In frigid Indy, Braves look to deal pitcher or two

Thanks for a new blog DOB. Keep them updates coming.

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Boo Yeah! (Stu Scott reference for you there, DOB.

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Petite Pettite. Tired of hearing about fkin Yankees!

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Thanks DOB…

Although I trust your sources Dave…always have.

Ken Rosenthal never ever mentioned the Braves as potential suitors for Mike Cameron in his update yesterday I was shocked.

None the less…its awful quiet around here today….calm before the storm???

Does anyone else just despise the guys we’ve been linked to so far this offseason for at least a bigger bat in the outfield.

And don’t get me wrong…I’m pretty dry on suggestions here myself…

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check that, just under 30 mil

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shazam… Soriano + Lowe for Brandon Wood + Jaun Rivera

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13th!

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Nady intrigues me….

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To think, for just another 15 mil+ and a prospect the Brewers could have had Derek Lowe

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shazam… Soriano + Lowe for Brandon Wood + Jaun Rivera

Do you think Wren would be able to hear the Angels front office people laughing, or would the phone have already been hung up?

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good blog DOB, lets hope we can trade soriano or lowe sometime today!

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DOB,
What are the odds of us packaging Soriano and Lowe in a big trade for an established bat? We could take on more salary that way since we’d be trading $23 mil worth of salary. Is there any team out there willing to make such a blockbuster? What about someone wanting to shed later payroll and we trade the two one year guys (vazquez instead of Lowe, plus Soiano)? with that almost $20 mil, we could possibly trade for a higher priced player than we could target trading just one of these guys at a time….

Hopefully Wren can think outside the box here, and really get a good player for this year, and not some marginal prospects in a salary dump.

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Typical Braves, get rid of there best players. Has been there trend forever.

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unreal, has it really been ‘THERE’ trend forever? Has it?

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Unless the Braves feel they can get a better OF & for cheaper I’ll be surprised if Cameron isn’t a Brave before too long. Nady would also be a very good fit maybe for 1st base, but he’s more of a question because of the injury thing. Once one or both of Lowe/Soriano is traded maybe then all that happens quickly.

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Marlon Byrd is a loser…just like Sprayberry

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I am sure you must have covered this in earlier blogs but for the life of me I can’t understand why we didn’t offer LaRoche arbitration. The guy is in his prime, a very good hitter ( second half ) and an excellent 1st baseman. Plus he is good in the clubhouse and apparently likes it here. If we had him for a year it would have allowed a little more time for Freeman to develop or at least let us know if he was going to develop. That would let us focus on getting the power hitting corner outfielder that we desparately need to go along with McLouth and Hayward ( sp? ).

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Thanks for the blog DOB.

My issue with Nady is I would hate for the Braves to wait around for him and Boras, only to see him sign with somebody else (especially when Yank and Cards are interested). By that time, other options might be off the table.

However, if the Braves add Nady for 1B, and then add another decent bat in the OF (Mike Cameron for example), our offense should be much improved from last year. Will it be enough to catch the Phils? I don’t know, but at the very least, we should be capable of winning the wildcard.

Gload signs with the Phils even though he could have had more PT with the Braves. He knows what we know, that the Phils have a better chance to win the WS. That being said, wasn’t there a time when players chose the Braves over other teams that offered more PT? Man, times have changed around here…

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With Wolf off the market it could possibly escalate a Lowe trade. Soriano should be dealt today.

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I know Wren said they likely wouldn’t fill their role for a bat on the trade market, but what about the following scenario?:

Tigers are interested in Juan Pierre, and the Dodgers want a pitcher in return. Tigers are also interested in moving Carlos Guillen, ideally to obtain the pitcher the Dodgers want. So…..

Lowe to Dogers, Pierre to Tigers, Guillen to Braves (can play LF/1b/3b).

Here’s the contract info on each:

Lowe is owed $15/yr for 3 years, total $45 mil.
Guillen is owed $13/yr for 2 years, total $26 mil.
Pierre is owed $10 in 2010, $8.5 in 2011, total $18.5.

The obvious problem is the extra money Lowe is owed, but the Dodgers would also get an extra year of service for him. If the Braves paid a little of that salary, and the Tigers paid a little of it, this is a deal that could actually work.

One potential sticking point: Not sure how the Dodger feel about Lowe, who they had no problem letting go of a year ago.

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Wow. The Brewers overpaid for Wolf??? Despite his bad year, Lowe is way better. Have fun in 4th place Brew Crew.

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Does the Braves front office really expect to get a big bat or just a pretty good bat? They have reportedly not had any interest, understandably, in the Bay, Holliday dealings. But those are the only two real game changer type offensive guys on the FA market.

So if Wren plans to fill the offensive woes with a FA my guess is he is planning on trying to get a pretty good offensive OF and 1B. Is that about the gist of it?

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I can’t get over that Wolf contract.

I just puked…

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RC: if the Dodgers wanted to sign D-Lowe, they could have done so last year. He will not be a Dodger. Period.

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Nova Scotia Dave — Agree, it’s hard to work up much enthusiasm for the journeymen that have been mentioned lately for a bat. I have a lot of faith in FW though. He’s built a great staff and, in the end, I think he’ll work a deal for a bat or two that will really help us.

I find Wolf at near 30 to be just hilarious and very positive from the Braves point of view. They get a really superior pitcher (Hudson) for less and it strengthens the market for one of our starters. Nice going Wolfie and your agent.

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“Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Tigers have interest in Juan Pierre, and are “looking for a third team to supply the pitcher L.A. needs.” Odd, since the Tigers have more bad pitching contracts than anyone. The Tigers apparently prefer to unload Carlos Guillen.”

Ok, I’ll bite. How about Lowe returns to the Dodgers as Vaz will never waive his NTC to go there and we get Guillen for either LF or 1b (more likely LF as he’s terrible at 1b)?

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I would take half of Mike Cameron over Byrd. Last year was Byrd’s only productive year, and he played in hitter heaven aka Arlington. Check those home/away splits.

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Wolf’s agent is Arn Tellem so one must ask, is the agreement really an agreement?

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Josh,

Marlon Byrd is not a good hitter away from Texas. Also, there is a lot of potential for injuries with him.

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Stro’s,O’s and Halo’s sounds like a Tom Waits song?

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Lots of (bad) options for a 1B/OF bat being thrown around the blog today, but Wednesday does end in a ‘y’ so it makes sense that the collective bloggulace is throwing out whatever trash it can dig up.

The hypothetical list (starting with my favorite of the mediocre bunch):

Cameron (old, maybe too expensive)
Byrd (check out those home/away splits)
Nady (TJ surg for a non-pitcher)
LaRoche (2nd half hero)
Cabrera (rich, drunken clown)
Willingham (Nationals asking price is supposedly too high)
Dye (old, 2nd half crap out at the plate last year)
Lowell (really people?)
Delgado (old, bad hip, missed last year, played for the Mets, I could go on…)

I think that’s most of the usual suspects thrown around here. Did I forget any sub-optimal name?

