Atlanta Braves shakeup: Glavine released, Schafer sent down, Hanson called up, McLouth moves to CF
Nate McLouth
Braves — and Pirates — fans may be calling it What The Heck Wednesday.
For Atlanta fans, it was a day that saw veteran pitcher Tom Glavine, 43, released after a comeback bid with his original, longtime MLB team and one day after outfield prospect Jordan Schafer was sent down to AAA Gwinnett after two months of floundering at the major league level. Then Wednesday took another stunning turn when Pittsburgh’s Nate McLouth was traded to the Braves for three prospects. Oh, and lest we forget, top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson was called up to the bigs. Got all that?
For Pirates fans, Wednesday arguably marked another strange chapter in the club’s recent losing history. If Braves fans were stunned by Glavine’s release, Bucs fans had to be speechless after their All-Star outfielder was sent packing at the quarter-point of a season when Pittsburgh is 24-28 and McLouth, a fan favorite, is leading the team with nine home runs and 34 RBIs. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Pirates players were none too happy with the trade and that GM Neal Huntington is braced for fan backlash, telling the paper, “I know how it’s going to be received back home. Believe me, it was the most difficult move I’ve made.”
YOU TELL US: We’re asking Braves AND Pirates fans to weigh in on the big moves made by both clubs Wednesday. Atlanta fans, share your thoughts on the Glavine release, McLouth deal, Hanson call-up and Schafer send-down (or just whichever move you think was best or worst). And Bucs fans, how will the loss of McLouth affect your team? Tell us what Braves fans will learn to like about Nate McLouth.
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229 comments Add your comment
varodrunner
June 4th, 2009
8:22 pm
well said Drixie – maybe – just maybe – Hanson is a #1 next year – who knows, but he has the stuff…. Can he handle it? Time will tell
Keith
June 4th, 2009
8:25 pm
I think Glavine is playing this like a fiddle. He was embarrassed yesterday. Noone wants to be told that they can’t cut it anymore. See Steve Carlton, Joe Montana, Brett Favre. Read Glavine’s quote in Tuesday AJC when he said that he felt ready to pitch and would be ready to pitch Sunday in Atlanta or anywhere else. He knew this was possible. He knew they might go a different direction. I like Glavine and Smoltz and Maddox but winning is the business. Sentimental journies should be taken from November to March.
willieg
June 4th, 2009
8:29 pm
ihope glavine goes back to the mets, I need to make alot more money, the braves rocked glavine easy money, I will also make a lot of money when the yankees and redsox comes to atlanta then the phillies, oh boy HAPPY days are hear again , SMOLTZ WILL DESTROY ATLANTA, as far as glavine ITS ABOUT TIME TO GET RID OF HIM, THE DAYS, OF THE GLAVINES, CLEMENS,MADDOX,SMOLTZ AFTER THIS YEAR, IS OVER, PITCH WHEN YOU WANT IS OVER., WHEN TEAMS HIRE THESE ICON PLAYERS FOR I/2 THE TIME AND BIG BUCKS IS OVER,hanson should have been here when the year started,although he will lose saturday to the brew crew, this mclouth trade,will not help the braves, because THEY CANNOT HIT THE DAMNNNNNN BALL,PATHETIC,GREG MADDOX WAS THE BEST PITCHER TO PUT ON A SORRY BRAVES UNIFORM EVER,he lost so many games 1-0 or 2-1 it used to make me sick, what THEY DID TO SMOLTZ WAS A TRAVESTY NOT GLAVINE, smoltz never left glavine did, this is why i make so much money on the braves betting against them most of the time, they sux .period
willieg
June 4th, 2009
8:35 pm
GO ANYBODY BUT THE BRAVES,.how do you think the pirates fans feel,the lose nady, jason,mclouth, and are only 5/1/2 or so out now, oh yea forgot THEY HAVE THE STEELERS
Bill in MS
June 4th, 2009
8:41 pm
It’s a biz, not a charity. Glavine left us when it was in his best interest. This move was in OUR best interest. I appreciate Tommy and all he’s given, but this ain’t team bowling with your neighbors.
