Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop 12/24

ESPN

What Is Evan Gattis Worth

Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note:  Sure, we’ve already shipped away Jason Hayward and Justin Upton…might as well send away Evan Gattis too…right?  The Braves trading Gattis has been a topic for weeks now but the Braves new President of Baseball Operations, John Hart, never received enough in return to consider a trading partner.  ESPN still believes that the Texas Rangers could be a spot for Gattis to land.

“Though Gattis might not be deemed as valuable as Heyward and Upton, the fact that potential suitors could control him for the next four years provides reason to believe he might garner a return that rivals those gained for the two corner outfielders who have already been traded,” suggests MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.

The deal for Heyward brought back a potential upper tier starter in Shelby Miller. If Gattis is shopped, Bowman says the Braves “will attempt to gain a starting pitcher or an outfielder who could provide an immediate impact and remain under contractual control for the next few years.”

AL.com

Atlanta Braves sign former All-Star closer

Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: News broke late last night that the Braves have signed another former closer.  Jason Grilli closed out games very well in 2013 for the Pirates but lost his job in 2014 after suffering an injury.  Grilli, David Carpenter and Jim Johnson will probably share the 8th inning duties.  If these two former closers can reshape their career, the Braves will have a dominating bullpen.  Also, think about this…if the Braves are no longer competing in June/July and these relief pitchers are pitching well, we could get some great return for them.

The Atlanta Braves signed free-agent relief pitcher Jason Grilli to a two-year contract on Tuesday. The 38-year-old right-hander had his best season in 2013, when he was a National League All-Star and saved 33 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Grilli’s deal with the Braves has been reported as a two-year, $8 million contract. Grilli gets a $250,000 signing bonus with a $4.25 million salary in 2015 and $3.5 million in 2016. The contract also has a $3 million option for 2017 with a $250,000 buyout.

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