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If Marlon Byrd is our offensive upgrade then we’re doomed.

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This is how I see the narrative:

Going into 2009 Frank Wren wanted to rebuild the pitching staff. He knew he had an excellent piece already in place in Jair Jurrjens. He knew he had an ace who wouldn’t be ready to go until August in Tim Hudson. And he knew he had an ace in the hole in Tommy Hanson. So he needed to acquire an anchor to make the staff go for the next couple of years. They thought that guy could be Derek Lowe. So they signed him to a 4 year deal. They needed depth so they signed Kawakami to a three year deal and traded for Javy Vasquez who had two years left on his deal. They expected those depth pitchers would get them to Tommy Hanson later in 2009. What they didn’t expect was that Vasquez would finally live up to his potential (now that he is where he wanted to be, in Atlanta) and out perform Lowe. So they wish that the contract situations were reversed for Lowe and Vasquez.

To me Frank Wren shouldn’t worry too much about what he gets in return for Derek Lowe. Clearing the payroll is the key. If they could find someone to take the whole thing for nothing in return, I’d say “here’s the keys.” Because nobody is going to trade the Braves what they desperately need in return for Lowe…a right handed power bat. And unless they want to trade their own prospects, they won’t land one that way either. So the only real avenue to get that bat is thru free agency. And the only way they can afford that is to move Lowe. So to me the smartest business decision you can make is to not worry about what you get in return for Lowe, just that the other team takes his whole salary.

And if I were Wren, I’d wait to deal Rafael Soriano until AFTER you get Lowe’s salary cleared. Because then there’s more flexibility in the Braves payroll because the right handed power bat they will likely sign, won’t cost as much as Derek Lowe’s $15 million. And with the ability to hold onto Soriano financially, Wren can afford to force a better prospect in return for him. And if he doesn’t get the prospect he wants, then just keep Soriano and have a deeper bullpen.

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Cameron and Byrd are garbage

lowe + soriano for C.Lee

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Everybody needs to take a powder. So little ever happens at the winter meetings – it’s mostly speculation and rumor, which usually comes true about 10% of the time, so I just wish the blog would stick to what happens rather than everybody’s Christmas wish list.

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RC: the Dodgers’ owner is going through a nasty divorce and the team is watching its coins pretty closely. Lowe at $15 million over 3 years goes against that grain.

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Salamander: I removed who I would may like to see in a Braves uniform no matter how far fetched the dream…But everyone else on this list I’m with you and think we should stand clear…

Byrd (check out those home/away splits)
Nady (TJ surg for a non-pitcher)
Dye (old, 2nd half crap out at the plate last year)
Lowell (really people?)
Delgado (old, bad hip, missed last year, played for the Mets, I could go on…)

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Cammeron is garbage? Not quite. Also, I’m gonna be sick if I keep reading Byrd’s name in any sentence other than “Marlon Byrd will be playing for someone who isn’t the Braves.”

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I would be excited about Cameron, improve your defense a lot over last year and improve your power too. He is consistent with his power numbers and a good guy. One article broke down all the new metrics and said Cameron looked just as good as Bay but with less long term contract to pay for.

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Where’s the fun in that Gwinnet Fred?

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NC Braves Fan-

Yeah, but isn’t that *ss backwards thinking? Wouldn’t you want to spend a crapload of money with the thought that hey, I’m gonna spend everything I have just so that b*tch gets nothing?!

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NC Braves Fan,

I completely agree that Dodgers financial situation could be a problem. That’s why I said Braves and Tigers could pitch in some of the money to help offset what’s owed to Lowe. Let’s say the Braves pitch in $6-7 million and the Tigers $4-5 million. If those numbers can add up to $11.5 million, then the Dodgers are only taking on a $15 million commitment spread over 3-years. Considering that there is NO way they get a pitcher close to Lowe’s quality for $5 million a year over 3 years, I think they’d do this deal.

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Check out Marlon Byrd’s home/road splits, his numbers are inflated by that park in Arlington.

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FEAR-

Yeah, the fact that Wolf gets that kind of money is laughable…even Jason Marquis thinks that contract is NUTS!

Certainly makes Lowe’s contract look more manageable.

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DOB,

We just got 14 inches of snow dumped on us, and it will be 25 below zero tonight. The sad part is, this is our first snow fall of the year.

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Vaz MIGHT be worth A. Gon? Might?

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I agree that the Wolf signing is more $ than I thought he’d get but since coming back from surgery AND since his move to Houston a year and a half ago, he’s been VERY good. I believe that’s what the Brewers are banking on…good health since the TJ surgery.

I’m pretty stunned to hear the Braves aren’t working the trade market to acquire a bat. (or so it seems by Wren’s quotes)

With the Granderson acquisition and probable Damon re-signing by the Yanks, I’d be interested to see if the Braves can acquire Swisher from the Yanks. Swisher and Nady??? Hey, that would be alright by me.

DOB: Hope you take this the right way but you’re money in the offseason with these blogs.

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95th

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The Padres are going cheap and young. They don’t want Vaz.

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Thanks for the updates DOB.

So, in summary, Braves fans should not expect anything exciting from trading a top of the rotation pitcher, a “stud” closer, or anything A grade in terms of acquiring a middle of the order bat… well speak for your self. This Braves fan will cheer and clap upon the report that the Braves traded Lowe and all his salary for an oft-injured thirty year old A ball pitcher, Soriano for a Rule-5 draft pick and used the savings to pick up Marlon Byrd and Mike Cameron. That’s a combined 30 Homer potential! and minor league depth!

World Series here we come.

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Anyone know if Shelley Duncan has been signed yet?

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It will be interesting to see if a trade of Lowe brings back something of value or will be a salary dump. It will be interesting to see if they can trade him and not have to eat much of his contract. IMO, that will determine how much they can spend on a good bat or two.

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What do you guys think the chances of Soriano and Lowe being traded to the O’s for Luke Scott and Josh Bell – 3rd Base Prospect.

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Fischerking04..agree that Soriano will be traded but if he wasn’t he would not be a 7 inning guy, he is better then saito and would get plenty of action in 8th and maybe some 9th. It would make the team so strong all around on pitching. But probably two much to pay down there to start the year, you always hope someone else you arent counting on comes through in the pen.

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Wes, from our end, trading Vazquez even up for Adrian Gonzalez would be a bigger steal than giving Renteria up for JJJ.

Two problems. Vaz has a no “west coast” trade clause in his contract.

After the paramedics resuscitated the Padres GM from laughing his ass off at that offer, we have to throw a couple more pieces in the puzle for him to bit.

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Guys we don’t need that much more offense–we were one of the top 5 teams in baseball after the LaRoche trade last year, so even if we only acquire a player that equals that production,. we will be sitting pretty… I’m 80% sure LaRoche is gone, but I George Foreman guarantee you Carlos Delgado could come close to his production (he hit 38 bombs in ‘08 in a pitcher’s park). I know I know bad hip old left handed blah blah blah, but every one of these FAs comes w/ a risk. Add one more bat w/ a good slugging % and we’re in the race for the NL Pennant, and you’ll thank Frank Wren in 3 years for not trading away any of our future core for a quick fix…

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Cammy (Cameron) stats:

OPS: 795, 24hrs, 7sb’s, and great defense. Having him instead of GA out there, wow. Would rather him be in CF though.

