Reflecting on the Latest Atlanta Braves Trade
There has been quite a range of emotions over the past 12 hours. This trade between the Braves and Mariners could ultimately mean little … but we might wish to mark this date anyway.
I would first like to begin this with a message that’s most definitely not about the Atlanta Braves – or even baseball.
I know I’m sharing the sadness of a lot of you in Braves’ Country this morning as we are hearing of the devastation that has happened in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and the Smoky Mountains National Park region. The area has been a joy for many over decades, and this loss will be felt for decades. So far, injuries are reported to be minimal – that’s the good news.
A completely different kind of emotion – with both surprise and some shock – happened last evening as word of this trade came down… which was clearly not on anyone’s radar at all.
What the Braves Gave Up
A lot of people were high on Max Povse. Our Ben Chase was not as keen on him as others were – ranking him 28th among Braves’ prospects. However, Ben placed Robert Whalen 10th overall, which put him highest among all of those who could have been in the running for a 5th starter role this Spring. So Ben isn’t particularly happy with this deal… but you’ll hear from him on this later.
For comparison purposes, John Sickels’ latest list put Whalen at #14 and Povse #16. I won’t even bother with the MLBPipeline rankings – they have been whacked since the Summer.
The Mariners just gave up Taijuan Walker last week to Arizona, so this move gives them back 2 significant prospect pitchers (3 if you want to count Ryan Weber, who they picked up from Atlanta from the waiver wire). Good work on their part.
Ironically, the Braves could take Weber back now if they’d had the roster space – he’s been DFA’d by Seattle so that Whalen can be added to their roster.
If you want to go back even further, Seattle also has Cody Martin on their roster. Obviously, they believe in Atlanta’s pitchers… even those left on the curb.
Honesty compels me to think that Atlanta probably won’t miss Whalen. That sounds a bit harsh, but with the addition of Colon and Dickey, the rotation was going to be nearly set, putting him in the position of having to beat out the likes of Matt Wisler, Aaron Blair, John Gant, Williams Perez and perhaps others.
In short, Whalen is a victim of the decision to add the ‘innings eaters’ for this season. The good news for him is that there’s a real chance to break into the Seattle rotation immediately.
However, Povse could have been part of that ‘next wave’ with guys like Mike Soroka, Patrick Weigel, Max Fried, and perhaps Kolby Allard – all of whom could be in the mix sometime between late 2017 and early 2019.
BaseballAmerica commented on Povse’s ability to induce weak contact while his physical stature (6’8″) and delivery don’t help hitters either in terms of timing or in finding the baseball out of his hand. They think his time to the majors is almost upon us – perhaps for late this season, even.
So if there’s a regret in this deal – that’s it: that a solid rotation contributor may have been lost.