How Martin Prado, Adam Jones, and Maicer Izturis all relate

After thinking a bit more about the latest Maicer Izturis rumors, I have stumbled across an interesting albeit, far-fetched situation. I am guessing some of you had this go through your head as well but quickly dismissed the possibility. Maybe you did maybe not, but either way you are going to have it go through your head now, unless you decide you would rather watch videos of Tebow on Youtube instead of finish this post.

Thanks to those of you who started on this next paragraph. What if Frank Wren actually traded both Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado? This whole off season I have tried to convince you (as well as myself) that it would be illogical for the Braves to trade Prado. He’s just too valuable right? Well here is where the Maicer Izturis rumor comes into play. As I mentioned yesterday, Izturis is solid with the glove at second, short, and third. He could become a Prado type utility player with less pop but greater defense and the ability to play shortstop. Well then there is the obvious hole in left field. Here comes all of the nonstop Adam Jones rumors (with all of the articles written on Jones’ talent now and what he should develop into as a bonus) to play left field this year, add some pop from the right side of the box, and become the center fielder after Bourn, all in one player.

the rest after the break…

Now do you see how far fetched all of this is? It will be complicated on a number of levels with the two most obvious being:

• The Orioles value Adam Jones extremely highly since he is their best player and has still not reached his potential and…
• as Fred mentioned the Angels are ready to win now and they probably aren’t looking to move their versatile utility guy

As far as the Orioles asking price for Adam Jones, I think that it will come down a bit (considering talks are still going on) but not to the level of what most Braves fans would like to see. For those of you who are wondering why the Orioles are asking for the world for Jones, you should read this Fangraphs article by Dave Cameron. Adam Jones is like the Orioles’ Jason Heyward but to a lesser extent. Sure Heyward under performed last year but does that mean we should trade him for an injury prone pitcher? No of course not. And please don’t harass me about comparing Heyward and Jones, I realize that Heyward is the better talent, I am just trying to show you what the Orioles think of their center fielder.

The Orioles are interested in both Jurrjens and Prado but I don’t think both of them need to be included in the deal. I would try to base the deal around Jurrjens and sweeten the deal with Lipka and Gilmartin (or something like that). Obviously we aren’t going to give up any of our top pitchers, so the best pitcher out of our untouchables, our top center field prospect, and Jurrjens seems like a decent starting point. Regardless, if we are going to trade for Jones we are going to have to throw in some good prospects and I’m not sure if Wren is willing to do that. Wren would probably rather trade Prado and Jurrjens straight up for Adam Jones. I am extremely reluctant for this to happen however because JJ and Prado have both already proven that they can be great MLB players. Jones is good now and projected to be great, but that’s no guarantee.

Another little twist to this Prado/Jurrjens situation just happens to be money. The Braves are on a pretty slim budget and the reason they were put on the market in the first place is to see if we could cut a bit more salary. Mark Bowman recently addressed the question on the Braves’ site:

"There’s at least a chance the Braves would not value Prado as a $7 million player in 2013. Thus before they even near a point where they might be tempted to non-tender him next winter, it makes sense to continue monitoring what he could garner via trade."

Arbitration in 2013 could easily give Prado a salary around $7 million, and unless Prado goes back to hitting plus .300, that price is a bit high for him. Wren has to consider all of this when deciding whether or not to trade players (more importantly when) and it sucks but sometimes it means trading the guy who has been a fan favorite and one of the hardest working guys on the team. I’m going to be pulling for Prado to remain a Brave as long as he is playing but if he is traded and the team is better because of it, we shouldn’t get upset. So let’s just say that Martin Prado had to be traded to get Adam Jones; now we have a 40 year old, injury prone, third baseman with no clear backup.

Enter, Maicer Izturis. If Izturis was acquired then he would be able to back up Chipper, Pastornicky, and spell Dan Uggla whenever he needed some time off. But what do the Angels need, and why would they want to trade Izturis in the first place? Frank Wren could always just say that ‘we really need him’ and ‘what are friend’s for man?’ but I don’t think that will cut it.

MJ Lloyd, the editor of Halo Hangout gave told me a bit about Izturis, his role, and what the Angels might need if they considered trading him:

"I like Maicer Izturis more than I should but less than Mike Sciosciadoes. With Jerry Dipoto extending Howie Kendrick and working on a dealfor Erick Aybar, Izturis’ role with Angels is nothing more than asuper-sub. In 2011, Izturis started most of his games (47) at secondbase while Kendrick logged over 100 innings at both first base andleft field. Izturis started 37 games at third base but didn’t exactlyget a vote of confidence as the hot corner substitute for AlbertoCallaspo from Dipoto when the Angels took a flyer on Jorge Cantu.ZiPS is projecting a .268/.327/.377 line in 369 at bats for Izturis in2012 when he’ll make almost $4 million before hitting free agency. Icould see the Angels hanging on to Izturis while middle infieldprospect Jean Segura gets more seasoning. On the other hand, I couldsee the Angels trying to flip him for a solid bullpen arm."

If the Braves really wanted to get Izturis and the Angels needed a bullpen arm I think that Wren could make something happen. Will it all? Probably not but it just sounded like a nice fit up in my head.

Thanks to MJ Lloyd for his insight. Check out Halo Hangout and follow him on twitter @MnkysThrwngDrts