willieg
June 4th, 2009
8:43 pm
we have the sorry braves and falcons, and HAWKS, and the so called hockey team,then the all mighty bulldogs,losers, and the ramlin wreck, from georgia tech, the worst they call themselves winners,because they beat uga last year, please, gt could not beat eggs right.
varodrunner
June 4th, 2009
8:47 pm
willieg
What team do you root for or are you just another bipolar idiot?
varodrunner
June 4th, 2009
8:49 pm
Oh, I got it – you are a a disgruntled Pirate’s fan willieg – I really couldn’t tell if you were an idiot,, BiPolar or both. Live in the past, it will help you. Stargell, Clemente, etc.
varodrunner
June 4th, 2009
8:50 pm
Altho willieg , i would feel just as you. forget the last two posts of mine
Gumby
June 4th, 2009
8:57 pm
I think they were the correct moves. All of them. Baseball is a business and we need to win now. Sad to see Glavine gone but he had the option to retire. And I don’t care what Smoltz thinks either so stop telling us. Go Braves.
brandon W
June 4th, 2009
9:24 pm
As Dan said “(Tom) Glavine…tough break, I’m sure he will get over it. As he so well demonstrated, baseball can be a brutal business.”
Greg Maddux showed class when he retired last December. He said it wasn’t fun anymore. How can it be fun for Smoltz and now Glavine? They are scratching and clawing as they are being dragged off of the stage. Can they still pitch? Probably. Can Hank Aaron still hit a ball out of the park on a good day. possibly. He was that good folks.
This is hard. I LOVE those guys! Avery retired at 30! The Big 3 had their day. We basked in the glory for a long time…it was amazing to say the least.
To John Smoltz: It was all about money? You know too much? give me a break! who went to Boston/Mets(Glavine) for more money? That’s right. Those guys made HUNDERDS of millions during their careers!
Smoltz/Cheney 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Braves have not been the most loyal team to longtime favorites, but this is baseball. There is no crying right? It is all about winning and how much can 2 pitchers who have played less than Mike Hampton in the last year provide? They are done and cannot accept it. Just ask Aaron, Murphy, Niekro how tough it is. All of these guys had their day in the sun and inevitably each day will end. Thank you for leaving it all out there…You will not be forgotten…….a Braves fan for life
Buster Olney
June 4th, 2009
9:31 pm
TOM GLAVINE DESERVED GRIFFEY’S FATE
(From today’s Buster Olney ESPN column)
When the Mariners signed Ken Griffey Jr., they knew that the future Hall of Famer was nothing like the player who had dominated the major leagues before being traded to Cincinnati a decade ago. Griffey, after all, has been honest about it; he told White Sox general manager Kenny Williams as much before being traded to Chicago this past summer.
At age 39, Griffey is hitting .223 with six homers and 15 RBI. But there is no talk that the Mariners will release Griffey. No, they signed up for this tour, knew the risks, understood that there would be pitfalls. But apparently they are willing to go along with all that because Griffey means more to them than just being one of 50 players to wear their uniform this year. He means so much, in fact, that the M’s knew that even this older yet still authentic version of Griffey would be a joy for their fans; his contract pays him more as those fans show up. Nobody else on the team has such a provision. And his base deal wasn’t much more than Tom Glavine’s. Griffey is a future Hall of Famer, and his plaque at Cooperstown probably will be adorned with a Mariners logo. The Seattle organization, for years to come, will want to bring him back for Opening Days and special events to throw out a first pitch, to shake hands, to wave.
The Mariners’ respectful treatment of Griffey helps us understand why the Braves’ handling of Glavine on Wednesday was particularly awful, like butchery with a pen knife.
Glavine had come to the end of his minor league rehabilitation assignment this week, with success, not allowing a run in six innings in a start in Class A, surrendering just three hits and walking none. His fastball was clocked at 83-84 mph, and he touched 86 mph, which means he was throwing with the same velocity that he has for years — and actually with greater velocity than how he threw in spring training, when his fastball was at 80-81 mph and the Braves thought he was good enough to pencil into their rotation.
But Glavine was summoned into a room at Turner Field on Wednesday afternoon and told he would either have to retire or be released. He chose to be released and walked out of the park, and it’s unclear when he’ll come back.
