2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings Sunday Update
By Fred Owens
The 2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings continued Sunday with lots of moves finalized and a big trade.
Sunday at the 2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings
On Saturday I asked Andrew Snyder to act as assistant GM to keep me from going crazy trying to juggle all the options and possibilities. He’s helped me work through the decision process and kept me from making a couple of bad decisions already. With Monday’s 5PM EST deadline looming I really needed that help. Together we worked through more issues for the Braves as we restructure the roster.for 2015 and continue to build for the future. (Boy that sounded like real GM spin, I should go take my meds.)
Saturday and Sunday Signings
On Saturday we signed Jed Lowrie to a three year $24M contract with an option for year four and a $1M buyout. Lowrie had a down year playing short for the A’s last season posting a weak .249/.321/.355 line with six homers. Historically the switch hitting Lowrie has been better than that, posting a .271/.337/.440/.777 line with 46 homers and 177 RBI from 2010 through 2013 for Boston, Houston and Oakland.
The trade of Chris Johnson left us with an extremely young and inexperienced infield. Lowrie solidifies third base for us until Stephen Piscotty or Kyle Kubitza are ready to step in. Lowrie was on the post season roster for the Red Sox in 2009 and of course Oakland the last two seasons.
Early Sunday we also signed Adam Rosales to a one year $750K contract. Rosales will compete for the utility man’s job in spring training and provides protection in the event of injury to Lowrie, Tommy La Stella (this is a simulation and he’s still with me here) or Philip Gosselin.
Bench Bat
Late Saturday the Braves traded LHP Ian Thomas to the Cubs for outfielder Justin Ruggiano. The 6’1, 210 pound Ruggiano plays at 33 years old next year. Originally a Rays prospect, he’s spent time with the Marlins and the Cubs. Ruggiano projects as a platoon partner for Josh Reddick.
Sunday’s Trade
Late Sunday morning the Braves traded pitching prospects Jason Hursh, J.R. Graham and Alec Grosser to the Rays for center fielder Desmond Jennings and pitching prospect Grayson Garvin.
Jennings has been a fixture in the Rays outfield since 2010. Braves fans who wanted a speedy center fielder should like this acquisition. Jennings is often compared to Michael Bourn and thanks to the Baseball Cube we can see a statistical comparison of the two players.
Suwanee, Ga., native Grayson Garvin was a 45th round pick of the Astros in 2008 but chose to go to Vanderbilt. He started out well for Vandy but had elbow pain in 2009 and had to visit with Dr. James Andrews. The diagnosis wasn’t what he expected.
Andrews found a stress fracture in his forearm causing the pain; that would heal with rest. Unfortunately he also found a growth on the bone near his Garvin’s UCL. Given the choice of surgery or rehab, Garvin elected rest and rehab.
Following his rehab Garvin pitched in the Cape Cod League and won the BFC Whitehouse Top Pitcher Award for 2010 posting a 0. 74 ERA and a 5-0 record. The next summer the Rays signed him.
The elbow flared up in 2012 and he ended up having TJ as well as having the growth removed from that bone. Garvin told Jake Seiner of MiLB.com that he had help with his recovery from the surgery.
"Taking advice from off season workout buddies and Tommy John survivors Kris Medlen and Jonny Venters, as well as Rays’ pitching coordinator Kyle Snyder, Garvin felt confident in the rehab process."
Baseball America (subscription required) said this about him after the 2013 season.
". . . Garvin has good stuff, but his makeup and intelligence are separators. He has a tremendous mound presence and uses his 6-foot-6 frame to his advantage by throwing downhill. He repeated his delivery with consistency and little effort last year, generating a 91-93 mph fastball that touches 95. He also has a good changeup and throws a cutter in the 85-88 mph range. The Rays believe Garvin could move quickly once he regains his strength. A potential back-end starter or situational reliever, he should move up to Double-A Montgomery in 2014."
Pitching Depth
Late Sunday night Braves traded outfield Todd Cunningham to the Washington Nationals for left handed pitcher Ross Detwiler.
Detwiler was a solid member of the Nationals rotation but as they started elite pitchers around Stephen Strasburg he was relegated to the bullpen. As a starter he posted a 17-29 record with a 4.02 ERA and 1.395 WHIP and an FIP that was close to that ERA. Last year Detwiler was used strictly in relief and wasn’t happy about it. Adding him to the Braves pen gives them three good left handers and a swing starter.
That’s A Wrap
Over the weekend we solidified our outfield and infield while adding pitching depth to both the bullpen and the minor leagues. The roster is coming together quite nicely and our minor league depth hasn’t suffered too badly as a result. We lost Jason Hursh in the Jennings trade but Garvin projects at about the level of Hursh. Losing Hale and Martin wasn’t what we planned but adding Detwiler filled the swing starter gap and we still have Aaron Northcraft in the wings.Today at 5PM EST is the deadline for moves under this simulation. We will finalize our roster and provide a complete roster Tuesday morning. Let us know how you’re enjoying this simulation.