How many of the previous trades made sense to you?
I've come full circle on the Braves moves. I think the trades have made sense and the team is built for the future now. My only concern is a lack of quality bats and the ones currently in the organization have to be hits because of lack of depth. Look at all the moves and tell me who do you miss as a
player?
1) Heyward has never lived up to the hype and is a bust for the Cubs. Moving him, in the end, netted the Braves: Tyrell Jenkins (who could either be a very good reliever or still has the potential to maybe be a #3 starter), Dansby Swanson (future starting SS, maybe as early as next eyar and the top prospect in the organization and top 10 overall), Ender Inciarte (starting CF and maybe RF in the future if Mallex becomes the CF), and Aaron Blair (probable starter with a ceiling of #2 and top 10 prospect in the organization)
2) Kimbrel: team went into rebuild and you don't need an expensive closer when doing that. His lose stings because he was a fan favorite, but it was a smart business move and allowed to team to get rid of Melvin. netted: Austin Riley (with the 41st pick and is in the Braves top 10 prospects, who could be a good utility MLB player and 3rd base stop gap until Maitan arrives), Ian Krol (from Detroit for Maybin and looks to be a the bullpen lefty for a while), and Matt Wisler (potential top end rotation guy and already in the bigs and taking his lumps)
3) J Upton: have you seen his stat line this year? already over 110 strikeouts, only 9 home runs, hitting .235. Netted: Mallex Smith (probable CF starter for the future) Max Fried (top 10 prospect and likely top 3 rotation), the Petersons (utility and 4 OFer) and international pool money
4) Simmons: battling injuries and only played in about 50 games. Has turned the bat around a bit and hitting near .270. Netted: Aybar (yep, he stinks but there is some trade interest and maybe he can be flipped) Newcomb (#3 prospect, top 20 overall and top of the rotation potential), Ellis (killed AA and has struggled some in AAA, could be a back end rotation starter or possibly a dominant setup man)
5) Gattis: never had a position for the Braves and is tailor-made for the AL as a DH and spot starter at C and still barely hitting over .200. Netted: Folty (electric fastball that if he doesn't set on tee is dominant, see the White Sox game and likely a rotation mainstay), Ruiz (similar to Riley, 3b stop gap and potential utility, top 15 prospect regardless), and Thurman (probable bullpen arm with multiple pitches)
6) Alex Wood and Jose Peraza trade: yeah, let's just leave that as not working out for anyone except the Braves did get Joey Wentz in the draft this year with the pick obtained.
Let's not forget fleecing Arizona for Touki Toussaint either, for taking Arroyo from them and paying him. Touki has really turned it around this season and looks like the top 5 prospect and potential top of the rotation guy when he was drafted.
And some trades brought international pool money which allowed the Braves to stock up this year with a ton of positional talent and a couple pitchers. When reading the reports, don't forget that a lot of HS levels put the best player at SS and that most players that were signed don't have a true position yet.
I know that I just made my longest post in Warchant history, but I wanted to type it all out and show that there is a plan, and that if the trades weren't made, this team wouldn't be much better anyways with an even bleaker future than the current present and no financial flexibility. Look at this lineup and pitchers:
LF-undecided
CF-Smith or Acuna
RF-Inciarte
3B-Maitain
SS-Swanson
2B-Albies
1B-Freeman
C-undecided
LF and C are where the free agency money comes in or trading one of the 50 pitchers the Braves have now. One name up there you may not recognize is Acuna, he has STORMED on to the scene at Rome and has shown serious potential with the bat and fielding and base running, but lacks power. He will shoot up the prospect rankings when they are released in the mid-season re-rank.
SP: Teheran, Folty, Wisler, Blair, Newcomb, Allard, Toussaint, Jenkins (I still think he holds more value as a starter), Soroka, Fried, Sims (you know, the forgotten former #1 Braves prospect that is now about the #8 starting pitcher prospect), Anderson, Wentz, Muller
This list is huge and a couple will have to be traded off.
Bullpen: well, bullpen is always a crapshoot, but Alveraz, Cervenka, Krol and Cabrera (who hits 100 mph) look pretty decent currently, Vizcaino is a solid closer who could be moved, Withrow may be good too; in the minors: Gant, Bird, Morris and the ones mentioned above are all possible and show above average pitches.
Guys, the future looks bright. Just keep weathering the storm that is the 2016 season. Also, living in metro Atlanta and seeing some of the minor league teams has helped me a good bit.
