Braves News: Braves acquire Diaz, moves around the division, more
By Eric Cole
Christmas Eve is officially here, fans of the Atlanta Braves. We hope you have safe travels and a happy holiday season. With Christmas within earshot, the Braves did make a move. Unfortunately for those waiting for the Braves to make their big splash, you are still left waiting as this move was largely a depth one albeit with some real upside.
Lewin Diaz was considered to be one of the better prospects in baseball just a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, his hit tool got exposed in the big leagues and he had been passed around this offseason via waiver claims. However, the Braves saw some value in Diaz (and they would know as he was with the Marlins) and decided to acquire him from the Orioles in exchange for cash.
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Elsewhere on the site, we took a look at the moves that the other teams in the National League East have made this offseason. With the Phillies coming off a World Series run and adding Trea Turner and the Mets spending an absurd amount of money this offseason, the East is shaping up to be a bloodbath yet again. As for the Marlins and Nationals, well….they are going to try their best.
We also posted our penultimate installment of our preseason Top 30 prospects list yesterday with prospects 6-10. As expected, the top 10 is VERY pitcher heavy and this installment includes a name that you are likely to see ranked higher elsewhere. If you haven’t seen the previous update, fear not as there are links to the previous articles in there as well.
MLB News
Braves fans remember reliever Craig Kimbrel all too well as he was an integral part of the Braves’ bullpen for five seasons and is going to have an interesting Hall of Fame case someday (although he won’t be a lock). The aforementioned Phillies decided to sign Kimbrel to a one year, $10 million deal yesterday and while Craig’s best days are behind him, he should make their bullpen better.
Finally, we did have a trade yesterday as the Diamondbacks traded outfielder Daulton Varsho to the Blue Jays in exchange for catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Arizona had a glut of outfielders this offseason and there was some intrigue as to who they were going to let go. Now we have our answer.