Atlanta Braves: 3 Observations on Wednesday’s Trade

2.  An Extra ‘Coin’ Has Been Obtained

If pitching prospects are “currency”, then Coppy just added to his considerable wallet in Luiz Gohara.

My initial knee-jerk reaction on him may have been flawed – that he was perhaps a 12th-15th ranked Brave prospect (having been #3 with Seattle).

Our minor league expert Ben Chase thinks a lot more highly of Gohara and puts him into the 71st position of his Top 125 overall prospects.  That would rank something around 10th on the Braves… still nothing to sneeze at, given the talent in front of him.

Regardless, Gohara represents yet another chance for the Braves to develop their own frontline starting pitcher.  And his value could be magnified as he progresses through the system (will likely start in Kissimmee this Spring).

There have been some concerns about the health of Gohara’s throwing shoulder, as Ken Rosenthal tells us, but the Braves are comfortable with his medicals.  More on that point later.

But that’s just the initial, superficial part of this thought.

Could Gohara be the key to something bigger?

Coppy isn’t done.  Coppy is never done. 

But what if the acquisition of Gohara allows him to relent just a bit and include another pitching prospect in a deal for Chris Archer or Jose Quintana?

Certainly, the minor league depth quality has now been improved.  While you can never say “now we’re safe – we have enough pitching prospects to justify using a couple of them in a deal”, Atlanta is at least doing it’s level best to find the place to make such a statement.

But I would not be surprised if there was a renewed push to work on a trade for one of those guys… though I am now guessing that it’s Quintana or bust.