Braves should pursue a trade for Adrian Gonzalez
Adrian Gonzalez hit 40 home runs last season for San Diego.
The last time the Braves made one of those, “The future is now,” trades, John Schuerholz sent a bundle of prospects to the Texas Rangers for Mark Teixeira.
Didn’t work out. Teixeira wasn’t the missing piece for a World Series team. He wasn’t even the missing piece for a second-place team.
Here’s another chance to get it right. I don’t know if the Braves are one player away from playing for a championship. But Adrian Gonzalez gets them closer than any other player they could acquire. Economics may force the San Diego Padres to trade the All-Star first baseman.
There is no downside to getting Gonzalez, other than whatever/whoever it is the Braves would have to send San Diego in a trade. But here’s the upside:
♦ He gives the Braves the power hitter and run producer their lineup desperately needs. His home run totals have consistently increased — from 24 to 30 to 36 to 40. Last year, he also drew 119 walks. With a.277 batting average, that gave him a .407 on-base percentage, which would’ve ranked first among Braves’ regulars.
♦ Gonzalez has a favorable contract: $4.75 million and $5.5 million in the next two seasons. Then he becomes a free agent. It’s the same situation the Braves faced with Teixeira (they traded him before the deadline in year two when they dropped out of the playoff race).
♦ Gonzalez is a better option than re-signing Adam LaRoche, who may require a three-year contract and isn’t nearly as good of a player. It creates a situation with prospect first basemen Freddie Freeman, but the genuine concern over that probably is a year away — unless Freeman is included in the deal.
♦ Gonzalez gives the Braves a power hitter in his prime to go with all of their pitching. It lessens the offensive load on Chipper Jones, who is coming off a down season, and takes the pressure off Wren for acquiring a high-impact corner outfielder to strengthen the lineup.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported at least three teams — the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston and Seattle — expressed interest in Gonzalez at the deadline last July. The newspaper also quoted a source saying, “I think it’s only a matter of time until they trade Adrian,” and reported the player was “conspicuously absent” from a season-ticket brochure mailed to fans.
He would be a needed boost for ticket sales — and the lineup — in Atlanta.
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286 comments Add your comment
desibrave
November 11th, 2009
7:35 pm
THIS IS A BIG WASTE OF A BLOG. Braves have nothing (that they be willing) to offer Padres that can land Gonzalez. Padres have solid young pitching, they need some hitting prospects and we don’t have anyone else but Freeman who wont be ready till 2011. So stop wasting time on this blog and talk about something else.
Braves fan since Milwaukee
November 11th, 2009
7:42 pm
My heart stopped momentarily. I thought the picture was Mike Hampton.
taxman kenneth
November 11th, 2009
8:32 pm
The braves would have to give up the rest of the farm for a 2 season rental which would be another Tex deal which the braves will never recover from. They won’t have a chance to keep him beyond the 2 year rental so forget it. Keep the farm system intact and let Freeman have a shot.
Brian
November 11th, 2009
8:40 pm
Don- do you get a kick out of repeating yourself so much? Honestly, the same asshat comments really do nothing to further discussion about what is best for the Braves organization heading into 2010. Besides, Cox is out after this season anyway. So i would expect our veteran guys to try to send him off on top. Anyways, if you have nothing better to say than “Bobby Cox is a terrible manager” then get off this board.
Sorry about that guys. Now as far as trades go, I say trade Vazquez for a hitter. He did have a great season last year, but as many have pointed out, his career numbers make last season seem like an aberration. I would be content with trying to give Lowe a second chance as a back end starter, as we already have 3 good starters (JJ, Hudson, and Hanson). I say Kawakami can either spot start or fill the long relief role. Hopefully, Heyward can continue his development in the minors to where we can call him up in the next year. I’m not sure we have all the pieces for a deep run in 2010, but we are getting there. Wow that turned into a book real quick, didn’t it. Have fun everybody, and GO BRAVOS!!!!
mrdonut
November 11th, 2009
8:51 pm
I think the Braves should resign LaRoche and spend or trade for a third baseman and a right fielder Father Time has caught up to Chipper who should be replaced by a slugger and while Church is good defensively he doesn’t provide the POWER we need from a right fielder. Don’t trade our pitching for hitting. Figure out something else.