Braves general manager Frank Wren told reporters that the radar gun readings in Rome, Ga. — the home of a Braves affiliate — were off the other day. And he said this: “It’s not a business decision from our perspective. It’s a performance decision.”
In fact, it seemed all business. Not personal.
By dumping Glavine before he appeared on their roster for one day, the Braves are able to avoid paying him a $1 million bonus that would have been due the day he was activated, plus any subsequent bonuses — money that now might be more useful to them in other ways, such as in paying new center fielder Nate McLouth, who was acquired in a trade with the Pirates shortly after Atlanta announced the release of Glavine.
The Braves signed on for the Tom Glavine tour shortly after they broke ties with John Smoltz. They knew then that they were not going to get an electric fastball, and that there might be days of ugly linescores from a 43-year-old pitcher. But it was important to them, at that time, to maintain ties with the future Hall of Famer, a guy whose plaque in Cooperstown would contain their logo, someone they would invite back for special events, for Opening Days, to throw out first balls and to wave.
Glavine did everything the Braves asked through spring training, and Atlanta wrote him into the rotation for mid-April. He had a setback, and the Braves had a chance to jump off the Glavine comeback train then, to be direct and honest with him in telling him that they didn’t think he was good enough. But the Braves kept him, kept arranging rehab outings for him, with Glavine under the impression that he was making progress and pushing toward a day when he could rejoin Atlanta’s rotation. It is the Braves who have had complete control over his rehab schedule. He went out and did as well as he could do in his last outings in the minor leagues; he had done his part.
So it is especially odd that the Braves pulled the plug in the way that they did, and quite frankly, he deserves better — and if they didn’t know that when they re-signed him in February, they should have.
Before teams agree to bring back a historically great player, they owe it to themselves to have this conversation: What happens if the guy is bad? What happens if he just can’t play anymore? Is the ending going to be ugly? And if they determine that the ending might get ugly, then they should pass on the player in the first place, because what you don’t want, especially, is to have a future Hall of Famer storming out of your park in midseason feeling as if he hadn’t been dealt with honestly and respectfully. And that’s about how Glavine felt as he drove away from Turner Field.
brandon W
June 4th, 2009
9:33 pm
my bad, i meant Cheney/Smoltz 2012……..get a life and deal with it.
Paul Lentz
June 4th, 2009
9:45 pm
I’ll give another perspective. I grew up both in Arkansas, both an Atlanta Braves fan and a Dallas Cowboys fan. In 1989, when Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys, he was under the impression that the previous owner had told Tom Landry that he was going to replace him with Jimmy Johnson. However the previous owner left it to Jerry to tell him. So when he fired him, Jerry Jones caught all kinds of heat from the Dallas media.
I was 17 years old back then and I was so glad that Landry was let go. Dallas had just went 3-13. We were a slow, old team. So when Jimmy came in, he cleaned house and rebuilt the Cowboys. The fact that Landry’s Cowboys had won 2 Super Bowls in the past did not matter to me. I wanted to see Dallas win in the present.
Bottom line, there probably no really “gentle” way to either release, cut or fire someone. Any athlete or coach who is successful has to have some “drive” and “ego” to push them. It is hard to “turn it off”. That is why a team needs management who wont let sentiment and nostalgia push them to make bad decisions.
While I totally understand why Frank Wren gave the “politically correct” answer to why the Braves waited to call up Tommy Hansen, if I was GM I would come right out and say “yes we factored the service time towards salary arbitration before calling him up”. I like how Ozzie Guillen says “if you want to criticize me, go ahead. I can take the heat. That way, the pressure will be off his players” That is good thinking. I’m sure that Ozzie takes the position that the criticism directed at him helps his players play well in the long run.
Paul Lentz
June 4th, 2009
10:48 pm
I realize that the Braves only have so much money to allocate towards payroll. I want the Braves to spend money on the right players who will help us win. After this year, the Braves will be in really good shape concerning payroll.
