Can you really feel comfortable if Braves stand pat?
Are the Braves getting drunk on success, or do they need another piece?
If the Braves don’t make a significant trade before the deadline – and that seems to be the betting favorite – this is what you’re going to hear from general manager Frank Wren:
> “We like our team.”
> “We have Tim Hudson and Omar Infante coming back soon, and we like our team.”
> “In these tough economic times, we don’t feel it’s prudent to give up young prospects and take on a high-salaried veteran in a trade. And we like our team.”
And you know what? Those are all valid reasons to stand pat.
But a question: If the Braves go through this trading deadline without making a significant move to improve the roster — despite desperately trying to stay in the National League East divisional race and at worst being in the middle of the wild-card race — would you feel a little unsatisfied? Uncomfortable? Un-playoff-like?
The Braves used to be a player at the trade deadline. Even recently, when the Mark Teixeira deal didn’t work out, it said something that then-general manager John Schuerholz swung a trade that led many to believe had lifted the club up to a World Series contender.
Now the players are elsewhere. St. Louis dealt for Oakland’s power-hitting outfielder, Matt Holliday. Philadelphia continues to circle Toronto pitcher Roy Halladay. If the Phillies don’t land Halladay, the Los Angeles Dodgers may be next in line to get him. So there’s three National League teams — Cardinals, Phillies, Dodgers — in the mix for major players before October.
The Braves? Maybe nothing. I’m just not sure I’m feeling that mindset.
So it’s your turn. (Again.) Hey, you’ve had an entire off day to think about this. Are you OK with the Braves not being a player?
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207 comments Add your comment
shannon
July 28th, 2009
11:54 am
PLEASE GET SOME BULLPEN HELP I CANT STAND WATCHING MOYLAN IMPLODE OR MIKE GONZOLEZ ROCK HIMSELF AND ME TO SLEEP ON THE MOUND.
joemoedee
July 28th, 2009
11:56 am
@ submariner “Send Church, Kotchman, Gonzalez and a player to be named later to San Diego for Adrien Gonzalaz and bring back Schafer to platoon with Diaz to play right field.”
Wow, that’s a lousy trade for the Padres.
Adrian Gonzalez is the type of player to target, as he’s young and under contract for a few years. Plus, a proven talent. However, you’re going to have to give up Heyward and Freeman for him, plus a few other pieces, at least. Personally, if you’re looking to compete for the next few years (ie, the final Chipper Jones years), its a trade to make.
The upside on Heyward and Freeman is huge, but that’s all it is right now, upside. There’s no telling if they’ll be MLB stars or just another hyped prospect that fails to deliver. AGon will deliver results now, and for the next few years.
I’d like to see one more bat with some power, but at the very least, they need another arm in the bullpen. The Braves have used the main guys a ton, and considering three of them have had major arm surgery in the past 2 years… The chances of at least one of those arms blowing out is pretty high.
Bill
July 28th, 2009
11:58 am
Why would we want Glaus? He owns the DL and his contact is like 11 million next couple years…Just same NO to that deal.
Alex
July 28th, 2009
11:58 am
I wouldn’t do Heyward for AGonzo straight up. Heyward is going no where. Hitters like AGonzo grow on trees, hitters like Heyward don’t.
TurnThePage
July 28th, 2009
12:00 pm
I think Kelly Johnson could play the outfield some right now. No need to send him to the minors to do that. He came up as an outfielder so it hasn’t slipped his mind. I think by the trade deadline and when Omar Infante comes back, Greg Norton may not be on the team. That’s bad news because Atlanta needs a good pinch hitter but Norton just hasn’t hit. I think KJ could reinvent himself as a utility man along the lines of Omar Infante and Martin Prado. He has some skills if he just hits consistently.
joemoedee
July 28th, 2009
12:02 pm
“One good month for hitting is not a trend! If they don’t get a RF bat, they will not make the playoffs again this year. ”
The RF platoon looks solid, imo. You basically are looking at getting .300 from the two corner positions, and combined 35-40 HR. Nothing to write home about, but solid (And a solid improvement over what we thought we’d end up with at the beginning of the season). I wouldn’t make any major changes to the OF at this point, nor do I think the Braves will.
SP has been great, I’d put the Braves 5 plus whatever you get from Hudson up against any other team in the league. RP has been good, overworked. So we look there.
3B, SS, C… leave those positions alone. 2B with Prado / Johnson, not bad. Prado isn’t as good as he’s been, Johnson isn’t as bad as he’s been. It will level off to a solid place. 1B… Kotchman has been hot, but at the end of the day, at his best he’s Sid Bream.
