Ken Rosenthal has thoughts about trading Atlanta Braves’ pitchers
Reading Ken Rosenthal is often more about what he isn’t saying… but today he does have some bits of information about the Julio Teheran trade market.
Ken Rosenthal is at it again – poking around at trade rumors and asking questions about who the Braves are talking about – with other teams. Once again, we have to do a bit of reading between the phone lines.
In a story posted this afternoon, Rosenthal suggests that the name of Julio Teheran is coming up “often” in trade talks. Not terribly shocking news, that. But…
Right away, that tells me: (a) Atlanta is on the phone with a lot of different baseball executives; and (b) that Coppy is making it known that Teheran is indeed available… albeit for the right price.
Rosenthal’s take is that he’ll be surprised if Teheran is still a Brave after August 1st, though it also appears that Coppolella is sticking to his public declaration that the return to the Braves will have to be substantial – “overwhelming”, in fact.
How do those statements co-exist?
They can if you believe that Coppy will get what he’s asking for. That much seems certain. But what Rosenthal suggests after that is… odd.
This is Not the Infielder You’re Looking For
Ken then mentions the Rangers specifically, in two contexts: (1) the potential return for Teheran; and (2) the Rangers’ own interest in him.
Regarding #1: Rosenthal suggests Jurickson Profar.
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Okay. He’s arbitration eligible starting next season; under control through 2019… three more seasons. Not great, but okay. Profar missed 2014 with injuries and worked back to AAA last year, hitting .284. He’s now having a nice start to 2016, hitting .349/.379/.494/.873 in 21 games/87 PAs.
Now we do like shortstops. We especially like shortstops from Curaçao.
But do the Braves want another middle infielder? Rosenthal asks and answers his own question there by dismissing it: “too many middle-infield prospects is never a bad thing.”
I could see Atlanta using Swanson at third base, Profar at SS, and Albies at 2nd… that’s a solid combination. But it’s also (a) temporary, given Profar’s control; and (b) still light on power. I would therefore disagree with Ken and say “no”.
Regarding #2: Texas is apparently yawning at the idea of trading for Teheran, suggesting that they “do not think all that highly” of him.
That’s… really odd, frankly. Is this gamesmanship on the part of the Rangers? Heck, if Yu Darvish comes back pitching well, then the Rangers don’t need an “ace”… they would need a #3, which makes extra pitching optional. If Darvish breaks down again, then they certainly need a solid reliable #2 behind Cole Hamels and/or Colby Lewis… and that definitely fits Teheran’s capabilities.
Rregarding #1A (the return on investment): I don’t think Profar would even be the target for Atlanta – it would be Joey Gallo. I’m amazed that Rosenthal didn’t mention him, for he’s the more obvious need for Atlanta, whether he’d ultimately end up at third base or left field.
To be honest, there’s no better choice out there – for any club, but perhaps Texas wasn’t Rosenthal’s best example since neither their need nor the trade return idea were the best of fits.
But either other contending teams aren’t talking about Teheran yet or Rosenthal wasn’t asking. Ultimately, his conclusion was that Atlanta should keep their #1 starter… to lead the team into 2017.
Next: So Trade Somebody Else, Then?