Potential payroll for 2010:
Jeff Bennent…………salary arbitration
Kris Medlen…………..Up to Braves
Tommy Hanson……..Up to Braves
Jair Jurrgens…………Up to Braves
Peter Moylan…………Up to Brvaes
Kenshin Kawakami….$8,333,333
Derek Lowe……………$15,000,000
Javier Vazquez……….$11,500,000
Mike Gonzalez………….free agent
Rafael Soriano……….free agent
That’s all 5 starters and 3 relievers all under contract. If the Braves resign both Gonzalez and Soriano, that leaves 2 or 3 more spots left to fill out the bullpen. Those non-closer spots are likely to cost the Braves somewhere along the Major League minimum.
That adds up to $34,333,333 plus whatever the Braves renew both Hanson and Jurrgens with…probably near $400k for Hanson and between $500-600k for Jurrgens. That is a little more than $35 mil for the starting 5. Plus another $1.5 or so for Bennett, Moylan, and Medlen. Total for the 8 pitchers….approximately $37 mil.
Field positions players:
Brian McCann……..$5,500,000
David Ross…………$1,600,000
Casey Kotchman…salary arbitration (2009 salary $2,885,000)
Kelly Johnson……..salary arbitration (2009 salary $2,825,000)
Yunel Escobar…….up to the Braves
Chipper Jones…….$13,000,000
Martin Prado……….salary arbitration (2009 salary $415k)
Matt Diaz…………….salary arbitration (2009 salary $1,237,500)
Omar Infante……….$2,475,000
Nate McLouth………$4,500,000
That’s 10 position players, 5 of whom will make $27,075,000. Yunel Escobar will probably get $600-700K, Matrin Prado $1.2-1.5 mil, Diaz $2-2.5 mil, Kotchman $4-4.5 mil, and kelly Johnson $4-4.5 mil. At most, those 5 add up to $13,700,000….which adds up to $40,775,000 for the 10 position players under contract.
Now many of you will say, what about Jeff Franceour? I’m assuming that the Braves will not tender him a contract. If they did, that would be the worst $5-6 mil investment imaginable.
Franceour aside, the 18 players under contract total $77,775,000. That gives the Braves financial flexibility to sign Soriano and/or Gonzalez. Or they can sign one free agent closer who can be a dominant closer. Also, they will have the money to sign a big bat, power, right handed right fielder. And they’ll need to fill out the roster with 3 bullpen guys, a starting left fielder, (unless they resign Garrett Anderson to form the Anderson/Diaz left field platoon) in which they will need 2 back-up outfielders.
Tim Hudson option is for $12 mil, with a $1 mil buyout. Obviously the Braves wont pick up the option. However if they can resign him for a reasonable salary, then that would offer them flexibility to acquire a right handed power right fielder. And of course cutting Jeff Franceour.
The Braves started this season with a $96,726,166 payroll (it would have went over $100 mil if they had added Glavine to the roster, which means that the Braves had budgeted for a $100 mil payroll). If the payroll doesnt increase, then that leaves the Braves with $23 mil to improve the team. However I feel that the Braves will be able to increase the payroll some, possibly $5-10 mil if they can get the right players.
So to sum this long posting up, the Braves have some real flexibility to improve the team. Obviously the projections do not include any trades that Frank Wren can swing in the next few months. Still, if he can make a wise trade, the Braves will be in really good shape, both on and off the field.
tke443
June 4th, 2009
10:49 pm
Wow I am shocked by Smoltz’s comments today. He blathers about money motivated release of Glavine even though he took off to Boston for money and a chance at a championship. The Braves made a business decision and he has the nerve to question it. He is no longer a Brave and should mind his own business. If anything he hasn’t earned a dime this year for his team.
John
June 4th, 2009
10:49 pm
How low have we gone that a .256 hitter is a savior? Its a good trade, but not a game changer. McLouth should be the third man in the outfield, not the first.
NLE Champs
June 4th, 2009
10:50 pm
Yes to Hanson being promoted
Yes to Glavine being released
Yes to McLouch being traded for
And I really wish John Smoltz would but out and shut his trap. Hes showing Atlanta what hes really about. All mouth and no respect for the organization that gave him so much. Remember John, you left on your own and Glavine is way over with. 63\60 record in the last 6 years. Yes fastball of 80 mph. Shut your trap John Smoltz and stick with your own team. You are the real traiter in all this John Smoltz.