Reid Adair
November 11th, 2009
8:59 pm
I like the idea of Adrian Gonzalez, but all the Braves really have to offer is Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe and Kawakami – or a combination thereof.
I doubt that San Diego is interested in anyone other than Vazquez.
Former Braves Fan
November 11th, 2009
9:01 pm
The Braves paying big money and making a trade for this guy are simple, NILL AND NONE and none has left the house. They might trade half the minors for him in a stupid Tex like deal again and be stuck with nothing in a year, but they certainly will never pay him the millions he will demand in a year as a free agent. Answer, no, keep your kids and move on. Sign Roch.
kazoo
November 11th, 2009
9:04 pm
The problem with a potential trade like this is that 1) you have to give up a lot to get him; and 2) you’ve got to offer him a huge contract in one or two years to retain him–or he signs with a big-market club and you’re screwed (assuming you didn’t win the World Series). LaRoche is a good player–not a great player, not a power guy, but underrated in my view. I would resign him. I also wouldn’t trade Vasquez. What’s the point of trading your best pitcher?
Goldenglove002
November 11th, 2009
10:01 pm
Silly, silly Jeff. You sound like some of the fans on the message boards. Of course it would be nice to get Gonzalez, but the Padres probably start the bidding asking for 2 of Heyward, Freeman, Hanson, Jurjens, Escobar. And that wouldn’t be all. Just not something that the braves can do.
Geo123
November 12th, 2009
12:02 am
Reid,
There is no way the Padres would be interested in Vaspuez. If they traded Gonzalez ir would be to replenish their farm system as well as cut costs. Vasquez accomplishes neither.
Geo123
November 12th, 2009
12:11 am
Goldenglove002,
I agree with you. I would expect more from a writer in a major newspaper. You have to be realistic in your trade options. Gonzalez is a star that’s signed cheap for 2 more years. People should quit making silly trade ideas like Johnson, Reyes and an average player/prospect for him. That is laughable. You will have to give quantity and quality (sorry Jeff) to get high quality. In actuality the Padres want position players other than a 1B because Blanks will move in there. If you offer them a good young affordable SP they’ll take it…
reason
November 12th, 2009
12:21 am
Give San Diego or any team both Lowe and Kawakami, these two are about 22 million dollar payroll (not worth it,) and throw Adam LaRoche, in the deal that’s another 8 millions, (not worth it,) between the three they could open up 30 million and get a few excellent players in returned, while giving Freddie Freeman a opportunity to play. The team can stop premastering or procrastinating such simple decisions. I think I heard someone say from the club, that they’ll have the prefect team in 2011 or was 2012 maybe 2015.
reason
November 12th, 2009
12:33 am
KEEP, Martin Prado, Jair Jurrjens, Nate McLouth, Javier Vazquez, Matt Diaz, Yunel Escobar, Omar Infante, Brian McCann, Barbaro Canizares, Brandon Jones, David Ross, Clint Sammons, this is a start and they don’t make in the millions like some dead beat on the team.
scottbravesfan
November 12th, 2009
12:36 am
I wonder about the people on this board.
LETS TRADE KELLY JOHNSON AND JO JO REYES FOR ADRIAN GONZALEZ!!!! Yeah that’s a great idea lets trade a bunch of junk for one of the best first basemen in the game. And the person who said Vazquez and Freeman, are you serous? Vazquez makes 11.5 million dollars and only has 1 year left on his deal. The Padres are rebuilding and can’t afford to pay Gonzalez 4.5 million but yet they are going to pay Vazquez 11.5? Seriously you guys have to think before you type. If the Braves were to try and trade for Gonzalez they would have to give up Freeman and the Padres would probably want either Jurrjens or Hanson. Either way I would not give up either one of those guys.
