. Willingham is one of 17 arbitration eligible players the Marlins have. They won't be able to keep all of them and with their outfield depth Willingham is expendable. So that makes perfect since to me. Willingham could feel the left-field hole until whenever Jason Heyward is ready. He is a 20-25 homerun a year guy when healthy. Another reason Willingham would be a good fit is because he would be a cheaper player than say Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell or any other possible solution to the LF hole. Also the Braves wouldn't have to give up much to get him.
That would allow the Braves to spend money on starting pitchers. I really believe Derek Lowe is number one on the Braves list to feel the ace role. Then the Braves could sign a second level starter such as Paul Byrd or Jon Garland. Say the Braves sign Lowe and Garland. Also say that they bring Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and maybe Mike Hampton back on low base salaries with lots of incentives. The Braves would have the starting pitching depth they lacked this year when three of their starters went down to season ending injuries. The Braves could go into next season with a rotation with this look to it.
Derek Lowe
Jair Jurrjens
Jon Garland
Tom Glavine
John Smoltz
Mike Hampton
Jorge Campillo
That would also allow them to push James Parr and Charlie Morton back to Triple-A where they could get more seasoning. With those moves the Braves could contend in 2009 but also set themselves up nicely for 2010 and 2011 when the next wave of superstar talent is ready.
How would the Braves fill the center-field hole you ask? Well it wouldn't shock me one bit if Jordan Schafer is the Braves opening day starter in 2009. But hey what do I know. The Braves could do all of this or none of this. The great thing about this sport is trying to guess what a team will do during the off-season.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Atlanta Braves 2009 Outlook
The 2008 season was a mighty disappointing one for the Atlanta Braves. Injuries ruined any chance the Braves had of contending as John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Tim Hudson all went down to season ending surgery. For Smoltz and Glavine that could mean the end of their soon to be Hall of Fame careers.
Other injuries, most notably the nagging injuries to Chipper Jones, also took their toll. The Braves lost closer Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan to season ending surgery as well. Add in the fact that Jeff Francoeur had the worst season of his young career 2008 was a forgettable season.
Of course with every season comes some surprises. Jair Jurrjens at the tender age of 22 established himself as the future ace of the team for years to come and Jorge Campillo came out of nowhere to lock down a spot in the rotation with a bugs bunny type change up.
Martin Prado and Omar Infante proved to be valubale utility players while Mike Gonzalez returned from Tommy John surgery the previous season to re-establish himself as one of the more dominate closers in all of baseball. Gonzalez is most likely to return in that role again for 2009, unless John Smoltz returns to pitch out of the bullpen.
The offense took a hit during the season with the trade of 1B Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels. But 1B Casey Kotchman showed during the season's final month why he was acquired. Many scouts (myself included) believe Kotchman, who will be entering just his 3rd full season, will develop into a solid .300 hitter with 20 homerun power.
With Francoeur's down year and the lack of an everyday left-fielder and center-fielder the Braves outfield as a whole was the worst in all of baseball. Many single players had more homeruns than the Braves outfielders combined. That will most certainly have to change if the Braves are to contend in 2009. That all starts with Francoeur. Francoeur slumped to a .239 batting average a year after hitting .293. His power numbers also took a hit down to 11 homeruns and just 71 runs batted in. If Francoeur can get back to the 29 homeruns he showed in 2006 with the batting average of 2007 then that will go a long way in determining if the Braves make a comeback in 2009.
The Braves must find an everyday left-fielder and center-fielder. I personally like the speed of Josh Anderson and Gregor Blanco but believe those guys will prove to be nothing more than number 4 outfielders at best. General Manager Frank Wren has his work cutout for him on that front.
But the main reason the Braves fell off in 2008 was the starting pitching. Frank Wren has said he wants to add 2 veteran starters and Mark Bowman the Braves.com beat writer estimates the Braves will have 45 million to work with. There are plenty of veteran starters on the market this year (unlike last year) but the price for pitching has increased greatly over the past few years. A solid starter now costs in the range of 15-20 million dollars a year.
Here are some of the guys the Braves might be looking at:
A. J. Burnett
Derek Lowe
John Lackey
Ben Sheets
CC Sabathia
The Braves also might have trade for what players they want. But they have made it clear that their top prospects are off limits. That if they have too they will bite the bullet on 2009 and look forward to 2010. I wouldn't be apposed to that myself. For the last 3 or 4 years the Braves have been trying to reload and have been raiding the farm system as a result. Lets not forget that the Braves didn't get to all those World Series in the 90s by raiding the farm system. The core of those teams was home grown players starting with the starting pitchers.
If I had my way about things I would bring back Glavine, Smoltz, Hampton and maybe Maddux for one last ride and talk those guys into retiring along with Bobby Cox so the Braves can finally move on from living in the past.
The Braves have done that with the position players but have yet to do it with the pitching staff and we have seen over the years that you don't win games without pitching. Just look at the Texas Rangers if you need proof.
The Braves are have some young pitchers in the lower minor league levels with some upside. The closest one to the majors seems to be RHP Tommy Hanson. The Braves would like to keep from rushing him to the bigs next year but he might be in the rotation next year if injuries come up. Other young pitchers include LHP Cole Rohrbough, LHP Jeff Locke and RHP Julio Teheran.