RP, 1B… that’s what to target, in that order.
Tim
July 28th, 2009
12:05 pm
My opinion all along is that if you are looking to trade Javy Vazquez, then you are looking to deal the wrong player. You can make a very legitimate argument that Vazquez has been one of the top 5 starting pitchers in the NL this year. He has a 1.07 WHIP and 150 Ks against only 27 walks and a sub 3 ERA. Other than wins and losses his stats are very comparable to Halladay’s this year. I would only trade him right now for either a 35+ HR type hitter or top level minor league talent.
Moves do need to be made IMO to improve the team because the offense we have now will not be dependable in the long run, but trading Vazquez right now would be foolish unless your return value is elite
joe
July 28th, 2009
12:06 pm
Jeff Schultz….trading deadlines aren’t about what it feels like, it’s about results. Braves are getting the results we all want, over the last month, even with giving a few games away. This team is finally performing like the team we thought we were getting at the beginning of the season, a playoff caliber team.
joemoedee
July 28th, 2009
12:07 pm
“I hate to be blunt about the situation, the Braves need some African Americans on the team.”
Really? That’s going to change anything?
They didn’t win because those guys were AA… They won because those guys were good, no matter what color their skin was. The teams in the 90s just had better talent than the teams of late.
Isn’t that what the whole civil rights movement was about? Not basing things on the color of the skin?
Bravo
July 28th, 2009
12:08 pm
The Braves must, I say must consider moving Lowe for possibly a trade with the Angels for Brandon Wood and Will Smith. We could in that respect get maximum return. One of the starters are going to be moved this off season anyways, there’s no way we could afford a rotation of Lowe, Vazquez, Hudson, KK, JJ, and Hanson, pluse there’s a odd man out there. Lowe is by far the most expensive and expendable. Brandon Wood would be a great return, (young, has power, can play multible positions). Will Smith is a power lefty (AA minors) and is a local GA boy. After that move, the Braves could look for a 5th starter in the likes of Snell at Pit, or a lesser option (Davis, Garland). These options would come at a low cost. Snell I believe could be a high reward deal, Pit would be willing to take less to move him and I think he would fit the Cox mold for a young prospect. With these trades we not only take care of the future but we also solve our power needs this year with the ablity to move Kotchman in the offseason to replenish our minor system.
Reid in EAV
July 28th, 2009
12:08 pm
I’ll add my voice to those saying the Braves already made their “big deals” with McLouth and Church (especially the former, grand larceny of the Pirates if you ask me). And by getting both Huddy (who appears to be solid so far) and Infante back down the stretch, you’re getting the effect of some deadline deals.
That said, if it were me, I’d be starting Kelly Johnson the next few days (don’t be surprised to see that, btw) and dealing him right at the wire for a solid bullpen arm to relieve the pressure on the innings piling up there. (Remember the third-season we got out of the well-traveled Julian Tavarez?) Then when Infante comes back, I don’t see how in the world Norton doesn’t get DFA’d, particularly if he’s still hovering around .100 as a PH. And of COURSE Brooks Conrad comes back in September if not sooner. How can you not love a real-life Crash Davis?
joemoedee
July 28th, 2009
12:10 pm
“I wouldn’t do Heyward for AGonzo straight up. Heyward is going no where. Hitters like AGonzo grow on trees, hitters like Heyward don’t.”
How many Major League homeruns has Heyward hit? How many All Star games has he played in? How many Gold Gloves?
Face it, Heyward is a 20 year old unproven commodity. Until he becomes a major league star, or even, a major league player, we have no idea what he’s going to become.
AGon is not Pujols, but he’s as good of a 1B as the Braves have had in 20 years.
Bill
July 28th, 2009
12:12 pm
Hitters like AGONZO grow on trees……Where can I find some tree to plant?
Mr T…we have TP as hiiting coach, We had Bill Lucas first Black GM. We have the Greatest player of all times,Hank Aaron. I don’t believe its on purpose we don’t have more. The main thing is to win no matter the color. God loves us all.
Dean
July 28th, 2009
12:14 pm
I think the way to look at this is simply, do you want to really make a run at the Phillies or go for the Wild Card? And, I think Wren is thinking that the division is probably lost. Cause if you want the division the Braves still need a big bat. But. I think the wild card slot is attainable with the team that’s on the field. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but that’s the basic fact. I still think the Braves need bullpen help. I can’t imagine that this group is going to stand the rigors of a big stretch run and the playoffs. They are just used up already.
