Sunday Morning Chop – Atlanta Braves News
By Fred Owens
Will the Atlanta Braves trade first baseman Freddie Freeman? Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
A roundup of Atlanta Braves news you may have missed
Is it time for Braves to trade Freeman?
Miller, Simmons deals change timing for Atlanta’s window of opportunity
The pair of recent trades that sent Andrelton Simmons to the Angels and Shelby Miller to the D-backs accomplished two things for the Braves. Most important, they added a stunning infusion of young talent into what was already a very good system. As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman noted, excited Braves officials see the enormous haul for Miller as a “pivotal point” in the team’s rebuilding.
. . . Freeman will only be 29 in 2019, so it’s not about him being too old to contribute. It’s about the fact that between 2015-17, or his age 25-27 seasons, three of his prime years could be spent on a team not in the mix, and that’s where the argument comes from. The entire idea comes down to the question of whether Freeman is more valuable to Atlanta by playing (and risking injury) for the Braves for the next few rebuilding years to be around when they’re ready to win, or the potentially large collection of younger, cheaper players he’d bring back in return. . .
(Ed Note: Mike Petriello makes several good points in the piece. The failure to add any real offense to a roster so far this off season and the plan to reallocate payroll money to player acquisition in order to go all Dodgers in the 2016 international draft confirm that if 2017 is the year it will be an accident. His post says the Pirates are a match and on paper they are but that ignores what Bucs GM Neal Huntingdon told Adam Berry about the recent trade of Charlie Morton.
"“A big part of the motivation was to free some dollars to allow us to deepen the club, to reestablish some depth.“"
https://twitter.com/adamdberry/status/675771500369223683Morton would make the princely sum of $8M this year and $9.5M next – $1M buyout- while Freeman would cost them $12M and $20M respectively. With their need to pay their young arbitration eligible players, they will not be players for anyone in Freeman’s pay bracket. The Astros are indeed a great fit but their move for Ken Giles may have been the big one this winter, but some combination involving A.J. Reed and Joe Musgrove would work out well for Both teams. There is the issue of amputation Coppolella’s right arm of course but hey, everyone has to make sacrifices don’t they?)
Heyward makes Cubs a powerhouse
MLB.com’s Richard Justice discusses how the union between the Cubs and Jason Heyward makes Chicago a major force for years to come
(Ed Note: When I suggested three years ago that Heyward would get five or six years at an AAV of at least $18M in free agency I was told that he’s take a discount to stay. Heyward did take a discount but only because he wants to be on the Cubs team that breaks the curse, taking an 8 year $23M AAV deal totaling $184M instead of offers of $200M from the Card and Nationals. His contract has two opt out clauses – yes two – at the three and four year mark, presumably because having pocketed either $69M or $92M, he can once more hit the Market at 29 or 30 and get overpaid again.
Make no mistake, this is an overpay for a 15 -20 homer 60 RBI guy on any team that doesn’t have money by the shovel full to throw at winning a World Series. The Cubs don’t need his bat, they have Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo to provide pop and if the can keep Kyle Schwarber’s bat in the lineup they’ll have 90-100 homers in three spots. They want Heyward to leadoff and play center, or so they say. That’s a huge waste of talent for a team floating in cash and prospects. They would be better served to trade to over hyped Jorge Soler for a pitcher and sign Denard Span or use their depth to pry Odubel Herrera from the Phillies.)