Atlanta Braves have $12MM to spend according to Mark Bowman
By Ryan Cothran
Mark “Peanut” Bowman sheds a bit of light on the money that is leftover to fill the needs of the Braves roster. Here’s the excerpt:
"“The Braves still have approximately $12 million to spend as they attempt to complete their roster reconstruction by signing a starting pitcher, a backup catcher and a bench player who would be targeted to serve as the primary pinch-hitter.”"
Well, with the work done by Alan and myself, and using MLBTradeRumors arbitration estimates, the Braves, after the signing of Grilli, have approximately 92.5 million committed to 22 active players (and one inactive in Dan Uggla). In previous reports, John Hart was on record saying that the payroll would be “North of 100, South of 120 million”. Well, that’s a bit wide and we as Braves fans should have known that we would end up on the short end of that stick. Doing the simple math, the Braves look to be keeping the payroll right at 105 million.
Ok, so what can the Braves get for 12 million on the FA market? It’s likely they’ll spend around 2 million on both backup catcher and bench bat, leaving about 8 million for a Starting Pitcher, putting the Braves well out of the James Shields market. Here’s the list of SP candidates and Catchers:
Starting Pitchers
Scott Baker (33)
Brandon Beachy (28)
Chad Billingsley (30)
Scott Carroll (30)
Bruce Chen (38)
Kevin Correia (34)
Aaron Harang (37)
Roberto Hernandez (34)
Josh Johnson (31)
Kyle Kendrick (30)
Hiroki Kuroda (40)
Paul Maholm (33)
Brad Mills (29)
Franklin Morales (29)
Alexi Ogando (31)
Felipe Paulino (31)
Wandy Rodriguez (36)
Joe Saunders (34)
Max Scherzer (30)
James Shields (33)
Kevin Slowey (31)
Eric Stults (35)
Carlos Villanueva (31)
Ryan Vogelsong (37)
Randy Wolf (38)
Chris Young (36)
Catchers
J.P. Arencibia (29)
John Baker (34)
John Buck (34)
Ryan Doumit (34)
Nick Hundley (31)
Gerald Laird (35)
Wil Nieves (36)
Jordan Pacheco (29)
A.J. Pierzynski (38)
Geovany Soto (32)
My Choices
Starting Pitcher: Chad Billingsley- In going with the theme of Tommy John victims, I really like Chad Billingsley as a buy-low candidate for pitcher. He underwent Tommy John at the end of April, therefore he won’t be ready right away, but he’s been a very good pitcher for 1165 innings, pitching to a 3.65 ERA that is supported through advanced metrics as well. The Braves could do a 1 year deal worth 6 million with incentives to reach 10, or they could give him a 2/16MM deal, paying him 6 this year and 10 the next.
Backup Catcher– Really, there’s only one catcher that fits the description of backup catcher that could mold a young catcher and that is known butthole, A.J. Pierzynski. I don’t like it, and truthfully, I think that’s who the Braves will end up with. I’d rather see Gerald Laird back, yet I dont see that happening. For an outside the box look, I’d like to see the Braves give their AAA catcher from last year, Steven Lerud, an opportunity. He has a good LH stick and should be fine in a part-time role and was said to be a leader in the Gwinnett clubhouse last year. Personally, I hope Gattis remains as catcher, but that isn’t the way that the offseason is shaking out.
Bench Bat– Ok, so the Braves are looking for a serious stick off the bench. Who’s out there that could serve as spot starter in a few areas and fits this hit for contact style the Braves are looking at (with some pop, of course). I like Ryan Ludwick but his last 2 seasons have been less than stellar, yet 2 million isn’t going to get you a heck of a lot in terms of production from last year. Here’s a list of players that I think the Braves will realistically look at in terms of bench bat: Scott Hairston, Jonny Gomes, Nate Schierholtz, Reed Johnson, Jason Kubel. None of those options are sexy, but all have been productive bats in the past and clubhouse leaders in the present.
So, who are your picks? Let’s hear it! Please keep the trade ideas to another post and let’s look at strictly free agents here...