Atlanta Braves OF Targets: Carlos Quentin
Well Fred has been the poster boy for trading for Carlos Quentin since… the tread deadline I think. He’s been pushing and pushing for Quentin and at first I was doubtful but Quentin could be a great addition to the team. Here is one of Fred’s many articles on the topic if you’d like to check that out.
Positives
So the one thing Quentin has going for him is his power. That is his biggest strength and the only real part of his game that stands out. Since his break out season in 2008 he has hit 36, 21, 26, and 24 home runs. His ISO has never been below .219 in that same period and his SLG had never been below .456.
For his entire career Quentin is a .252/.346/.490 hitter with an ISO of .238. Those are pretty good power numbers with an average OBP and below average batting average. He strikes out less than the MLB average but walks less too. You would like a player with power to walk a bit more than that but he likes to swing the bat a lot.
Quentin has played both corner outfield positions but their really isn’t anything to brag about here. I would say defensively he is slightly below average to average.
Greg Walker and Carlos Quentin apparently get along very well and Walker was given a lot of credit for Quentin’s break out season with the White Sox. He would most likely be excited to come and hit under his guidance again. Quentin’s contract is also manageable at $7 million.
Negatives
Injuries. Without a doubt Quentin’s injury history is his biggest weakness. Here are his years/games player since 2008:
- 2008/130 games
- 2009/99 games
- 2010/131 games
- 2011/118 games
If you look at his entire career, Quentin has never played more than 131 games. This is not something the Braves are going to like and it could be the only reason that he hasn’t been linked in a rumor to Atlanta. Quentin is most definitely on the market and has been linked to a few teams. The Braves already have their own injury prone hitter in Chipper Jones and it would be extremely risky to add another one.
It could work out perfectly with Martin Prado in the mix but that’s only if they decide to get injured at different times. If both Chipper and Quentin were ever on the DL at the same time the Braves would be in a bad situation with a missing left fielder or third baseman.
Other than injuries the only other thing you might want to consider putting on the negative list is the iffy defense but even then I don’t think it is bad enough to really hurt you in left field.