Speaking of position players the Braves have a kid who might be ready for the bigs by the end of next year named Jason Heyward. He was the Braves top draft pick in the 2007 draft and has monster power. He could fill that hole in leftfield for years to come. I also say give Jordan Schafer every chance in the world to win the centerfield job next year. If Francoeur gets back to the old Frenchy that would be one hell of an outfield for years too come.
Just my take on the Atlanta Braves.
Other injuries, most notably the nagging injuries to Chipper Jones, also took their toll. The Braves lost closer Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan to season ending surgery as well. Add in the fact that Jeff Francoeur had the worst season of his young career 2008 was a forgettable season.
Of course with every season comes some surprises. Jair Jurrjens at the tender age of 22 established himself as the future ace of the team for years to come and Jorge Campillo came out of nowhere to lock down a spot in the rotation with a bugs bunny type change up.
Martin Prado and Omar Infante proved to be valubale utility players while Mike Gonzalez returned from Tommy John surgery the previous season to re-establish himself as one of the more dominate closers in all of baseball. Gonzalez is most likely to return in that role again for 2009, unless John Smoltz returns to pitch out of the bullpen.
The offense took a hit during the season with the trade of 1B Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels. But 1B Casey Kotchman showed during the season's final month why he was acquired. Many scouts (myself included) believe Kotchman, who will be entering just his 3rd full season, will develop into a solid .300 hitter with 20 homerun power.
With Francoeur's down year and the lack of an everyday left-fielder and center-fielder the Braves outfield as a whole was the worst in all of baseball. Many single players had more homeruns than the Braves outfielders combined. That will most certainly have to change if the Braves are to contend in 2009. That all starts with Francoeur. Francoeur slumped to a .239 batting average a year after hitting .293. His power numbers also took a hit down to 11 homeruns and just 71 runs batted in. If Francoeur can get back to the 29 homeruns he showed in 2006 with the batting average of 2007 then that will go a long way in determining if the Braves make a comeback in 2009.
The Braves must find an everyday left-fielder and center-fielder. I personally like the speed of Josh Anderson and Gregor Blanco but believe those guys will prove to be nothing more than number 4 outfielders at best. General Manager Frank Wren has his work cutout for him on that front.
But the main reason the Braves fell off in 2008 was the starting pitching. Frank Wren has said he wants to add 2 veteran starters and Mark Bowman the Braves.com beat writer estimates the Braves will have 45 million to work with. There are plenty of veteran starters on the market this year (unlike last year) but the price for pitching has increased greatly over the past few years. A solid starter now costs in the range of 15-20 million dollars a year.
Here are some of the guys the Braves might be looking at:
A. J. Burnett
Derek Lowe
John Lackey
Ben Sheets
CC Sabathia
The Braves also might have trade for what players they want. But they have made it clear that their top prospects are off limits. That if they have too they will bite the bullet on 2009 and look forward to 2010. I wouldn't be apposed to that myself. For the last 3 or 4 years the Braves have been trying to reload and have been raiding the farm system as a result. Lets not forget that the Braves didn't get to all those World Series in the 90s by raiding the farm system. The core of those teams was home grown players starting with the starting pitchers.
If I had my way about things I would bring back Glavine, Smoltz, Hampton and maybe Maddux for one last ride and talk those guys into retiring along with Bobby Cox so the Braves can finally move on from living in the past.
The Braves have done that with the position players but have yet to do it with the pitching staff and we have seen over the years that you don't win games without pitching. Just look at the Texas Rangers if you need proof.
The Braves are have some young pitchers in the lower minor league levels with some upside. The closest one to the majors seems to be RHP Tommy Hanson. The Braves would like to keep from rushing him to the bigs next year but he might be in the rotation next year if injuries come up. Other young pitchers include LHP Cole Rohrbough, LHP Jeff Locke and RHP Julio Teheran.
Speaking of position players the Braves have a kid who might be ready for the bigs by the end of next year named Jason Heyward. He was the Braves top draft pick in the 2007 draft and has monster power. He could fill that hole in leftfield for years to come. I also say give Jordan Schafer every chance in the world to win the centerfield job next year. If Francoeur gets back to the old Frenchy that would be one hell of an outfield for years too come.
Just my take on the Atlanta Braves.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Braves Future Is Bright
The Braves future is bright with all the youngsters in their organization. Get to know these guys. All of these guys are either already in the majors or will be there in the next couple of years.
P - Manny Acosta
P - Jose Ascanio
P - Ryan Basner
P - Blaine Boyer
P - Joey Devine
P - Matt Harrison
P - Chuck James
P - Anthony Lerew
P - Michael Nix
P - Jo-Jo Reyes
P - Zach Schreiber
P - Will Startup
P - Phil Stockman
C - Brian McCann
C - Brayan Pena
C/1B - Jarrod Saltalamacchia
1B - Carlos Mendez
2B - J.C. Holt
2B - Kelly Johnson
2B - Martin Prado
2B - Jonathan Schuerholz
SS/3B - Yunel Escobar
SS - Brent Lillibridge
3B - Wes Timmons
OF - Gregor Blanco
OF - Jeff Francoeur
OF - Brandon Jones
OF - Bill McCarthy
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