Braves 2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings Update
By Fred Owens
Five days into the 2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings and after a slow day on Wednesday, we had a busy, productive Thursday followed by a Friday that felt like I was running in place.
Braves 2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings
If the object of the 2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings simulation was to make us feel frustrated with waiting, rushed, anxious, unsatisfied and satisfied every day, it’s been a success so far. Thursday saw two trades completed and gaps in the rotation and lineups filled.
Thursday’s First Trade
Early Thursday I completed a trade that the Padres and I have been kicking around since the beginning when I sent Chris Johnson and Luis Avilan to San Diego in exchange for Ian Kennedy, Abraham Almonte, and Joe Ross.
Ian Kennedy
Former Yankee and Diamondback starter Kennedy has a resurgent year for the Padres in 2014. His 13-13 record is more a result of a lack of run support – sounds familiar – than the way he pitched, they supplied just 2.8 runs per nine innings he pitched. That makes winning extremely difficult, particularly when you face the Dodgers and Giants so frequently.
Speaking of innings, Kennedy threw 201 innings in his 33 starts posting a 3.63 ERA (3.21FIP), 1.289 WHIP while striking out 207 and walking just 70. That translates to a 9.3K/9 and a 2.96 K/BB rate. Kennedy who’s slated to earn $10.3M in this his last year of arbitration, joins Julio Tehran, Mike Minor, Shelby Miller and Alex Wood in a starting rotation that should easily provide 100o innings and looks pretty solid top to bottom.
Abraham Almonte
Almonte was considered a sleeper in the Yankees farm system but injuries limited his playing time to just 100 games in 2011-2012. He’s a switch hitter with close to even R/L splits – .238/289/.360 / .240/.279/.337 – and little power. So why trade for a fourth outfielder like him? After all we have B.J. Upton to do that. Well there’s this report from Scout after his first year with the Yankees.
"“Signed a year ago (2008) . . . the Yankees sent second baseman Abraham Almonte to the Dominican Summer League instead, where he earned team MVP honors. Despite being one of the youngest players, he is one of the legitimate impact bats in the farm system and he’ll be one to remember in the coming years.”“.But while his (second base) defense is suspect, everybody realizes Almonte’s meal ticket is his offensive potential . . . Patient at the plate and swinging a powerful bat, it is sometimes hard to remember that it is Almonte’s plus-plus speed that separates him from most other players. Compared to some of the game’s elite stolen base threats, he is confident on the base paths.”“Almonte said . . . I got to see Brett Gardner at the Instructional League in Tampa and I think I’m as fast as he is.”“Abraham Almonte is going to be more than a power hitter because of his great speed,” Dominican Hitting Coach Freddy Turburcio revealed. “He’s going to have some power but he’s going to struggle with average because he’s swinging for the fences all the time. . . .he’s got speed, power. . .He can be like Jose Reyes. He can run but he’s got more power than Reyes even though Reyes hit 19 home runs this past year. I think Almonte is going to have more power.”"
His second base defense wasn’t good so the the Yankees moved him to CF and he took some time to adjust and of course the injuries held him back a bit. . Clint Hulsey over at Seattle Sport Central posted this evaluation of him prior to the 2013 season.
"Speed is his game (nearly every video I saw of him batting had him trying to bunt on the first pitch or two), ranked 20th in the rankings according to speed score in 2012. He stole 30 bases in AA in 2012, and was only caught 5 times. In fact, he has 176 steals in his minor league career, and was caught 57 times, good for a 75.5 stolen base percentage, which is extremely efficient. To give you an idea of what kind of player he is, he has 39 triples in his minor league career with just 32 homers. He is clearly a speed type outfielder that is suited to play centerfield and in a very ideal world, develop the OBP skills to be a leadoff hitter."
Free from injury for a change Almonte has become is a very good defender. The sabermetrically inclined should like his 9.7 UZR and 7 DRS last season in 345 innings between Seattle and San Diego but he still hasn’t caught up with major league pitching. He projects as a 4th outfielder but is just 25 years old – 26 in June – and after years of injury limited play holding back his progress he’s an inexpensive candidate to become the player the scouts thought he would be when they first drafted him. He may well start at Gwinnett but he’ll be going to play Winter Ball and get a shot in spring training.