Last 3 years he has 21,25,24 hr’s and 18, 17, 7 SB’s

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ryan c : “i’m a huge fan of nady, but only complimented by a better player: troy glaus, nick swisher, etc…”

I just almost spit my coffee all over my computer screen.

complimented by a better player…and Troy Glaus should not be in the same sentence….6 or 7 years ago I would have agreed.

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For all those talking about Schafer, I’m pretty suspect about him and always have been. I realize he had a wrist injury last year and that slowed his bat down, but he has a hole in his swing under his hands the size of a beachball. I don’t think the wrist injury was solely responsible for that. I’m afraid big league pitchers are always going to be able to exploit that.

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Just keep Lowe and Soriano and run Schaefer, Heyward, and Freeman out there ….. they are better than half the crap being mentioned as potential trade pieces we would receive.

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P-Town Brave: Don’t forget Diaz who I think the Braves view earned a job unless they somehow get two studs for the outfield.

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Josh-

Might I also specify that my Carlos Lee trade proposal has him playing 1b, thus the inclusion of the 3b and of prospects from the Astros farm system…well, that and because I included both of our tradeables.

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Richmond Rednecks would have been perfect. You are apt to see a redneck or 12 before a flying squirrel and they come out at night too

ROCK ON….

My man, whadup? Do race fans frequent baseball venues on a regular basis?

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Tommy T- I totally agree with you on Schaefer. (I think the Braves do, too). Don’t forget the lack of HGH either. Seriously, he may be one of those chemical wonders.

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HJohn, Jurrjens is good but is nowhere near as good as Josh Johnson, Johnson is a top 3 pitcher in this league and while JJ has good numbers and is young, his strikeout/BB numbers are sometimes befuddling and lead to many people wondering if he will keep up his torrid pace

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I’m on the Cameron and Nady bandwagon. I really hope we do some wheeling and dealing today. I’m so bored!

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owl hunter- one productive year? He’s always been a productive hitter with a good average and has always played good defense. If you guys think for a second that Mike Cameron won’t get at least $10M a season on a 2/3 year contract you’re insane. First of all, he isn’t worth it and second of all the Braves aren’t paying that much to a 37 year old guy who could hit a major decline at any time now. Byrd, on the other hand, is younger and would most likely be a much cheaper option. Face reality folks, Wren and company are going the cheaper, route with the offense. Wren is a pitching type guy, so that’s where the bigger bucks will be tied up. Why do you think they’re intersted in Xavier Nady? He’s coming off surgery and they know his price will be dropped considerably.

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Pete I’m with you . I like Byrd. He’s only 32, batting average .283, a lot of upside. Yesterday on XM radio, Buck Martinez talked highly about him and said he is finally getting the playing time that he deserves. Would be a great pickup for the Braves.

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Some 1b’s are: Russell Branyan (30+ homers last yr), Hank Blalock, Carlos Delgado, Nick Johnson,

None of whom are close to Adam Laroche’s overall contribution. Delgado would be if he was completely healthy, but that is not a fair expectation. I guess I’m coming around to realize the Braves idea of a “big bat” is my idea of “league average or worse”.

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Ray-
I like your wish list, but I don’t understand why you would put Nady below Delgado. He does not have the long history of injuries and disappearing the way Delgado does. He is younger. I know the TJ surgery is a big deal, but he should be ready to rip next year in the National league. I think Swisher is over rated. Don’t want anything to do with Willingham, he is terrible at Turner field.

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HJohn, Jurrjens is good but is nowhere near as good as Josh Johnson, Johnson is a top 3 pitcher in this league and while JJ has good numbers and is young, his strikeout/BB numbers are sometimes befuddling and lead to many people wondering if he will keep up his torrid pace

Huh?? I know that K/BB numbers can be indicative of future performance, but you haven’t been paying attention if you think Jurrjens is not as good as Johnson.

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Rosenthal says “Smoltz still possibility in STL. J. Garcia might not be ready to be No. 5. Smoltz could start and/or relieve. Nats are Smoltz’s last resort.”

FW could gain fan favor by signing Smoltz as a reliever and that would add tremendous experience (both season and post season) and more depth.

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Tommy and Daniel,

You’re dead wrong about Schafer–he has the raw talent of Grady Sizemore and will approach his level if we’re patient w/ him. I fully expect him to be as good of bat as McLouth but w/ a far superior arm, defense and speed…

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Noah-

Check out this months ChopTalk and then listen to Bobby Cox’s press conference from Monday…then you’ll get that they want Heyward in RF Opening Day.

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Ray Pugh-

Recall though that Sizemore never made it with his drafting club (Expos).

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AustinBrave– oh, but his numbers away from Arlington park…. can’t forget about that. It’s a known fact that Rangers park is a HR haven, no question, but if they can somehow get Chipper squared away while Yunel should improve his power numbers, McCann too and add a 1st baseman with 15-20 HR potential than Marlon Byrd hitting 15 HR’s with a .300 plus average at $5/6M a year would be more than enough offense to protect all this great pitching. They’re going the cheapest route with offense, folks. Face reality.

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Daniel

I have done a lot of research on Jordan Schafer and HGH. My wife says I don’t believe anybody. The kid is ripped, however he is also described as a gym rat. The general feeling I get when looking up Schafer is that he had information about users and refused to rat them out. I won’t make a decision either way, but I am also not that he cheated

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Pete

Do me a favor and check out Byrd’s stats. Average at best, and he was in a notorious hitter’s park. Cameron puts up better power numbers (which we need), is a proven commodity and WANTS to be a Brave. He’s easily got two years left in him, and if we can dump some payroll, he can be had. Byrd has proven that he can hit in Arlington. I could hit in Arlington.

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The top winner and closer on a team that barely missed the wildcard has no real value? Are you kidding? And we have to clear $21 mill in salary from last year to get the likes of Byrd, Cameron, Swisher, or Nady – Again are you kidding me?

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Rob- I got some beach front property in Nevada, if you are interested.

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I hate to crack on ya dude cause usually you’re a solid poster, but my El Caballo reference, well, thats Carlos Lee dude and not Miggy Cabrera.

-wipes egg off face-

Oops, well my inability to read aside – Mr. Lee has a hefty contract of his own, but I’m not as down on him as other big name players with bloated contracts (i.e. Cabrera). Should the Braves trade for him (assuming a Lowe swap here)? That I’m kinda lukewarm about given the number of years left on Lee’s contract. 3 years left at $18.5 mil with a full no trade clause? Dude is 33 as well.

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And second about Schafer. I am not certain how good he will be. He did k a lot in the minors. However he hit extremely well in Spring Training and the first week of the regular season.

