Atlanta Braves Morning Chop – The End

The End of the 2014 Season

It’s all over.  Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants – winners of the baseball season.  At least it’s a National League victory.  So Tim Hudson (Braves from 2005-2013) gets a ring.  Gregor Blanco (Brave from 2006-2010) gets a ring.  Erik Cordier (Braves from 2010-2012, never cracked the majors, but got 6 sharp innings with the Giants this year) gets a ring.

And Dan Uggla (2011-2014) gets a ring.

Ahh, baseball.

Pitchers and Catchers reporting date:  somewhere around Feb 13-16.  Games begin March 4, 2015.

Braves’ starting-rotation plans could hinge on Santana

DAVID O’BRIEN / AJC.COM

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Despite losing

and

to season-ending elbow injuries during spring training and

to another elbow injury after only nine games, Braves starters finished the season ranked fifth in the majors in ERA (3.42), second in innings (1,014 1/3) and fourth in strikeouts (868).

All-Star Julio Teheran and ascendant left-hander Alex Wood will return along with lefty Mike Minor, barring any unexpected developments. That would leave one or two spots open, depending on what happens with free agents Ervin Santana and Aaron Harang, who met – or surpassed, in Harang’s case – most expectations after being emergency signees during spring training.

The Braves haven’t revealed their intentions with either, but are expected to make a $15.3 million qualifying offer to Santana before Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline for teams to extend those uniform one-year offers to their top free agents. Making the offer guarantees a compensatory draft pick if a player declines and signs with another team.

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What the Braves have – and need — to spend on starting pitching could be largely determined by whether they make a qualifying offer Monday to Santana, who would have one week to accept or decline it. It seems reasonably safe to assume he wouldn’t accept it because he’d get multi-year offers from other teams.

[ Editor’s note:  I frankly would expect Santana to take the money.  He’s nearly 32, and his best days could be behind him.  A $15.3m payday for 2015 still allows him to consider ~3-4 yrs. at maybe $10m/yr after 2015 even if he’s mediocre.  But with a draft pick compensation tag on him, that might also be all he could get this year.  This will be a very interesting call to make on Monday. ]

AFL Update

The Peoria Javelinas (just realized I’d been spelling that wrong all along) have continued to stumble along, though a couple of Braves are doing reasonably well.

• Daniel Castro – was named to the stars team (the only Braves to make the list).  He’s hitting .231 over 11 games and 39 ABs.
• Edward Salcedo is now hitting a robust… .250 over 16 games and 64 AB.  He has 6 doubles among his 16 hits.
• Kyle Wren still only plays occasionally, and thus is at .192.  He did finally get a steal in the past few days.
• Nate Hyatt continues to impress:  though with just 6 innings, he’s got a 1.50 ERA (4BB/7K).
• Brandon Cunniff is throwing well, too:  3.12 ERA in 8.2 innings, though the 1.50 WHIP is troubling.
• Likewise Aaron Northcraft is toiling away with a 3.14 over 14.1 innings in 4 starts.  He continues to nibble:  7 walks vs. 8 strikeouts.
• Finally, Ryne Harper is making a bit of a comback:  5.87 ERA in 7.2 innings.  Control and deception are his hallmarks:  1 walk with 10 K’s show that, but hitters are hitting what he puts into the zone – 8 hits (1 homer).  A 1.17 WHIP is solid, though.

Atlanta Braves Morning Chop – Thursday, October 30, 2015