Joe Ross
Joe is Tyson Ross’ brother and was a first round draft pick – 25th overall – in 2011 and signed with a $2.75M bonus. Following the 2103 season Baseball America (subscription required) wrote this evaluation of the 6’4” 205 lb. righty.
". . . Ross may have more arm speed than any of the projectable pitchers the Padres drafted in 2011 or 2012 . . . but shoulder tendinitis dented his full-season debut in 2012. . . . (In 2013 he) made all 23 starts in low Class A Fort Wayne’s six-man rotation. He shows two plus pitches with consistency, though his changeup still has a long way . . . (Ross) pitches at 93-94 mph and tops out at 97 with above-average riding life, which helps him keep the ball on the ground and home runs off the board. He can alter batters’ eye level with a power slider that darts out of the zone and flashes plus potential. He loses velocity in later innings and doesn’t have the best feel for mixing his pitches . . . changeup can be an average pitch . . . Some scouts see Ross as a mid-rotation starter, while others see a power reliever. He is right where he needs to be on the development cycle, on target for high Class A Lake Elsinore in 2014."
As it turns our Ross did just fine at Lake Elsinore and earned a stint at AA San Antonio. (stats courtesy Scouting The Book)
The addition of Ross improves out minor league pitching depth and adds another quality arm to the pipeline.
Thursday’s Second Trade
Unlike the first trade that took place bright and early yesterday, the second trade wasn’t settled until near midnight last night. It was worth losing my beauty sleep – and heaven knows I need that – to finish this one ; Evan Gattis, David Hale and Cody Martin to the Athletics for outfielder Josh Reddick an catcher John Jaso.
Josh Reddick
A former Red Sox farm hand Reddick was traded to Oakland after a successful 2011 season when he slashed .280/327/.457 for the Sox with 7 homers in 87 games. The transition to Oakland saw his average and OBP drop but his slugging remained strong. His .242/.305/.463 slash included 32 homers and 85 RBI for the AL West champions.
Reddick stumbled a bit in 2013 when his line dropped to .226/.307/.379 but still hit 12 homers and drop in 56 when he worked as part of a right field platoon. This season however his numbers rebounded to .264/.316/.446 with a dozen homers in just 396 at bats. You may have guessed that his R/L splits are a little lopsided – .251/.310/.443 against .229/.290/.400 – and ideally he’ll work in a platoon with a solid RHH. Defensively however he’s been a well above average right fielder. For the sabernetrically inclined he posted UZR/ DRS numbers of 17.4/22 in 2012 and 16.4/13 in 2013. This season his UZR dropped just a bit to 4.7 but he once again posted 13DRS.
John Jaso
Jaso started out with the Rays but spent the last three years with the As. Bethancourt is going to be the primary starting catcher next year and so Jaso will likely hopefully catch no more than once or twice a week. The other thing Jaso brings is a good left handed bat. In 1434 PA vs RHP his slash is .272/.368/.424/.793. He’s also an experienced backstop who can help Bethancourt improve behind the dish.
That’s A Wrap
Once again the 2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings’ trades achieved the goals of each team. After losing Jason Heyward I needed a quality right fielder with some pop; Reddick is that. Like every player he has his faults but he’s a solid player who’s been on a playoff team the last three years – or two and the sudden death playing fiasco. With Gattis gone the backup catcher’s spot was vacant. In Jaso we have a left handed bat who loves to see right handed pitching as well as being an experienced major league backstop.
The Padres wanted an experienced third baseman and I was looking for a pitcher to fill out the rotation. They got Johnson and we got Kennedy as well as a buy low CF that I expect to turn into a nice little player and a pitching prospect who could settle into the middle of the rotation in a year or two.
Everything didn’t go quickly or as I would have wished. Every trade offer didn’t work out and sometimes that good. So far the simulation has given me a better appreciation of how hard it can be to mix and match needs and understand what the other GMs want. With one and a half days left things are about to either get very hectic or very quiet. I’m betting on hectic.