GO BRAVES
Buster Olney
June 5th, 2009
12:21 am
THE LAST PART OF BUSTER OLNEY’S COLUMN
(On Tom Glavine)
(From the ESPN web site)
Tommy Hanson, who now takes a spot in the Atlanta rotation, is going to be a star, and he might have a chance of making the Braves better in the short term as well. He also plays for minimum wage, and because the Braves spend less on him than they might’ve spent on Glavine, they are in a better position to stay within their budget while pursuing outfield help. If you are running a fantasy team, this is the move you make.
But the Braves aren’t playing a board game. They were dealing with Glavine, who had played a major role in hoisting up the franchise after decades of failure.
Glavine had honored the contract he signed with Atlanta in February, done the work, pitched where he was told to pitch and done so with good results. At the very least, he had earned a start or two or three in the majors. If he had gotten pounded, well, then it would’ve been clear that Glavine couldn’t help the Braves.
But the Braves cut him and shoved him out the door before they had to pay him any more money, a move that is beneath them.
Davis
June 5th, 2009
4:51 am
A Pirate fan chiming in here. I’m still a little upset with the trade, but not nearly as much as I was when it first came out. I understand why the Pirates made the trade. If you Braves fans know anything about sports, ya’ll know how terrible our former GM, Dave Littlefield, was! The mention of his name makes me want to puke! He has dug the Pirates organization a huge hole and left the job of trying to climb out of it up to our new GM Neal Huntingdon. Littlefield left our farm system bare. Absolutely no depth, thanks to terrible drafts and terrible trades! Although it’s hard to see Nate go, we have got to add depth to our minor league system, and this was an opportunity to do that. I think what really made this deal go, besides the Braves offering us three good prospects, was the fact that our stud prospect, CF Andrew McCutchen, was ready to come up. He is going to be a future All-Star in is own right. So, although a lot of fellow Pirate fans (including myself a little bit) are still mad about the deal, we did it because we had a legit replacement in McCutchen and we have to add depth to our scarce farm system. I will be rooting for McLouth as hard as I can every game because I loved him and he’s a great person in addition to being a great player. Atlanta, ya’ll got a good one. I just hope our pitching coach, Joe Kerrigan, can work with Morton and turn him into a good pitcher.
JD
June 5th, 2009
7:45 am
Smoaks is still PO’ed that the braves did not give him a 10M contract to sit on his “BUTT” while he rehab. He need to keep his mouth shut about what the Braves is doing now. On Glavine he needs to retire along with Maddox and Smoaks they are used up. Go to the beach and wait for your turn to be voted into the HALL. All three deserves it. Just for the record I love all three and think they WERE the best in baseball. So have a great retirement.
T Burns
June 5th, 2009
8:02 am
Every one of these moves should improve the ML club. I love Glavine, but at his age, there’s little doubt that Hanson gives the Braves the best chance to win games. Schaefer’s struggles went so deep that there wasn’t going to be any working them out in Atlanta. My only concern there is that he’s no longer got a spot reserved in CF. He better learn to play on one of the corners.
Arthur
June 5th, 2009
8:16 am
I approve of each and every move the Braves made. The Braves owe Smoltz and Glavine exactly nothing. They were WELL paid for the years they with the Braves. I like Smoltz and Glavine, they helped make the Braves the team of the 90’s. It is time to move on with Hanson, Medlin, Lowe, Vasquez, Jurjens,McCain and Chipper(who seems to appreciate his good fortune and has earned ii). Way to go Mr Wren and all the scouts/managers and execs.
BravesFan
June 5th, 2009
8:47 am
Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz were the face of the Braves for years. Its over now and has been for a long time. The Braves tried to let it happen again and it exploded in their faces. After watching Glavine for several months they know he cant pitch. To let him come in and blow games is not fair to the team players. They are there to win. The Braves have a obligation to the other team members and as sad as it is all players end their careers. Its not the Braves fault that Glavine is no longer capable of being that pitcher they need. Not with Hanson hanging around AAA doing nothing but blowing hitters away game after game.
