Atlanta Braves Morning Chop

5 reasons Atlanta Braves should trade closer Craig Kimbrel now

Atlanta Braves president of baseball operations John Hart said Thursday that the team has “never entertained” the idea of trading closer Craig Kimbrel, in spite of all the other offseason moves the club has made.

Kimbrel, a Huntsville native who played at Lee High School and Wallace State College in Hanceville, is widely regarded as the best reliever in baseball. He has led the National League in saves in all four of his full seasons, and his strikeout rate of 14.8 per nine innings is among the best in MLB history.

Still, the rebuilding Braves would probably be better served in the long term to trade Kimbrel now. Here are five reasons why:

1. Kimbrel makes a lot of money
2. Closers are a luxury on bad teams
3. Good closers aren’t that hard to find
4. He would bring a huge return
5. Pitchers of his type don’t age well

[Editor’s notes: there are details to each point at the link above, but (as usual with AL.com), the logic fails.

Point 3: Name two that are available (Papelbon and… ?). But inexplicably, he fails to note that the Braves already have 2-3 extra closers already on the roster in Jason Grilli, Jim Johnson, and Shae Simmons. So it isn’t like they need to even go shopping.

Point 4: If closers are readily available, as suggested, they how does that translate into a huge return? Especially if teams believe point #5 – that he has a limited shelf life. Turns out, Kimbrel is already in territory that few have ventured into – so he’s already shown longevity and durability.

So in total – yes: there are reasons for trading him… but aside from perhaps #2, these are the wrong reasons.]

Oddsmaker says Braves’ win total will be ‘low 70s’ — what say you?

JEFF SCHULTZ / AJC.COM

More from Tomahawk Take

The Braves finished 29th in the majors last season with 573 runs (3.5 per game), and scored none or one or 41 times (25 percent of their games). So the fact they’ve traded three of the players (

Justin Upton

Jason Heyward

Evan Gattis

) who produced most of what little offense they had has led to predictably dire projections.

I spoke to team president John Hart Thursday, who said he feared that, “This club could’ve slipped into the abyss,” if changes were not made. So he and assistant general manager John Coppolella have focused on changing the makeup of the team and switching from a home-run-or-strikeout, all-or-nothing approach to one with more contact hitters — all of which sounds great if the roster is loaded with proven hitters.

POLL RESULTS AS OF SATURDAY NOON:

UNDER 70 Wins (32.8%)
70-74 Wins (19%)
75-79 Wins (18%)
80-84 Wins (19%)
85-89 Wins (8%)
90+ Wins (4%)

[Ed. Note: So why hold this poll now??? We have no idea what the final roster will look like, how hitters will respond to Seitzer in Spring, the final look of the rotation, the left fielder, whether any further trades will be made, … any of that. It’s sheer guesswork, and – true to Schultz’s form – paints a very pessimistic view of the team even before we know what the team will actually be in final form. ]

Despite trades, Braves president says team still a contender

PAUL NEWBERRY (AP) / VALDOSTA DAILY TIMES

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are clearly rebuilding.

The guy responsible for their overhaul insisted Thursday they can still be a contender.

Long one of baseball’s most consistent franchises, the Braves have dealt away three of their top hitters — Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis — and received only one player assured of being in the majors next season, pitcher Shelby Miller.

President of baseball operations John Hart acknowledged that the Braves made all the trades with an eye toward their long-term future. Yet, in a city that has endured only three losing seasons in the last 24 years, the deals have caused major consternation among the fan base, with many complaining that the team has given up on the next two seasons and is more concerned about being competitive when it moves into a new suburban stadium in 2017.

Not so, Hart told The Associated Press.

“We may not be the prettiest girl at the dance,” he said in a telephone interview, “but we’re going to be a lot of fun to dance with.”

Next: Outfield Options for the Braves

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