Hitting major league pitching is hard, that is why we are all watching on TV. Try hitting with a broken bone in the wrist.

After having major shoulder reconstruction two months ago, my arm would fall of if I had to swing a bat. Schafer needed wire to re-attach the bone in his wrist and was in a cast for almost three months.

Give the kid a chance before you say he sucks.

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P-Town Brave: Agree but think unless he really takes off they will give AB’s to Diaz as I’ve heard Cox say he finally came into his own with the .313 avg in 125 games. Great problem to have with a rookie and Diaz, whoever plays better plays. This assumes they bring in a left fielder though.

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Of note: Matt Diaz had a OPS of .878 last year.

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So apparently posts are disappearing AFTER they post today. Have I mentioned recently how much this blog format sucks?

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Never mind. Looking on wrong page. Apparently I suck.

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Lee would be huge “no pun attended”. It would be great to plug him in the cleanup spot! But from what DOB is saying it is not going to happen I wish it would,El Caballo has always been one of my favorite players. I like Nady out of the players Byrd and Camron( he is a stinking Granger and Grangers suck) Frank Wren has done good so far I am sure he will make us Braves fans proud.

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I’ll be quite happy if Schafer reaches the level of play that Grady Sizemore did. Sizemore was only the #1 outfielder in baseball going into 2009. I like how we’re not putting too much expectation on Jordan.

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N8,we finally have something we all can agree on.

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Noah – you have to actually scroll through the blog. DOB is on here constantly posting info. He’ll post multiple times a day.

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ugaaccountant:

Thanks for the reminder, forgot about him posting in here, so its a format as much as anything, wish his posts were seperate, something like this. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/

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Tommy,

It’s impossible to know, but right around the time pitchers should have caught on to this alleged “hole” in his swing, he got hurt. He will have plenty of time to correct this, and i think is it essential we don’t give up on someone who could easily become a Granderson/Crawford/McLouth level player around the time when Jurrjens, Escobar, Hanson etc. could be getting BIG raises…

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listen to this fake interview hilarious

http://radiobigboy.com/audio/interviews/interview_tigerwoods.mp3

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roster rubbish?? Come on, many of the names will help the team a lot. A 20hr outfielder and a full year of a 25hr first baseman sure beats last year.

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DawgDad- Every team in MLB wants Bay, including the Sox and Yankees. How much do you think he makes?

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Thank God..Peter Gammons can go cover his beloved Red Sox…

His bias toward the Sox and the AL East was sickening

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Braves are trying to get Reimold for Soriano. Baltimore does not want or need Lowe with all their young starting pitching. They need a closer to finish games by the youngsters

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CB..not saying that, in this day and age where newspaper staffing is down its hard but a change in format would make it easier. Just been my gripe since I followed a different team that had much more coverage but I guess Atlanta fans don’t demand the same level of coverage. Not as much pre or post game coverage, player interviews on the network or blog posts.

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I think Nate will come closer to his 2008 form myself, but think about our good our outfield D would be with McLouth/Schafer/Heyward, something that is verrry important in a pitcher’s park like the Ted…

The PEDs are a valid concern, but something like growth doesn’t take you from scrub to stud… HGH by itself doesn’t really even do much for strength/speed–it mainly helped w/ recoup time…

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Rob- what happened was MLB over the last 15 years.

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some of us have jobs and don’t have time to read 29 pages of a blog containing meaningless comments from condesending pricks like you.

That’s kinda funny, since the blog I was refering to was the half a page that DOB had just finished writing and posting. You know, when you first load the page, there’s this writing that the guy whose blog this is puts up. Kinda hard to miss since it’s got his mug plastered at the top of it.

And if you had read that little half a page, you would have already known the answer to your question without posting it and looking like the obvious MORON you are who takes a little razzing and turns it into a personal attack by calling me a “prick”. And by turning a little razzing into a personal attack, I would say that YOU are the type of person that would turn a blog into an unpleasant experience. However, since most people on here aren’t thin-skinned A-HOLES, I find reading this blog a rather pleasant experience.

And I still bet you’ve never bothered to pick up a book…

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“Oh,and before we go any further, remember to follow us on Tweeter @ajcbraves.”

If no one has mentioned it yet, Im pretty sure its twitter, DOB.

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DawgDad that was just dumb… yeah Bay would be awesome in the cleanup hole, but you can get too good players (say Cameron and Laroche) for almost half the annual salary and contract length… If you’re Red Sox/Mets/Halos, I say go for it, but we’ve got to be a little more cautious about putting our eggs in one basket….

Although, it would be awesome if we got Bay and Nady–we’d be the 2007 Pirates

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Braves are trying to get Reimold for Soriano.

Where did you read this?

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brian at 1:53pm — source?

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Noah said, “Of note: Matt Diaz had a OPS of .878 last year.”

Yeah, he had an “OOPS!” of .878, too!

That said, his value is clearly maximized in pseudo-platoon with a Ryan Church type. That gives you one or two options off the bench, depending on whether or not Heyward nails down a starting role. Still need a LF that can hit 3-4-5 legitimately (by comparison with the Phils) and re-sign or replace LaRoche (prefer resigning, how many times are we going to let him get away?).

I propose Lowe, Soriano, and Vazquez for Fielder and Braun. Hey, this is fantasy-land, but that’s indicative of what we need to get back to the playoffs.

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DAP – I think Mac is great number 5 hitter. I think it would help the line up if you had a hitter in the 4 hole that you know is going to play every day and plus it will break up all the LH bats.

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Angels, O’s no longer pursuing R. Soriano. Astros and others still in. – from Ken Rosenthal

I’ve previously mentioned the Astros as a potential suitor for Soriano. But there seems to be a belief that their financial situation might eliminate them from being a major player in the bidding for the right-handed reliever’s services. from Mark Bowman

Yikes. Not as much of a market anymore, eh?

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Any news?

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N8: I’m with you on the one big page format. I’ve cut back on posting ever since the new format began.

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I would be satisfied if we got Nolan Reimold for Soriano,good player and still young.

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so if the Braves dump Lowe’s salary, where’s the extra money gonna go?

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CB:

Ok I will use what is here just enjoy the format, videos etc that other reporters use. I didnt have time to visit these blogs and forgot DOB reports on these and so from monday until today I thought there was no Blog update but happy to find it buried in here.

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Dude Reimold for Soriano would be the steal of the offseason…

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I liked the old one page style too because it was easier to use the “find” feature to quickly scan through DOB’s posts (or any other poster that I liked). I believe that the posts were a little more thoughtful too since they had to incubate for a little while before they went live.

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Ray, I agree with you there on Reimold. What round was he drafted in? Does anyone know?

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Eh the market for Soriano’s pretty well down. But hey that narrows it down to Astros who have financial concerns. I know the Astros want Latroy Hawkins but the Brewers are heavy on him though so if he signs with the Brewers the Astros could make the deal for Soriano.

