Atlanta Braves Trade Cameron Maybin

The Braves sent Cameron Maybin to Detroit fro relief pitcher Ian Krol seen here pitching against Boston and minor league lefty Gabe Speier Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves traded Cameron Maybin to the Tigers this evening in exchange for left-handed pitchers Ian Krol and Gabe Speier.

Maybin came to the Braves as a part of the Craig Kimbrel/Melvin Upton Jr. trade to San Diego and quickly claimed the center field job as his own. In his first 80 games the former top prospect seemed to have found the form that earn him that rating posting a .289/.356/.418/.774 line including 8 homers, 10 doubles and 44 RBI.  He faded after the All Star break and appeared in only 61 games slumping to a .240/.289/.311/.600 mark.

With this trade the Braves either dumped Maybin’s contract or sought to answer at least one of  the questions about next bullpen by obtaining two lefty relievers. If it was the former they succeeded, if it was the latter they failed.

Ian Krol

Krol was selected in the seventh round of the 2009 draft by Oakland. Kroll worked as a starter in 2010 posting a 2.89 ERA in 138 1/3 innings over 27 starts and one relief appearance. That performance made him  the A’s organizational pitcher of the year in 2010 and encourages Baseball Prospectus to rank him as their #89 prospect prior to 2011.

Krol started 2011 on the minor league disabled list with an elbow injury and was working on a rehab assignment when the Athletics suspended for offensive language and a gay slur on Twitter.  He returned to the mound in 2012 making 15 starts and 14 relief appearances over 97 1/3 innings in AA and AAA with an ERA that shot up to 5.20.

In March of 2013 Krol was traded to the Nationals as part of a three team deal and was assigned to AA Harrisburg.  The Nationals needed bullpen help in June and called him up. Krol appeared in 27 games throwing 25 innings with a 3.24 ERA before being sent to AAA Syracuse on August 20.

His stay in Syracuse lasted through August and he returned to the Nationals in September to make five more appearances finishing the year with a 3.95 ERA, 1.317 WHIP. In December the Nationals sent him to Detroit as part of the trade fro Doug Fister.

Krol appeared in 45 games broken up by a short stint on the DL with a shoulder strain in July. Altogether he threw 32 2/3 innings for the Tigers striking out 28 and walking 13 while posting a 4.96 ERA and 1.694 WHIP. Last season he threw 28 innings over 33 appearances striking out 26, walking 17 and posting a 5.79 ERA and 1.714 WHIP.

Krol is essentially a fastball slider pitcher though he does use a curve, sinker and change on occasion. Both his four seam fastball and sinker average 94MPH while his slider sits at about 88. Th e6’1” 210 pound lefty turns 25 in may and is first time arbitration eligible in 2017.

Gabe Speier

Speier was a selected in the 19th round of the 2013 draft by the Red Sox and appeared in rookie league ball for them in 2013 and 2014 making a total of eight starts. He came to the Tigers this year as part of the Trade for Yoenis Cespedes.

The Tigers moved him to the bullpen for West Michigan (A) and he made 33 appearances throwing 44 innings striking out 36 and walking 12 posting a 2.86 ERA and 1.182 WHIP. Don’t discount Speier because of his late selection , he’s consistently posted good ERAs since signing and while he won’t make radar guns flash he is a solid arm. Here’s part of Baseball America’s draft report (subscription required)

". . . He is a dogged competitor with good feel for pitching and a quick arm . . .Scouts have seen him touch 93 mph . . . He commands his fastball well to both sides of the plate. His curveball flashes power when it’s on, and he’ll mix in a slower version as a get-me-over pitch. He sells his changeup well, and it projects as an average pitch with good arm speed and fade. . ."

That report was as a starter and obviously two years later as a reliever some of that has changed but his numbers look pretty good. And yes he is related to former major leaguer Chris Speier who is his uncle.

That’s A Wrap

Krol does add an inexpensive lefty to the bullpen but that’s about it. While he is a bit better in his career on LHH than RHH, neither set of numbers is particularly encouraging. RHH in particular hit him pretty hard.

Frankly I’m not impressed and after John Coppolella’s rant last week I expected better. Remember this?

". . . If we were trying to tank, we would have traded Maybin at the deadline last year, and we had plenty of offers . . ."

Those must have been awful offers if this trade is the standard to judge them by. Last year we released James Russell before the season started and swallowed his salary. Russell’s 2015 numbers were almost identical to those of Kroll.

Next: Speaking of relievers. . .

This trade was a simple salary dump; no more, no less. Maybin was worth a lot more than two pot luck lefties at the deadline last season.  I hope for Krol’s success and that one day in a couple of years Speier is a good reliever in the Braves.

Dear Mr. Coppolella,  If this was designed to instill trust in your decisions, it didn’t work.