Bill
July 28th, 2009
12:15 pm
Yes, I’d take Gonzo in a heart beat. Great player for years to build future around.
Eric Goldberg
July 28th, 2009
12:16 pm
Braves don’t need to make a major trade. Lineup is starting to hit; starting pitching is fantastic. Only upgrade they need — a good arm in the bullpen to add depth — can be achieved through a minor deal: shipping Kelly Johnson or Omar Infante for a reliever.
Ralph
July 28th, 2009
12:17 pm
I like our team as it is with 3 exceptions, lst what are the economics of releasing Greg Norton, pay his salary for the remainder of the year. 2nd Fire Pendelton and bring up the G-Braves hitting coach, and 3rd Fire Bobby Cox because he is not into winning anymore, just a paycheck, becoming senile.
Alex
July 28th, 2009
12:18 pm
AGonzo is a power hitting 1b, yeah he does still hit for a good average but he isn’t worth Heyward. I would include Freeman for him because hes the same thing as AGonzo, but Heyward is a 5 tool OF.
Bravo
July 28th, 2009
12:18 pm
Why would you trade Heyward for A Gonzalez? Heyward is going to be a beast. Not proven talent? Did you not watch him in the spring at 19yrs of age? please. No reason to grab a 1st baseman hitting .248 when you can move Lowe for the likes a Brandon Wood whom you can control for the next few years at a reasonable rate. A Gonzalez is going to cost you plenty not only in terms of contract but in prospects as well. Wood has as much if not more power but has a better average.
HAL
July 28th, 2009
12:18 pm
you know what stand pat even if we miss the playoffs which we might if the kind of trade genius john made are made again we will pay for it for ten years as we are now doing for the boneheaded tex trade stand pat when heward freeman and maybe scheafer if he gets a brain or a batting coach who has one are all here next year we will compete for the devision and the ws if anything over the winter see if somone will take loaf and try to get one more hard throwing young arm for the pen
Alex
July 28th, 2009
12:20 pm
The reason the Braves would never deal Heyward for AGonzo is the same reason why they didn’t deal Hanson for Peavy.
Bravo
July 28th, 2009
12:20 pm
A Gonzalez has had a declining avg over the past 4 years he’s been in the majors.
Arkansas Transplant
July 28th, 2009
12:23 pm
Bravo, I’m with you. Lets keep Heyward and move Lowe for Wood.
Braves Mom
July 28th, 2009
12:24 pm
What would you trade for? Starting pitching is good, bullpen is good (maybe one more middle relief guy? but what do the Braves give up to get it?), and an offense that, when everyone executes, is good. To me that’s the key, offense needs to produce and do what it is capable of.
I will say that I think Wren has done a good job so far.
Smoltz is 1-4, Glavine was done in my opinion, and Frenchy needed a fresh start.
I don’t know if we will catch the Phillies (if they get Halladay, forget about it), but I think the wildcard is a possiblity.
They need to stay hot, here’s to hoping they will.
I miss October baseball.
Braves Mom
July 28th, 2009
12:25 pm
And to Ralph “Bobby is not winning anymore”.
What is the record since the All Star Break?
Just wondering.
richbrave
July 28th, 2009
12:26 pm
I like our team. And no trade of VASQUEZ. No way, no how. KAWAKAMI, sure, no problem.
Bravo
July 28th, 2009
12:28 pm
Yeah, I think a Lowe for a Brandon Wood and Will Smith would be our best option. Smith may not be far off from being major league ready, Wood is ready now. A Johnson for Snell and Grabow would fill needs in the rotation and bullpen.
Al D
July 28th, 2009
12:29 pm
The Texiera deal was a fiasco. Three of the prospects we gave up are in the Major Leagues today.
I would rather watch a kid from AAA like Brooks Conrad then an over the hill bum like Greg Norton.
Stand pat, get rid of Kelly, it will do him and the team good and develop the kids.
PS, I would trade Chipper in a heart beat….he’s the worst producing 3 hitter in the league.
richbrave
July 28th, 2009
12:30 pm
KOTCH will do until FREEMAN arrives. Then lets see how FREDDIE does. If he pulls a SCHAFER O.K., then go look for a new 1B.
Nova Scotia Steve
July 28th, 2009
12:32 pm
I read an interesting post the other day on AJC…maybe on Caroll’s blog.