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Noah, if you have a busy schedule this blog is what it is,many of us enjoy the opportunity to share viewpoints. DOB does a great job of filling us in and sharing in the fun of the blog- even in that stupid leather jacket.

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DOB,

When will most teams leave the meetings?

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Nate Mclouth is the better center fielder. I mean he was outstanding, he is younger, has better speed and more range than the older Cameron. Look Mclouth had a bad hammy, and he got to everything, remember the play he made against the Yankees against Swisher here is the video link please watch it http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5214659.

Mike Cameron is still an excellent OF. Has played RF in New York, San Diego. Heyward can play LF with Diaz or alone whatever. Awesome OF.

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Jake C.- usually they start leaving the middle of the day thursday. this has to be the slowest winter meetings to date, so maybe a few teams will stay a bit longer. but until lackey, bay, holliday signs, it’s going to be pretty slow because of economic reasons

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None of the supposed “big bats” you keep talking about are any better than Adam laroche. Most of the guys were hearing about are 25-30 home run guys. If laroche played a full season in Atlanta this season he would have been north of 30 home runs. Adam seems to be very comfortable in Atlanta and if were not going for some kind of big time player then why not Laroche? Unless they are going to try and bring back Laroche plus another bat. I don’t get it.

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DOB—

Is Lowe likely to be gone by tomorrow? KJ??

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J-MAN,

Tell us what you really think, dude.

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johnson will be gone by the weekend, and lowe probably wont be traded until atleast next week i would think

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“Soriano will be traded before we leave here tomorrow…” – DOB

We’re holding you to it

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from the article:

Did you know that, since 2002 (the first year we calculate WAR for), Mike Cameron has been worth +29.6 wins, or about the same as David Ortiz, Aramis Ramirez, and Jim Thome? Or that Cameron has posted a WAR of +4.0 or higher in three of the last four seasons? Yet, due to a slew of factors that include accumulating a large portion of value on defense, spending most of his career in extreme pitchers parks, and posting a low average with a lot of strikeouts, Cameron has never gotten the recognition he deserves.

That will continue this winter, when Bay signs a contract that dwarfs what Cameron will receive, despite the fact that there’s really no argument for Bay being a better player.

Bay is a better hitter – that much is clear. Bay’s career wOBA is .384 versus a .347 mark for Cameron. A 40 point gap in wOBA is significant, and is the obvious driving force for the difference in perception between the two. But how much more value does Bay provide with the bat than Cameron in any given year?

Bay has produced +28 runs above average per 600 PA with the bat since 2002, while Cameron is at +13 runs above average per 600 PA over the same time frame. That’s a 15 run per season gap. It’s a real difference, but probably smaller than the perception of their relative offensive abilities.

That’s just the offensive side, of course. On the other side of the ball, Cameron is one of the better defensive center fielders in the game, while Bay is a bad defensive corner outfielder. You don’t have to trust UZR to agree with those assessments. Those aren’t controversial statements.

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Man Reimold is a breakout player waiting to happen! 15 bombs .830 OPS in only 104 games! and his rookie season! The Os system is stacked w/ good outfielders (Jones, Markakis, Scott, Montenez), but they’d be idiots to let him go for just Lowe or Soriano. However, given their needs, Lowe + cash + prospect may get the job done. Reimold breaks out and hits 30 bombs = we win the East and Wren is recognized for the genius he is… GO BRAVES!

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DOB, what kind of talent are we expecting in return for soriano?

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Ray Pugh, the Orioles have already stated they are not interested in Lowe. Maybe a Soriano and prospect for Reimold would do it.

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Tomas–Most scouts and front office people don’t agree with you on the Mclouth/Cameron discussion. I think that the best move if Cameron was signed would be to put him in CF, move McLouth to LF and put Heyward (if ready) in RF. Heyward would not be in LF either way though in my opinion. The guy is a prototypical RF with a great arm to go with very good range.

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Nick in PA

If FW deals Lowe and his salary, he has promised to improve the offense and pay off my mortgage.

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Brewers sign LaTroy Hawkins. Bet Houston is wanting to meet with Wren now…

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I’ll tell what, there are actually just 5 moves the Braves need to make:
1st: Trade Lowe and his 15mil
2nd: Trade Soriano and his potential 6.5 to 8mil.
3rd: You extend an offer to Ben Sheet 1mil to 2.5mil in incentives
4th: You sign Dye, play lf and/or 1b
5th: You sigh Nady, play lf and/or 1b
You take into consideration that you offer KJ so that you have a potential to play 2nd and move Prado to first. Giving you options of rotating Nady and Dye to the corner spots. You start Heyward in lf to start. If Sheets shows thats he’s 100 percent, make him the 5th starter, move Kawakami to the pen for long inning support and spot starts. This would also allow Atlanta to try to sign Javy to an extension at the same time only offering 1 year deals not blocking prospects like Freeman.
Batting Order:
1. Mclouth
2. Escobar
3. Chipper
4. Dye
5. McCann
6. Heyward
7. Nady
8. Prado

Awesome lineup and well under budget!!

Starting Rotation:
1. Hudson
2. Javy
3. Jair
4. Hanson
5. Sheets/Kawakami

Closer:
Wagner

This rotation would easily be the best and deepest in baseball without even coming close to breaking the bank. Plus you have security if one breaks down.

Also a major plus…. Not moving any prospects to craft this team!! Always for frexiblity at the mid way point if you still need to make a move.

What do you think???

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Reimold is better than every name previously mentioned on DOB’s blogs, other than obviously Adrian Gonzalez. Given that we have a small chance to get him “by magic” for just Soriano is pretty exciting. But i’m guessing that’s why the “tweets” coming out are saying the Orioles dropped out, because we were asking for too much.

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Dang Latroy Hawkins is gone.

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DOB,

First off, thanks for your coverage the past few days and all year for that matter. It feels like baseball season is right around the corner with your coverage.

My question is about the Rule 5 draft – do you have any sense the Braves have anyone targeted?

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Cheetah Woods – Without knowing anything about him, a stud 3b prospect is something I’d trade Soriano or Lowe, or preferably both , for in a heartbeat.

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brewers sign latroy hawkins, which means the astros might be the frontrunner for soriano. not sure who the other teams are for soriano

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before everyone goes crazy, DOB said “trade idea” though it would be intersting, but it wont happen

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Oh yes, by only extending one year contracts. You could very easily see an outfield of Mclouth, Heyward and Schafer next year. At the same time you might also witness Freeman taking his spot at 1st. All this with payroll being very easily managed. And who knows what prospect pitcher will be ready for the show next year to take the 5th spot.

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Okay thanks, I’m hoping for a top 5 prospect for Soriano.

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With Latroy Hawkins going to the Brew Crew you have to believe that the Astros will be banging on the door for Soranio. Hawkins got a two year deal it will be interesting to see what he got per year. Should be able to set the bar for us….

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Lowell – ARRGGGGGGG

I knew it…and yes I know its only a rumor…but once i heard the BoSox are willing to eat $6 million of Lowell’s $12 million dollar salary…I knew the Bravos would be knocking.

