Atlanta Braves Top Prospect is on Yankees’ Radar
The Braves have two executives on staff with recent Yankee experience: AGM John Coppollela and international scout Gordon Blakeley. They know the Yankees system
In a report today from George King III of the New York Post that was picked up by the MLBTradeRumors site (and others), the Yankees are indeed scouting and showing definite interest in Jose Peraza – a report we gave you from scout Jeff Wren two days ago.
Quoting writer King:
"The Yankees have let the Braves know they have an interest in Atlanta’s second-base prospect Jose Peraza who is currently playing at Triple-A.According to a person with knowledge of the situation the Yankees made contact with the Braves and sent scout Dennis Twombley to Gwinnett, Ga. recently to watch Peraza, who turns 22 on April 30.…The Yankees’ interest in Peraza could be a strong sign they don’t believe Rob Refsnyder or Jose Pirela are long-term solutions at second base. Refsnyder’s defensive struggles in spring training have carried over to the Triple-A season where he has made three errors in six games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Pirela is still on the road back from a spring-training concussion."
In terms of who the Yankees might offer for Peraza, the speculation given by King is actually slam-the-phone-down worthy:
"While the Yankees aren’t likely to surrender top pitching prospect Luis Severino, they could put together a two-player package that might include catcher Gary Sanchez who has been passed in the organization’s pecking order by John Ryan Murphy."
Since he mentioned only Sanchez, I imagine that the “other” player in such a two-player package that he would offer isn’t OF Aaron Judge (their #2; Top 100 overall).
Sorry, George: their #7 prospect – who has been linked to problems with work ethic and maturity – will not get our #1 guy, who is a Top 50 overall MLB prospect. But thanks for playing.
SO WHO THEN?
Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) works out prior to a spring training game against the Atlanta Braves at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
As I suggested on Tuesday, Aaron Judge is the logical – and reasonable – ask from the Braves’ point of view. Frankly, nothing else (except #1 prospect RHP Luis Severino) makes sense at all. All 6’7″/275 lbs of him.
Additionally, Judge for Peraza makes good sense for both sides. According to King, the Yankees are looking at Peraza for second base, but as mentioned before, he’s also an excellent fit for shortstop if they opt to replace struggling Didi Gregorius.
The Braves are overloaded with arms now – particularly now that they (somehow) stole Matt Wisler from the Padres. Severino is a premium prospect, sure, but we need outfield prospects in the system – particularly those who can develop hitting with power. Right now the Braves have just one – 18-year–old Braxton Davidson.
Do I want to trade our #1 prospect? Not without reason… but Aaron Judge would be a darn fine reason. Looking at our prospects coming up, there is a logjam approaching: between Jace Peterson, Andrelton Simmons, Rio Ruiz rounding out the Infield-of-the-present-and-future plus other quality middle infielders in the system (Albies, et al)… something has to give. So yes, trading Peraza for Judge would be a win/win for both sides… and would solve 2 problems for the Braves, positionally.
FEARLESS HART
John Hart has hardly been shy about “The Deal” in the past seven months. Don’t forget: the Braves have two executives on staff with recent Yankee experience: AGM John Coppollela and international scout Gordon Blakeley. They know the Yankees system.
The Braves have already leveraged staff-held connection-knowledge in earlier deals with both the Yankees and the Padres, so while I still urge temperance, it would also be foolish to dismiss this as “just another rumor”.
So brace yourselves, Braves fans: you might hear some words to the contrary about how valuable Peraza is to the future of the organization, yada, yada… but by now you should be keenly aware: if Hart gets the offer he wants, he will pull the trigger.
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Looking at comments from fans on MLBTR and other places, Yankee fans don’t want to give up Judge… or Severino, for that matter. But many also seem to scratch their heads at the notion of Sanchez being a target of Atlanta – for the reasons suggested above plus the presence of Christian Bethancourt… though none of them seem to have noticed that the Braves picked up a couple of catching possibilities from the Rockies in the David Hale trade.
But stay tuned – Jeff Wren’s teaser was right: this rumor seems to have some legs.
Aaron Judge or bust. Don’t settle for less, John.