Someone posted that “there’s no way the Phillies hitting can remain this hot for the remainder of the season” – something along those lines -
Well after last night we’re 7 GB…8 in the loss column…I don’t see the Phillies collapsing…I think our only route towards the playoffs is via the Wild Card.
Furthermore I don’t believe the Braves can continue to hit this well for the remainder of the season either…we’re going to cool off..I’m sure Frank Wren is hoping we don’t get too cold and fall out of the race…hey we all are…So while we’re hot we need to make up as much ground as possible on these Wild Card teams and get the lead as quickly as possible…which could still be two to three weeks away!
Go Braves
Antonio Gramsci
July 28th, 2009
12:33 pm
There’s no reason to trade for anyone. There are too many holes on this club as it is currently configured, and the need for our prospects to develop is too great. This team wouldn’t make the playoffs without adding both pitching and hitting. The economics, and the need to develop the farm system, and the fact that the team needs too much help, preclude doing anything but dumping a veteran for prospects.
peric i
July 28th, 2009
12:33 pm
The Braves have some good chips to trade in Triple A, Blanco and Conrad. If we could get some young arms then it would be worth a shot but I would not mess the big club right now except to get rid of Norton.
Eric from MO
July 28th, 2009
12:33 pm
The Braves have already made two good trades to improve our team this season. They just didnt wait til the end of July to do it.
John
July 28th, 2009
12:34 pm
We have already made two trades. Mclouth and Church. I think that says we want to win. And we could make a trade for a reliever at the deadline too, but we are not going to trade for a Roy Halladay type player, not too smart considering the Talent we would have to give up.
richbrave
July 28th, 2009
12:34 pm
Reid in EAV:
CHARLIE MORTON’s my man. I think, barring injury, you will see that he is a solid ML pitcher. I do not think we got the better of that trade. I think it was a win-win for both clubs.
auburnfan1
July 28th, 2009
12:36 pm
I was sad to hear that we wouldn’t be making another move, but once that settled in i was content with what we have as a team. We already made two big moves in getting McClouth and Ryan Church, which boosted our defense to a new level. We also dont need to risk losing our prospects who have always proven to be great players. I hope we make the playoffs this year, but I’ve got my eyes set on these next few years. I can’t wait for Heyward and Freedmen to come up
BrandonC
July 28th, 2009
12:36 pm
I like the way this team is playing. Bobby is finally using the lineup the right way and everybody is feeding off of each other. Wren got rid of some dead weight in the lineup and it’s helped a lot. I’v thought for the past couple of years that this team was being built for 2010, and I still believe it now more than ever with the emergence of Tommy Hanson and with Jason Heyward coming next year. We will have an unbelievable rotation next season and I fully expect Wren to make a big move for a bat in the offseason this year, since last winter was the rotation rebuild. If they need anything right now it might be another arm for the pen.
Alex
July 28th, 2009
12:39 pm
Al D, You would deal chipper? The heart and soul of this franchise right now? Thats the reason why your not the GM. Stick to the video games.
Steve
July 28th, 2009
12:41 pm
Sure it would be nice to get a Power Hitting 1B but Kotchman has been solid defensively and the get can hit. There is nothing out there really that we need except for maybe another arm for the bullpen. I say keep the prospects we have. I like the way we look with Hudson and Infante due back soon.
Marty
July 28th, 2009
12:44 pm
Can we please put the comments about how bad the Texeira trade was us to rest?
Jarrod Saltalamacchia is batting just .243 with a terrible .661 OPS, and he is not exactly a defensive superstar (6 errors in 72 games started).
Elvis Andrus has an awful .668 OPS so far this season, and his stolen bases are down significantly (largely due to his .315 OBP, no doubt).
Neftali Feliz has pitched pretty well, but has yet to crack the majors and still has control problems and lacks a major-league ready second pitch to go along with his 100 MPH fastball.
Matt Harrison has a career 5.76 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 26 major-league starts.
I know that people love to rail against “mortgaging the future,” and obviously Teixeira’s arrival did not culminate in the playoff run that the Braves hoped for, but let’s be realistic here. With the possible exception of Feliz, what exactly should we be so sorry we parted with? Even if Salty or Andrus improve, they are both blocked in Atlanta by better players. Harrison has been absolutely horrendous as a major-leaguer, Feliz is not ready for the majors yet, and I’m not sure what we’d do with him if he were.