We’re so predicable and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this happening DOB…

Plus if Chipper goes down we have another guy who can play third…move Prado to 1st…Infante to 2nd…etc etc.

I could really see this one getting done…thanks for throwing us a bone DOB

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Interesting trade idea regarding Lowell…

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“Heard an interesting trade idea in the lobby, though it did not come directly from either team: Soriano for Mike Lowell, who could play 1B for the Bravos. Hmmm….”

Hope not Lowell is owed 12M in 2010 and there is concerns with him switching over to first base. Now I would pull the trigger on a Lowell for Lowe trade in a heartbeat.

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According to Heyman of SI Orioles are interested in Millwood and his 12 million salary, might be a good team to dangle Lowe to.

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Thats right, Smack, wasn’t sure if he had played five seasons. thanks for clearing that up. hopefully we dont lose him.

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Ahh yes i love the winter meetings

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Reimold???

If the O’s wanted Soriano THAT bad, they would have signed him on Sunday. Reimold is MUCH more valuable than a draft pick.

Last year, Lowell was coming back from hip surgery a year ago. I don’t know if that was the reason he missed games last year, or if it was another injury situation. BUT, if he can stay healthy, his bat and presence in the clubhouse would make him a good acquisition. Not a glamourous addition though.

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Kinda disappointed the Braves didn\’t get anything done at the Winter Meetings. Looks like nobody wants Soriano at that price. We will probably be stuck with him and I\’m willing to bet Lowe will be on the opening day roster. Way to go Wren.

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Orioles, Rangers Agree On Millwood-Ray Swap

1:38pm: The two sides have a tentative agreement, reports Zrebiec. He says the deal could be completed as early as tonight.

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Re:Lowell

Not to mention the Braves/Red Sox seem to enjoy swaping players back and forth these past two seasons…

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Nick:
We still have close to a day left to make deals.

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Lowell has never played 1st base, so he would have to be ok with switching to a new position this late in his career.

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Orioles, Rangers Agree On Millwood-Ray Swap

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-kevin-millwood-trade-1209,0,4877522.story

“The deal could be completed as early as tonight. The deal will also need to be approved by Major League Baseball because it’s expected that more than $1 million is changing hands.”

So Millwood is determined to be worth $11M and an injury prone former closer. Don’t know if that is good or bad news for the Braves and the Lowe situation.

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How about Kevin Millar as our bench role 1B? I’d say if he could be had fora reasonable price, he’s an upgrade from Norton…

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Not to mention I believe Papelbum is a free agent after the 2010 season…and I believe he made it clear he’s going to test the open market…

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There’s a reason why Boston is willing to pay that much of his contract & it’s more than likely his injuries, but I’d still take Lowell. I always thought he was more of a HR hitter but his career high is only 32.

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Why the hell would the Braves sign Ben Sheets?

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Andy K

Didn’t Millar have quite a dropoff last year? I am not sure. If not, he would be a good PH bat.

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If Braves get Lowell, Prado will be suiting up at 1B A LOT.

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wow the rays are interested, thats nice

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Rays, Astros the teams trying to trade for R. Soriano.

-Ken_Rosenthal

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Why wouldn’t you sign Sheets? There’s nothing but high reward there, he’d likely start the season in the minors.

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DOB. No problem. I’m always here to take things out of context, hold you to them, and pass out the pitch fork and torches.

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scoots,

Open invitation, man. You know that. Though we’d better make it in his, or your, neck of the woods; gotta find Ol’ Leyland a smoking establishment.

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Arkansas Transplant-

No one commented cause its not worth it…

1st: Trade Lowe and his 15mil (duh read the blogs dating back to the middle of the season)
2nd: Trade Soriano and his potential 6.5 to 8mil. (We are trying. Two of the teams we were going to trade him to just pulled out)
3rd: You extend an offer to Ben Sheet 1mil to 2.5mil in incentives (His name is Ben Sheets and why would you want that we already have six SPs with way less injury concerns)
4th: You sign Dye, play lf and/or 1b (Not likely)
5th: You sigh Nady, play lf and/or 1b (Possibility that is being thrown around)

As for your line-up portion… I think everyone on here knows who is on the Braves

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Astros Close To Acquiring Matt Lindstrom?
By Tim Dierkes [December 9 at 1:55pm CST]
The Astros are close to acquiring reliever Matt Lindstrom from the Marlins, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Capozzi notes that the Marlins have been close on other deals that failed to materialize, however. The Astros are also considered a finalist for Rafael Soriano; I imagine they won’t get both.

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Hey guys, NEWSFLASH: the Rays are in on Soriano.. and the Astros just lost out on Hawkins, have you heard?….

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Wayne, you’re correct on the average for Millar, in just about as many games as Norton, he hit .223, but he did have 7 Homers and 29 RBIs. THe 1B market, especially for back ups is not too impressive, I mean who else is there? Nomar? dunno about other guys, i’d have to look it up.

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Now MLBTraderumors is saying the Astros are close on Lindstrom. They probably won’t get both Soriano and Lindstrom. Down to the wire here.

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Astros about to trade for Lindstrom

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If I were the astro’s I’d be going after Soriano before Lindstrom. Lindstrom looked TERRIBLE down the stretch.

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Ben Zobrist for Soriano, Cash, and Prospect.

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Why would we take on Lowell’s salary and injury prone body? Come on guys.

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Sign Mark DeRosa, mainly for his hot wife!

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well DOB actually stated at 2:06 “soriano will be trade by tomorrow, i’m fairly sure.”

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Astros getting Lindstrom, no need for Soriano. We are going to get stuck with him.

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do the brewers stlll have hoffman? that’s a pretty good one-two..

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We could do worse than Mike Lowell. Lowell batted .290 with 17 HR and 75 RBI in 119 games this past season. The guy batted pretty low in the order for the Sox and still managed those numbers in that many games. If the Sox would eat part of that salary, I think I’d take him.

You do have to worry about having two somewhat fragile, aging players anchoring your infield though.

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Lindstrom is set to make about $1.5 mill in his 1st year of arbitration. Significantly less than Soriano.

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Making a trade to “free up payroll” in a system with no salary cap is not the recipe for “going for it” this year.

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If they want to “Go get a bat” Go get freaking Jason Bay to play left.

Oh wait liberty media is using the team as a tax write off.

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Matt Lindstrom – ERA 5.89 K 39 Walks 24 Saves 15 Salary $1-2M
Rafael Soriano – ERA 2.97 K 102 Walks 27 Saves 27 Salary $6.5-8M

The Astros are going to lose Jose Valverde whom they paid $8M to. My question is why going cheap with Lindstrom when you have a guy available with money to spend.

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If we had picked up Ross Gload last night, it would have the Lowell deal more appealing. That’s not helping, though.

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Wayne,

Props, but only if your use of “pre-madonnas” was intentional…

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Daniel

December 9th, 2009
2:09 pm
richbrave- I am going with the assumption that Nady is going to get 2/3 option deal worth 5-7 mil per. What do you think of him at that price?