Coach (2010 - Mr. Overrated retires)
November 12th, 2009
3:50 am
Adam LaRoche is almost as much a no-brainer as Tim Hudson. Is LaRoche a superstar? NO but he is a slick glove over at first base and his power numbers are steady. The worst thing said concerning LaRoche is his reputation as a second half player and few realize just how many runs his glove saves on defense. If it takes 10 million per season for the next three years, do it. LaRoche is a guaranteed 25 HR, 85 RBI, .270 BA, 800 OPS, near gold glove machine over at first base.
As for my personal recommendation…….Luis Durango (the Panamaniac) is the sleeper who can be had for a bag of baseballs. Dude is just awesome to watch. He probably needs another full minor league season at triple A before he’s ready for the big leagues but Durango has the one thing which has been missing in Atlanta for too long. Raw, unadulterated, blazing speed. I keep looking at his impossible career minor league 193 Strike out/ 232 walk split and wonder, Why can’t anybody else see it for what it is? Is he Juan Pierre? NO, Pierre can’t switch hit or maintain an OBP of .400. Durango is faster than Pierre, switch hits and creates sheer havoc on the base paths.
At any rate, some enterprising GM will snatch his butt out from under the Padres and turn him into an everyday ML lead off hitter, and in a couple of years I’ll be screaming, I TOLD YOU SO! Just like Nelson Cruz.
BravesFanForever
November 12th, 2009
4:35 am
Shultz is not saying sell the farm! All he is saying is that we should at least ATTEMPT a trade. I see nothing wrong with inquiring.
Wren is not an idiot. He is not going to start out selling high. Come on people. Let’s get realistic here. He is going to start out low, put out the feelers and see what can swing this trade. If it ends up too much for our tastes then so be it. At least we tried.
I’m of the opinion that we are not going to have to mortgage the farm to get Gonzales anyway. I see nothing wrong with trading Freeman, Teheran, Schafer, and even Medlen. I think we have enough pieces in place now to get us by for the next few years until we have to reload. Getting Gonzales would fill a huge need for several reasons:
1. Elite teams have elite players. Period. You can’t expect to win the World Series with a team that consists of average to above average players. At some point you have to get some guys in who can win the big one.
2. Chipper ain’t what he used to be. If we are going to win NOW, we need an offense that can compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, and whoever… Gonzales would be a huge lift off Chipper’s shoulders and quite frankly with G batting clean up, don’t be surprised if Chipper has a huge resurgence. Maybe he won’t play much more than 120 games, but wow, would it be a very productive one! How much better protection can you get with one of the 3 best home run hitters in the game batting behind you??
3. We won’t need Freeman. Trade him. Besides, there is some question as to his supposed status along side Heyward. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he had some injuries which may have explained the poor results in AA. But you know, “they” all say that. The word “injury” always seems to come up to explain bad results. Please. He may not be the great prospect you all think he is. Don’t count your chickens people. Gonzo is for real NOW.
4. Gonzales hit 28 home runs on the road!!!! Man, get a clue people. He may have hit 50 if he was playing anywhere else but Petco! Guys like him are rare!
Come on, let’s not think that our farm system is static. Oh my, we lose all these supposed great prospects. 1. There is only so much room on the roster for all these people, 2. Only about 1 out of 5 great prospects ever makes it. I’m not talking about fringe prospects, I’m talking about GREAT prospects. Look back at all the wonderful can’t miss players that have come along in the Braves system and tell me how many are on a major league roster. Wasn’t JoJo considered a great prospect at one time? What about Marte and Frenchy? Look back at the 100 best draft prospects for the last 10 years and tell me where all these guys are. Look at all the #1 picks!! How many have made it?? 3. You can always reload. The team drafts every year and we are always bringing in new people. Gotta think in terms of what we will have 2 years from now and who is one years can’t miss is another year’s forgotten soul and what is one year’s so so player may be the next year’s elite prospect!
Don’t whine too much guys. That’s all I ask. The Braves system is a great one and I trust Wren to make the right moves.
