Atlanta Braves Rumor: Giants are Looking for Miller; Price is High

Sep 30, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Duffy (5) throws to first base during the ninth inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

This afternoon, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe gives us a round-up of the things he’s been hearing in baseball’s rather busy trade market.  There’s lots of intriguing information in his piece, which is significant for several reasons, not the least of which being that a lot of the news involves trades and not so much the pursuit of free agents (excepting relief pitchers).

The new information about Shelby Miller seems to indicate the kind of price that the Braves believe they can extract for their best starting pitcher.  While the Giants are looking into the possibility of one of the premium starters, they aren’t throwing all of their eggs into that basket.  As Cafardo records…

"“We’re considering all options,” said Giants GM Bobby Evans. “Can’t isolate just one level of the market over another right now. We’re completely open-minded.”"

He notes, though that their efforts were rebuffed last off-season as they were runners-up in the effort to land both Jon Lester and James Shields.  But among those options suggested is the trade market, and that’s where the Braves come in:

"The Giants need a pitching boost, someone who can feed off lefthander Madison Bumgarner. The aforementioned free agents would certainly fit the bill, but Evans is also looking into the trade market, where Atlanta’s Shelby Miller and Julio Teheran have been discussed."

The Braves clearly seem to understand that teams are getting leery of the long-term free agent contracts – especially for pitchers aged over 30.  Thus the asking price is appropriately high:

"But the Braves and other teams have been trying to pry from the Giants third baseman Matt Duffy and second baseman Joe Panik, players Evans and executive vice president Brian Sabean don’t want to deal."

Braves Still Looking for Young Hitters

You can’t call it “back on plan” until Braves GM John Coppolella is actually able to pull off such a deal, but this is exactly the kind of deal that we’ve been hearing that the Front Office would like to get done.  The question that the fans would like to know the answer to, though, is whether either of these players would be ‘hitter enough’ to justify moving their best starter.

Note the wording on the quote above, though:  Atlanta seems to want both of these guys.

It’s actually kind of interesting to hear that the Giants would rather not have to trade Duffy or Panik.  Up until this past season, neither one seemed to be that highly regarded.  In all honesty, I can’t imagine the Giants parting with both… but let’s take a look at them.

Next: Profiling the Trade Targets