As for the trade we needed it. Jordan is not ready for major league hitting and he will be just fine as he continues his training in Gwinnett. I actually think we need one more piece to really take over and get to playoffs. It would be right field. Anderson is not speedy enough to get to the plays and hes not great at offense either. One more slugger would put this team over the top and capable of contending in the playoffs all the way to October. Without that one other player, we might get to the post season but we wont win againt the sluggers in the American League in the post season.
J Dub
June 5th, 2009
9:02 am
I have been a Braves fan all of my life and I love Smoltz and Glavine too but it is so hard for me to understand why the fans post all day every day about we want to compete again, tired of this losing, tired of not winning the division that we were so accustomed to winning. Then everybody dumps on Wren in the offseason for not making some moves to pick up some outfielders. Now some fans want smoltz and glavine back despite their age and effectiveness just because of their service with the Braves? As for Glavine, he made his bed when he jumped over to the Mets in my opinion. As for Smoltz, I was disheartened by his move but I don’t feel he is a 6 Mil a year guy anymore. It is time to step into 2009 and thank the guys that helped us in the past but move forward. Letting them go is not “disrespect” or forgetting what they have done. It is doing what is best for the team. Hanson may finish with a 7.00ERA as someone previously stated but I don’t see how anyone in their right mind thinks that Glavine is a better option unless you are living in 1995. Teams let people go, this is professional sports. You can’t have it both ways. We either compete to win at all costs or we bask in mediocrity by hanging on to aging stars because “we owe them something.”
Stephen
June 5th, 2009
9:43 am
Hands down everything that happened this week for the Braves is phenomenal! First, I love Glavine, but what people often forget is this is a business. Lets face it. Glavine might not be completely done, but considering moves made by management in the past, THIS was the right thing to do. Medlan in the pen will DRASTICALLY help sure up our relief core. Words cant describe how excited i am to see Hanson on the major league roster.(Hanson is a starter, its in his genes) I applaud the patience of Wren and CAN NOT agree that Glavine would help us more than Hanson. I don’t see these moves as helping us only this season. with McLouth being locked up with a very economical contract considering his potential and already proven ability to play MLB ball, no one should look at this as giving up on Shafer, the truth is that he needs more minor league experience. experience that i believe will be more beneficial to us and to him down the road. Our team right now is stronger on paper than ive seen in years. economically wise and its great to see us abandoning the “lets be painfully loyal” philosophy. I’m glad to see Wren setting an example to our so many wayward fans. I’m not ready to jump ship on Kawakami, but lets be real, eventually, we need a proven lefty in the rotation. so who knows, maybe a trade may be in order down the road. too early to panic, considering this season, in my opinion is a great start to building our team the right way. WELL DONE WREN!! lets keep it humble and wise, and we’ll do quite well. GO BRAVOS!!
Ralph
June 5th, 2009
11:36 am
Tom Glavine didn’t seem all worked up about our city when HE LEFT to go to the Mets a few years back. NOW all of a sudden, he is crying about what he did for this city, Please…..Tom Glavine was a GREAT PITCHER for The Braves, BUT at 42, with 18 to 20 year olds hitting him at Gwinnett and Rome, I think he would have been hammered on the Major Leage level. This “I think they wanted me to get hurt” is a bunch of BS. I don’t think anyone in The Braves organization EVER wants to see anyone get hurt. And the million bucks The Braves would have had to pay, come on, these days that is chump change to any Major League teams. Was it handled as smoothly as it COULD have been handled, maybe not. But baseball is a BUSINESS of WINNING, (Business being the key word there) and I, for one, don’t think Tom Glavine was at his best to help The Braves win.
Bo
June 5th, 2009
4:54 pm
I do not understand GLAVINES gripping. He should completely understand the Braves move was about the money, just like when he bailed on the Braves to go to the Mets for more money. Remember Tom, it’s only business and it is about the money.
Trade Wren
June 7th, 2009
11:04 am
I want Schuerholtz back as the GM. Wren is an embarrassment – how is it possible that he didn’t know this would be a mistake and a P.R. nightmare – - all for ONE MILL? Bad judgement, Wren! John Scherholtz has to clean up his mess? EMBARRASSING.
And as for the McClouth trade… I think Wren got a mediocre player for a top prospect. Braves are going nowhere, unfortunately.