BravesFanForever
November 12th, 2009
5:03 am
Trading away Medlen is not necessarily a bad thing. I would consider him a very good prospect since he did extremely well in AAA last year and he performed pretty well in the majors after a rough start. He is unique because he can start as well as relieve effectively. This is a very valuable commodity. I imagine he would be starting in Petco and would be a great addition to the Padres staff.
If we landed Gonzales, I’m certain we could either make a trade or sign a relief pitcher and/or fifth backup starter. Even if we had to pay more it wouldn’t be a big deal since the team would have saved so much in gaining Gonzales.
We could even attempt to dump Lowe on someone else without getting much in return for the sake of getting Gonzales. We would lose some pitching depth without having Medlen and Lowe but we don’t need 6 starters much less 5 since the fifth starter just isn’t that valuable. Most teams have some guy with a 5.00 ERA in this spot. With the huge increase in offense the Braves would gain we wouldn’t need to be as concerned about the 5th spot. And geez, we have Kawakami already.
Does anyone think that Jurrjens, Vazquez, Hanson, Hudson, and Kawakami isn’t enough? That is one heck of a starting staff people. Show me the weakness here especially knowing Kawakami is such a big game pitcher.
I’m certain one of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Angels would take Lowe’s $15 million a year/$45 million for the next 3 if it meant not giving up much. We would give up prospects for Gonzo, gain $15 million in letting Lowe leave, and then we could turn around and sign a free agent and use up some of that $15 million for left field and gain more depth in the relief corps.
Think about a line up that looks like this:
1. McClouth
2. Prado
3. Chipper
4. Gonzales
5. McCann
6. Heyward
7. Escobar
8. New leftfielder or Diaz
9. Pitcher
Or perhaps…
1. Diaz/new leftfielder (maybe get more speed and OBP)
2. Prado
3. Chipper
4. Gonzales
5. McCann
6. Heyward
7. Escobar
8. McClouth
9. Pitcher
Show me the weakness in this line up!! Swapping out Chipper for Infante when he is injured and juggling the line up a bit woudn’t matter much with Gonzo in there.
Combined with the great staff, I can see a World Series win coming. No other team can match the offense and pitching combo the Braves would have including the Phillies! Just need to make sure that the relief corps is shored up and the team could be devasting!
santa3247
November 12th, 2009
5:23 am
Hi, I’m Seong-Ho,Yoon living in Jinhae City southkorea now. I failed long-term vivouac this month for horrible wind.
Adrian Gonzalez? Turner field is wide ball park I think. Adrian in first adgust to teammate for his good record. But Adam don’t need such a thing.
This year without Adam Atlanta Braves must failed earlier in the postseason race. Adam LaRoche is now confident don’t you think? ^*^
Players are not robot just like machine, the environmental being is human but it can fail whole thing I think.
May the force of Messiah be with you
P.S: For over 4days Clouds over the sky of Jinhae City moved from East to West, but in the picture of satelite Clouds moving from West to East. ^*^ After collapsing Neutron, you can check what is real satelite, what is fake one. ^*^
jerry
November 12th, 2009
7:01 am
I am willing to bet that whatever the Braves do it won’t be enough to win a World Series.
Geoff
November 12th, 2009
8:54 am
This might have already been addressed throughout the blogging… but he is a Left-Handed stick.. something the Braves desperately do NOT need
dpelfrey
November 12th, 2009
9:16 am
I don’t know where to start with this. Gonzalez is a great baseball player and would be a massive upgrade to the offense, regardless of which side he hits from. But here are the con’s, which must be looked at:
1. The Padres will likely be seeking at least two top-tier prospects and a few mid-level prospects. That means a package for him would have to start with Freeman and probably also include one of our top pitching prospects such as Teheran, Delgado, etc. The Braves have one of the best scouting groups in baseball, which is the only reason why they were able to absorb the effects of the Tex trade and still have one of the better minor league systems. But it’s too soon to empty out the stables again.