Well, SWISHER is my absolute preference, and NADY would be my second I guess.

SWISHER plays both OF and 1B but you lose two potential positions in one man if he goes down. Would have to get a good defensive bench player for 1B in that case and keep the cost to a minimum.

NADY does not play 1B to my knowledge, and the 5-7 million number you mentioned might work if he stays healthy. But there’s that TJ sword hanging over him. Then signing JOHNSON or LaROCHE becomes less problematic. Simply couldn’t do it if SWISHER were here.

No, I’ll let FW, the wizard, pull this rabbit out of the hat.

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What about letting Kenshin Kawakami go, he has been a total bust and I have no idea how he fits in on this team?

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Schuerholz on 680 right now

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May God watch over Frank Wren if he trades for Pat Burrell

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What about letting Kenshin Kawakami go, he has been a total bust and I have no idea how he fits in on this team?

I hope this was just your attempt to Troll for some reaction…

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Did someone really just say that KK is a bust?

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The Dogg Father (how original) is a bust

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OMG…This just in…Takashi Saito will be 40 in February…..

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Rosenthal is reporting that Carols Guillen of the Tigers is available. Not a big power threat, but decen averages until last year, and I believe he has played some first and corner outfield for the Tigers. He is a switch hitter. Tigers supposedly looking for pitcher to flip in deal with Dodgers for Pierre. May be a fit…what is the consensus?

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Say the Braves trade Soriano to the Rays. What kind of prospect should they expect in return. This guy is a top flight reliever, and they are only wedded to him for one year (though they could resign him). I think we should get a good piece back for him, but that is just my opinion.

You’d think so. But I bet they don’t give up much for him. It’d be great to get LHP Matt Moore for him. Or RHP Nick Barnese. Or 3B Matt Sweeney.

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Kawakami has not been a total bust and I look forward to him being even better next year, man what a great 5th starter, this team is loaded with starting pitching.

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I think could very well be Pat Burrell plus a good prospect Reid Bignac?? for Soriano because the Rays dont have too much money so they would off set Burrell’s cost by sending us a good prospect

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Damn you Soriano!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cost us draft picks, and now we probably get nothing in return, not anything of significance.

Might as well just keep and wait for Lackey to sign, then push Lowe really hard.

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Has anyone every thought that it could be Soriano and some of our prospects for possibly a bigger deal with Tampa…

Maybe a three team blockbuster…of our own.

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the logic being Mclouth has more speed given he hasn’t lost it to age unlike Cameron who just had 7 steals, and his speed makes him the guy with more range. But the real reason is Cameron is open to changing positions, and the Braves need a RF.

Once again, Cameron is one of the best CF in all of baseball. He is a BETTER defender than McLouth. Range has as much to do with routes to the ball and the jump at contact as it does with speed. And I think Cameron is probably really close to McLouth as far as speed goes. Stolen bases have absolutely nothing to do with speed in the field. And I haven’t heard anywhere that McLouth is opposed to moving to LF.

We do need a RF if you don’t want Diaz out there. But chances are, if Diaz doesn’t start in RF, Heyward will be out there. Cameron or McLouth would be playing LF if Heyward is ready.

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Carl Crawford will be a Brave!!!

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Hey Dave, welcome to Indy!!! Make sure you try out St. Elmo’s Steakhouse and/or Bazbeaus’ Pizza. Also check out Nicky Blaine’s Cigar Shop (I think you’ve stated you like cigars) and Kilroy’s Bar. I hope you have a good time here and that the Winter Meetings come back soon!!!

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if Soriano was packaged with prospects/players to get Upton or Crawford we should all start saluting Wren now.

Not going to happen

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bravito – that is the one way the Braves get a good prospect – if we eat Burrell’s contract. Hopefully Burrell could play 1B because I don’t know if I could watch him play 1B. His speed reminds me of Sid Bream or Bruce Benedict

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We expected a draft pick for Soriano, nothing more. So don’t get your hopes for a “deal.” It’s going to be a prospect, that’s it.

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Carl Crawford would be wasted on the Braves. He makes 10 million dollars next year and it’s his last year. We’d get a one year rental. Also, the guy is way too good at stealing bases to come to the Braves where he might be allowed 20 tries a season.

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ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that the Braves want a solid return for Soriano and want the other team picking up the tab. Not sure they have the leverage for that.

Stick to your guns Wren…

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The Rays are in play, let the Carl Crawford rumors begin!!!

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ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that the Braves want a solid return for Soriano and want the other team picking up the tab. Not sure they have the leverage for that.

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Takashi Saito breaks his silence…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjF93E4LjlA

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Screw Crawford…Zobrist Zobrist Zobrist!!!

Soriano, KJ and Schafer for the Z-Man!

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Affleck, you was the bomb in Phantoms, yo!!

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‘Stros make more sense since the Brewers got Hawkins

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Fans down here in SoFla can’t stop laughing that another major league team covets Matt Lindstrom.

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That’s why u package Soriano…

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7-8 million doesn’t seem unrealistically high for Soriano considering what others are getting unless you think he won’t match last year or will be injured.

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I really hope the Braves do not settle for the return on Soriano. He is valuable, even with his contract, and should not be given away.

If the Braves truly can move forward with their offseason plans without trading him in the next days, I hope they do so, and let the market for closers develop a little bit.

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Lindstrom is awesome! He has double the ERA of Soriano! So he’s twice as good for a quarter of the money!

Wait, highest ERA wins right? Nevermind.

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Who knows. I’m just glad that the meetings seem to be gaining speed.

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DOB: Olney also tweets the following: Saw John Schuerholz in lobby talking with Gregg Clifton, agent for Glavine. Could be discussion about role for Glavine with ATL front office

Heard anything to that extent concerning Glavine?

Second: Was it truly a fact that no team want to “give up a draft pick to sign Soriano” or was it that Soriano didn’t like the terms of the potential offers from teams willing to give up the draft pick? Because the initial phrasing sounds as if teams would have simply left Soriano standing at the FA table unsigned until after the June 10th draft. I can’t imagine it going down that way. I’d think some team would have signed him prior to Spring Training. Perhaps Soriano just didn’t want to wait that long?

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If we can’t get anything return for excess pitching…you have too much pitching.

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Can someone tell me why we are not pursuing Jason Bay???

Wren himself has made it clear that we are not getting the big bat from a trade – that only leaves two options – within the organization or from free agency…. Obviously he’s looking at the free agents…

Again, why are we not busting it for Jason Bay???

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I don’t care what anyone says I’m on Wren’s bangwagon no matter what information he discloses.

A full bromance a brewin.

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This is really going to stink if we let Soriano go for chump change and end up unable to find a bat anyway.

It really is a shame that we should be talking about if/how we should move somebody like KJ or a pitcher but we get stuck with the Soriano drama because he accepted arb.