If the Teixeira trade goes down as John Schuerholz’s biggest failure or the Braves’ worst trade in recent years, I think that speaks volumes about how good most of their moves have been.
spiritofstlouis
July 28th, 2009
12:48 pm
How about Brendan Ryan ( great glove, batting around .300 ), John Jay ( top rated OFer in the St.Louis organization ), P.J. Walters ( young pitcher with MLB experience ), and Joe Mather ( plays multiple positions, above average power ) for that headache at SS you have ?
Big Willy
July 28th, 2009
12:49 pm
no need to do anything right now.
there’s no way we catch the Phils, & the team we have has plenty of talent to stay w/SF, St Louis & CO in the WC chase.
Braves re-tooled in the off-season by overhauling the rotation…great move.
they should wait until Nov/Dec to make any major moves.
all we need now is continued moxie, more of the same from Prado, Esco, Mac, etc.
if you can get a bullpen arm (or even a few prospects) for KJ, great – do it.
if not, let’s dance w/these here boys that brung us back from the dead these last 20 games.
oh – & make sure Conrad returns from Gwinnett ASAFP. that kid has the kind of Lenny Dykstra attitude we need more of
RonnieFranchise
July 28th, 2009
12:51 pm
Wren caught a lot of junk over the Smoltz and Glavine debacles. Looks like he had it right along.
Like all of you said, Frenchie was addition by subtraction. His poor attitude was clearly hurting the team. The team obviously liked him and wanted him to do well, but when he didn’t the team sunk with him. I would have been fine trading Frenchy for a bag of balls and Biff Pocoroba’s old glove.
The infusion of Infante and Hudson, with maybe an appearance of Freeman and Heyward in September will add even more of a boost to the lineup. Don’t mess with the pitching, compared to last year it has been a thing of beauty. I understand the need for another arm in the pen, but I think that can be solved by rotating Acosta, Logan, and Buddy (when he gets back).
WNCfan
July 28th, 2009
12:54 pm
Like most everyone else on the blog, I like this team and will go so far to say that if the Braves could have fielded this team from April 5 onward, the postseason would be much more of a certainty. I, too, would prefer to see Conrad rather than Norton on the roster, and when Infante is ready, Johnson might have to bumped somewhere. Pitching, small ball, and hustle is winning games. McCann is a stud, Escobar is proving a lot of people wrong, and I suspect additional power will be found in the September call-ups.
Bobby Dacula
July 28th, 2009
12:56 pm
Like everyone, I had serious concerns about the Braves back in May. Since then, I see a team that has bonded and has a bit of swagger in it’s step. Regardless of whether they make the post season, I have enjoyed watching them over the last month and hope the trend continues until the end of the season.
Roy Hobbs
July 28th, 2009
12:57 pm
I would still love to see this team find some speed and power, but not at the expense of prospects. Some of these guys are playing very good baseball right now. Ride it out and hope things break in our favor this year.
Gabron Salome
July 28th, 2009
1:00 pm
I think we could use another strong pitcher in the bullpen. Even though I know most will disagree, I think the hitters we are looking for down the stretch are in our minors. Heyward, Freeman, and how can you not like Brooksie? Nobody ever likes to hear wait till next year, but the Phillies and Mets and Marlins will have there hands full of the Braves. Were almost back. Prediction: Braves will win another World Series before Chipper retires, and I’m gone.
Atticus
July 28th, 2009
1:01 pm
b baron,
I was only mentioning people on the major league team. I agree with you actually that we shouldn’t reproduce the Texas trade if we knew there was NO WAY we would resign Tex.
But to make it out like it bankrupted our organization is just wrong. Sometimes you go for it and if we had gone to the playoffs it would’ve been worth it because none of those players would be playing for us. I agree with you the trade to make is when you can get a player for less, that is the key to any trade. To say like peopl eon here that you don’t ever make trades of young guys for proven veterans is just stupid. Sometimes you build up your farm JUST for that purpose. I will take a proven all-star over a prospect any day of the week unless they are franchise players like McCann or Hanson or Heyward. None of those TX are franchise players in my opinion.
Wren missed on that one but he has done pretty well otherwise.
Ebenezer Snerdberg
July 28th, 2009
1:07 pm
Hey Ya’ll
Everybody would like one more big bat,one more good arm. Yeah WHO? Tell me I’l listen. Who’s gonna take Norton? Nobody’s hurtin’ that bad!
NO MORE BOBBY
July 28th, 2009
1:11 pm
We need another arm for the bullpen. Preferably someone with a last name that is similar to Moylan since Bobby likes calling on that one so much.