2. Gonzalez is a lefty and we are trying to compete with the Phils, who arguably have the two best lefty pitchers in the NL with Hamels and Lee. The Mets have Santana and will probably end up with Wolf as well, so a lefty-loaded lineup will likely have a tougher time in the NL East than in most other leagues. The same problem exists with LaRoche as well, excepth he won’t be batting between Chipper and McCann.
3. Gonzalez is better than LaRoche, but is he THAT much better. Keep in mind the aggregate cost of Gonzalez will be less monetarily, but the cost of the lost prospects also needs to be considered. Any sabermetrics guys want to chime in on how many more wins the Braves could expect with Gonzalez over LaRoche. I know there’s some stat called WAR or something like that, isn’t there?
Don
November 12th, 2009
9:48 am
If the Braves cannot acquire someone like Gonzalez, surely they will not acquire some low BA, low OBA, high K hitter just because he hits 20 or 30 HR. This is the most overranked thing in baseball. A 20 HR hitter is hitting one about every 30 times at bat or one about every 7 or 8 games. A 30 HR hitter is hitting one about every 20 times at bat or one about every 5 games. You must also realize that for many of these HR hitters, a significant number of their HR are in meaningless situations – games that your are winning big or losing big; and also many of these HR are with no one on base. More significantly, for the low BA, low OBA home run hitter, this usually means that most of his HR are against weak pitchers – which usually means not in significant game situations. Instead of worring about HR totals the Braves need to be concentrating on having hitters who make consistant contact and have a good BA and OBA. Their biggest failure is failure emphasize this and the failure to teach, emphasize, demand working the count, being selecive, and making the pitcher throw some pitches — which Bobby Cox has never done. It is unbelievable that someone could manage for over 20 years and not understand the absolute necessity for this.
dpelfrey
November 12th, 2009
9:57 am
Hypothetical situation. The Braves don’t get the cherished right-handed power bat they had hoped for. What options are left?
I think a decent internal option would be to put Escobar in the cleanup spot behind Chipper. I think Yunel profiles better in the third spot long-term, but Chipper isn’t moving and with all the lefties in the lineup Bobby probably won’t bat righties consecutively if he can help it. That’ll move Mac down to 5th and won’t cause any major shifting of the lineup when Ross is catching.
The reason I suggest this is Yunel was one of the best in the NL with runners in scoring position last year and in my opinion, he’s only starting to touch on his power potential. I think this year or next he could be a slightly down-graded version of Hanley Ramirez, slugging in the mid-.500’s.
It’s not the perfect solution, but it might be an interesting option to consider. I’ve always thought the the idea of a masher in the clean-up spot is silly anyway. If you want to protect Chipper so he gets better pitches to hit, all you need behind him is a guy that’ll cause the pitcher to think, “If I don’t pitch to Chipper, then this guy is going to burn me.” Escobar could be that guy if his power stroke starts to mature a bit, like I expect it will.
Nova Scotia Steve - Is Worried
November 12th, 2009
11:54 am
I’m saying it would take a package like Freeman, Minor & Shaefer to get talks going on this one…maybe even another AA or A pitcher
Bravo
November 12th, 2009
12:55 pm
I love the idea of getting Gonzalez. But if the motivation for the padres is to shed payroll, then they wont be interested in getting Vasquez or Lowe in the deal. Anyways, Vasquez has a no trade clause to a West Coast team.
The idea of offering Freeman is interesting. This is the guy we have all been wating for as far as power goes. This close to him making the Bigs(1-2 years). does it make sense to move him now?
UGA Girls are Dawgs
November 12th, 2009
1:10 pm
We should sign LaRoche and get an outfielder like Beltran – he could be had if we offer a packaged including Jones, McCann, Vasquez, Lowe and Escobar. I think he would be well worth the price
Kelly
November 12th, 2009
4:59 pm
We should sign LaRoche and get an outfielder like Beltran – he could be had if we offer a packaged including Jones, McCann, Vasquez, Lowe and Escobar. I think he would be well worth the price
That is a terrible joke. Even the Mets would win a World Series champions with the lineup that they would have.
Mountain Brave Fan
November 12th, 2009
5:24 pm
Adrian Gonzalez is a great player, but I am not sure he is the best fit for the Braves.