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probably not many specifics because telling DOB is like telling a 15 year old girl who farted in second period. kinda like the time you thought the braves signed KEN GRIFFEY JR. really fudged that up huh?

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Would Brignac be asking too much for Soriano? Then we could deal that pre-madonna Escobar to the Dodgers for Matt Kemp!

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K-Ros is saying that the Rox will most likely non-tender Atkins making him a FA. Any chance he would move over to 1st?

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DOB, is this 4p summit a Frank idea or a carryover from the JS regime? I think it’s pretty smart, myself, to keep the local guys in the loop.

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Noah

Dave has stated on numerous occasions that they have not specified exactly what the payroll will be. I think it is probably somewhat fluid at this point. Before Soriano accepted arbitration, the prevailing thought was that if we could unload Lowe and not sign KJ or Church, we would have 15-20 million potentially to spend. Maybe some less.

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I don’t think the 4pm thing is only a braves thing, I think most teams are doing it.

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I guess eventually, people will believe that the Braves are unlikely to get a top prospect or any kind if impact major leaguer back for Soriano, while also expecting the other team to pay his high arb salary or work out a multi-year contract with him. Like I said, teams wouldn’t give up a draft pick to sign him as a free agent, so why would they give up what they hope a draft pick would eventually become — a top prospect or impact major leaguer — to get Soriano a couple days later?

DOB,
There are few things in this world that are guaranteed.

1)The sun will rise in the East.

2)Men will never understand women.

3)When a player’s name is mentioned as “available,” on MLBTraderumors.com there will be a line-up proposal including his name posted on the MIB blog within 3 minutes followed by the phrase “Make it happen!” This will occour no matter how sucky the player may be.

4)When a team is mentioned on MLBTraderumors as a possible desitnation for a Braves player, a trade proposal featuring said player and a quantity of unwanted cast-offs will be made on the MIB Blog for one of that mentioned team’s top 5 players, without regard to reason or logic.

These are guaranteed, DOB. It’s not debatable.

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Yahoo said Cubs were after Cameron if they could move some one. Cubs player not named.

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Again, why are we not busting it for Jason Bay???

That’s an easy one to answer. He would command over 15% of the payroll all by himself. That’s also why they want to move Lowe so bad, to free up around 15% of the payroll.

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HAHAHA!!! Sheets for 12 mil? If someone signs that. We can trade lowe and eat none of his salary!

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I say ’screw trading Soriano’ for just a freaking prospect. Take him into the season and use him only when you need to, and come the trade deadline, there’ll be a team out there in more dire straits than now and might/would come off something more valuable. Then we “only” play $3.5 million or so for Soriano screwing us over. If it doesn’t happen, we’re stuck eating his giant arb salary, but he’ll hit the open market next year lacking much, statistically to get much coin with. Serves ‘em right.

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Soriano and mid prospect for C. Pena, sounds good, do it

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Frank Wren is not stupid enough to go after a .240 strikeout artist like Mike Cameron.

He is smart enough though to go after a 20+ HR guy that plays stud defense and would fill a need in the OF.

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Soriano’s Arbitration salary won’t be giant. He made over $6million last year, its not like he was at the min last year.

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DOB-

Just make sure you and Shanks don’t get into an impromptu fight in front of Frank like Luke Wilson and Will Ferrell did (rival news teams) in Anchorman

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I’m of the mind that you keep trying to trade Lowe and you eat Soriano’s salary if you can’t even get a half way decent prospect. If your just going to give him away, one of the big market teams would gladly take him off your hands when the season rolls around.

There is no way the Angels would balk at trading a bucket of balls and bats plus some disney land tickets to take Soriano off our hands.

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Soriano has just been traded to the Indianopolis Clowns of the Negro League cause he’s just going to drive Frank Wren Bozo looking for a decent return.

Soriano will join his former team-mate Jeff Francoeur on the clowns.

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RIP who would that be?

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Wayne-

Yeah, the Rays have so many players I’d want to get it in…I just hope Soriano goes there and we aren’t disappointed with our return. OR that our return nets us the funds to get it on something else interesting..

DOB-

I forgot to tell ya buddy…SUCK IT UP! Its 20 degrees here and the snow is blowing sideways from the 50 mph winds. At least you get to go back to Atlanta when this is all over.

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That’s an easy one to answer. He would command over 15% of the payroll all by himself. That’s also why they want to move Lowe so bad, to free up around 15% of the payroll.

Macon Brave – You’re saying it right there – they are moving Lowe to free up the salary for a big bat… Here he is! 15%=15%, right??

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I really like these well thought out ideas to punish Soriano by keeping him on the team in middle relief. Boy that’s smart stuff there.

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You know what? All fall and late last season, people were clamoring about Carlos Pena and I screamed HELL NO as many times as I could. Dude is a low average strikeout machine.

But his OBP and OPS are not bad, really. He had 87 walks last year to go with his 39 HR. He is only signed for 2010 at 10.25 million dollars. I don’t really know about his defense. But he did start 129 games at 1B last year for the Rays?

So you know what? Considering that we might not get a top prospect for Soriano, a 31 year old stop gap 1B just might do the trick. Not sure what else we’d have to give to get him, but I think we just might have a (temporary – 1 year) love connection, Chuck.

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Chief Nock—15 million for Bay I would do if for a year but how does it impact you long term if you have to go 4 years on it. Is it worth it.

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N8: Man if you can get a 39hr guy for Soriano when the world knows we need to trade him that would be incredible.

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4:20!

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N8

We’d probably have to throw in one of our young lefties or maybe Cody Johnson to get Pena.

Might be worth it.

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Soriano for Burrell could be a smart move… just like Delgado, I betcha he ain’t done…

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nick

That type of return is what I expect. Keppinger type players.

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Enter your comments here

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How can anyone think Soriano would pitch the middle innings. Forget what is said now, he is better then Saito and would pitch the 8th inning most of the time.

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It’s amazing to me that Soriano doesn’t draw more interest.

Guess it’s symptomatic of the impact the economy’s had on things. Five-years ago teams woulda been knocking down the door for a pitcher of MFIKY’s caliber. There woulda been a bidding war of bidding wars.

Still read the ol’ blog every day. Decided to give y’all a short break from the musings of and idiot. Y’all can thank me later… lol

One more thang. THANK THE LAWD that Vazquez is not being actively shopped! I know it’s superstition, but I’ve felt all along that if we kept Vazquez, then Huddy would be fine. If we trade Vaz, we’re lookin at Huddy elbow-problems by June. That’s just the way things seem to go sometimes…

Adios Amigos

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rammerjammer: not sure if you’re referring to my post on Soriano, but my point is not to punish him, but to utilize his talents until his trade value increases. Let Soriano duke it out with Saito for the #2 slot in the bullpen!

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Wren screwed up in signing Saito. If he had waited, then we’d have Soriano as our 8th inning guy for next year.

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If Soriano is pitching for the Braves (which I highly doubt) in August, it won’t be in mop up relief.

If you find yourself in the same vicinity of Scott Boras, make sure you keep one hand on your wallet!

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