Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves’ News 10/27
Sep 29, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman
Freddie Freeman(5) puts his arm around catcher
Brian McCann(16) in the dugout during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field. The Braves won 12-5. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports
Morning Chop: A Summary of Atlanta Braves’ News
Editorial Note: Not a great deal of news around the Braves’ universe this weekend, but there are a few items that might make for interesting, and sometimes comical reading. Enjoy!
Braves can’t keep making big-money errors
When I suggest – as in today’s print column, available onmyajc.com — that re-signing Brian McCann would be a poor investment, I mean only financially. He’s a catcher who’ll turn 30 in February and who hasn’t, due to injury, been himself since the summer of 2011. At a time when the Braves still owe Dan Uggla $26 million and B.J. Upton $60 million, a team trying to operate on a mid-level budget cannot afford another big-ticket whiff.
Because there’s so much money at play in free agency, baseball teams need to consider financial reality above emotional truths. Landing Albert Pujols seemed a major coup for the Angels, but in two years with him they haven’t yet made the playoffs with him, and this season he played only 99 games. He’ll turn 34 in January, and he’s under contract through 2021. He’s still owed $212 million by Anaheim. By way of contrast, the Oakland A’s have won consecutive American League West titles with total payrolls of $113 million.
Yes, some teams can outspend their mistakes. Josh Beckett worked 43 1/3 innings and was 0-5 for the Dodgers and made $15.75 million, but L.A. still won the National League West.
Do San Francisco Giants have interest in Brian McCann?
Outside of the St. Louis Cardinals, no team needs less help behind the dish than theSan Francisco Giants who have 2012 National League MVP Buster Posey as their backstop.
So showing interest in free agent catcher Brian McCann seems illogical, right? Well, not according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports who suggests that the Giants may have interest in McCann:
"A person with Giants connections said that, ultimately, it may depend on how much playing time McCann seeks. He hit 20 home runs with 57 RBI and a .256 batting average this past year, the seventh time in eight seasons he hit 20 home runs."
I’m not really sure where Heyman is going with this. Sure, the Giants may eventually move Posey to first base, but Brandon Belt seems to have that locked down after a fantastic second half. Could the Giants trade Belt for pitching help? Maybe even shift him to the outfield? Sure, but paying McCann and Posey contracts over $100 million (or at least near that in McCann’s case) is extremely unlikely.
Marlins Way: Should Miami Trade For Dan Uggla?
Miami Marlins beat reporter Joe Frisaro fielded a question from a Marlins’ fan yesterday that asked why Miami shouldn’t trade for Dan Uggla. The reasoning was that Miami needs a power bat, they can move Solano over to 3rd base until Colin Moran is ready and they could get him relatively cheap. Frisaro seemed to believe that this wouldn’t be a bad move. That maybe a change of scenery would be helpful for Uggla.
LORIA!! DON’T DO IT!!
Uggla, or as I like to call him,”the master of the 8th inning solo home run when your up by 7 runs” (I know, it’s a long name). Is not someone who you want mentoring your young guys. He has virtually no plate discipline, He swings for the fences every time, and he is not good defensively. Look, there was a reason that he was left off the Braves postseason roster. In big moments during games, all that is needed to get him out is elevate a mediocre fastball and he has no chance. This is the worst kept secret in baseball. If we brought him back, I would be ashamed.
Via Pro Sports Daily
Big names — including McCann, Beltran and Choo — on Yankee menu
Lots of big names — including Carlos Beltran Japan’s Masahiro Tanaka Brian McCann and even Shin-Soo Choo — were discussed at the Yankees organizational meetings over the past couple days.
The names of Beltran Tanaka and McCann have been connected to the Yankees before but Choo is a fairly new one.
The Yankes are one of the teams committed to new stats and they are admirers of Choo’s on-base ability. In his first year batting leadoff for the Reds he had a .423 on-base percentage good for second best in the National League to teammate Joey Votto.
Multiple sources say the Yankees do like Choo very much. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman declined comment abut Choo specifically but noted that outfield isn’t their top priority for a team that has many needs. The Yankees have quite the puzzle as a team that had a $230-million payroll but has several big salaries coming off the books and a stated desire to get below $189 million on the payroll. – See more at: http://www.prosportsdaily.com/articles/big-names-including-mccann-beltran-and-choo-on-yankee-menu-271900.html#sthash.uneJGScb.dpuf