The Braves struggled mightily against left-handers this past season (LaRoche .243, Escobar .232, McLouth .230, McCann .225, Jones .289). That is why the Braves need a big bat in the lineup who hits lefthanders well, regardless of whether this player is a first baseman or an outfielder, and regardless of whether this player hits left handed or right handed. Adrian Gonzalez hit .234 against lefties this past season, although his on-base percentage was a respectable .339. If we are talking about pie-in-the-sky trades, how about 1b Derrek Lee of the Cubs? He will be going into the last year of his contract, and after the 2009 season the Cubs had, no trade should be off the table. He hit .300 against lefties this year, with an on-base percentage against lefties of .444. He is a legitimate cleanup hitter. Unfortunately, he is the Cubs best hitter and would not come without a price.
I have also heard talk about a possible trade for Nelson Cruz of the Rangers. I don’t think he is a good fit for the Braves either. He only hit .235 against lefties with a .320 on-base percentage. Rivera of the Angels might be a better trade possibility, and cheaper. He hit .333 against lefties, with a .385 on-base percentage and .645 slugging percentage.
But Adrian Gonzalez at a reasonable price would be a no-brainer, even if he can’t hit lefties.
braveUK
November 12th, 2009
6:24 pm
They don’t match up very well with us if they just want to shed salary.
We need a team that is either rich, or like ourselves, near to making the play-offs but unlike us needing pitching, then we can swing a deal to get get rid of lowe and either kawakami or Vasquez for a bat and another part.
bob
November 12th, 2009
6:34 pm
lowe for vernon wells….wells in left field will hit 20 plus homeruns and be a good influence in the club…the money owed him in the out years will be offset by the money owed to lowe in the out years….toronto will do this and the braves should consider this.
DP
November 13th, 2009
7:23 am
I heard the brewers are willing to offer up hitting for pitching so we should send vazquez to mil. while his value is high for Gamel to send over to SD. Gamel, Freeman (extend Adrian Gonzalez so we dont need him), Shafer, and JoJo or Medlin in order to get Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell and Kill 2 birds with one stone. Use the leftover money to pick up an outfielder like Vlad and another releiver/set up (hopefully resign one of soriano/m.Gonzo). This way you keep Hanson/Heyward. Get Bobby Cox another ring and get Ron Gardenhire the following year. GO BRAVES!!
Old Gator
November 14th, 2009
8:58 pm
The Braves are more than 1 player away and look a what they have traded away over the last several years. No trades for prospects.
aaron
November 19th, 2009
8:57 pm
d.lowe for p.konerko
MIKE MANGAN
November 21st, 2009
10:23 pm
ok here we go again thinking about ways to mortgage our future.The Texira deal should have shown our mistakes.Lets not repeat it again,Perez,Harrison,Salty,Andrus and Bo Jones ought to make us think long and hard remember Tex and Mahay and say NO WAY.If the Padres would take JO JO Reyes.Schaefer,and Diory Hernandez plus Cody Johnson that we probably would do.Send Terry Pendleton along as a coach and bring Julio Franco in as hitting coach…
SD jimmy
November 22nd, 2009
9:35 pm
That deal only happens with Heyward and Hanson. Just two guys and you get a guy who will be equal or better of any 1B in baseball. Trust me, this guy has HOF potential. GG defense, outstanding makeup, he’s increased his homer output every year the past 3 years and did it in the biggest parks in baseball. He is a MONSTER and Heyward will never put up the kind of numbers Gonzo will. The price is a stud pitcher and athletic young player for a future HOF’er. You have 2 years to clear payroll to give him his 18-20 million. Do it!, Its a fair trade.
Unless you can figure out a way to get a 40 homer gold glove clean up hitter for 5 mill another way?
First base is Braves' most fixable problem: Adrian Gonzalez | Jeff Schultz
April 26th, 2010
2:26 pm
[...] A rumor popped up a few days ago that the Braves might have some interest in San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, which is interesting because I proposed the same thing in November. [...]