Braves, Wren send right message with deadline trades
Rick Ankiel, a converted pitcher, hit 25 homers in 2008 and will fill the Braves' void in center field.
Sports fans scream for a championship every season. But really all most expect is for somebody in the executive suite — whether it’s the person who’s making trades or clutching the checkbook — to care as much as they do.
As a general rule, “We’re building for next season,” just doesn’t play well with the guy in the $6 seat.
Given that, the Braves should be commended today. They’re being as passionate and proactive off the field as they have been on it. They’re trying to win now, not sitting back and praying for unicorns.
Maybe Philadelphia’s acquisition of Roy Oswalt spooked them a little. Maybe they see something special in this team. Maybe they’re intent on trying to send Bobby Cox out with a championship.
Kyle Farnsworth excelled as a closer for the Braves in 2005.
Does it matter?
Drink this up Atlanta: You have a team going for a championship.
Faced with a tight trade market and a thin budget, general manager Frank Wren managed to improve the team anyway. This is the way things are supposed to work with playoff contenders at trade deadlines.
Trade deadlines highlight the serious players and expose the pretenders.
The Braves made a five-player trade with Kansas City. Outfielder Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth come this way. Gregor Blanco, Jesse Chavez and prospect Tim Collins go that way. If you break this deal down by player, Chavez’s exit will result in the loudest single cheer. At some point, the question became not whether he would make it as a Brave, but whether he would make it to the parking lot.
He had a 5.89 ERA. He had given up six home runs, 40 hits and 12 walks in 36 2/3 innings. Torch-carrying villagers were starting to wait for him outside the stadium.
But Ankiel and Farnsworth provide immediate help. Ankiel can fill the Braves’ black hole in center field. He brings some power (having his 25 homers in 2008), even if he’s currently hitting only .261 with four homers. Farnsworth, who was briefly a lights-out closer for the Braves in 2005, has been strong out of the bullpen this season (3-0, 2.42).
Neither is a centerpiece. Neither has to be.
They fit what the Braves need and what this team has become. The roster lacks star power, but makes up for it in depth, aggressiveness and chemistry. They just needed a boost lately, with Philadelphia rising, the lineup settling and Troy Glaus looking more and more like a one-month wonder.
Credit Wren. If this and other recent moves lead to the Braves’ first postseason berth since 2005, he may have just sewed up Executive of the Year honors.
Approaching the trade deadline, Wren had to feel like he was duct-taped to a lamp post. Dead money was killing the budget. Fact is, for all of Wren’s success in rebuilding the roster over the past three years, he still was paying the price for three significant miscalculations: Derek Lowe (four years, $60 million), Kenshin Kawakami (three years, $23 million) and Nate McLouth (three years, $15.75 million). The three read like a bad 401k portfolio.
Lowe was signed to be an ace. He quickly become a fourth starter making $15 million a year. Kawakami was signed to be a second or third starter. By midway through this season he couldn’t even hang on to the No. 5 job and was jettisoned to the bullpen.
Nobody has seen him since. He’s like D.B. Cooper.
McLouth, acquired from Pittsburgh, was expected to be the perfect bridge to Jordan Schafer. That’s an “oops” to the second power.
Expensive mistakes hamstring general managers. Lowe, Kawakami and McLouth represent $27 million of an $85 million payroll (31.7 percent) this season. Factor in Chipper Jones’ $14 million contract, and that’s $41 million for four players (48.2 percent).
Wren suggested in recent days that he likely wouldn’t do anything. The market was too tight. The budget seemed blown. He also kind of liked his team.
“We’re talking to teams,” Wren said a few days ago, “but we’re not putting a full-court press on.”
Either he was being less than truthful then or something changed. Doesn’t matter. He chose not to sit back. Serious teams don’t do that. The message about this season seems clear.
♦
You don’t need no stinkin’ DVR: Last 3 posts
♦ Dwight Howard opens up on LeBron, Shaq and Josh’s wedding (sssh)
♦ Roy Oswalt going to Phillies, and Braves need to respond
♦ Blank says Falcons are playoff team again (and maybe more)
♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC and Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
490 comments Add your comment
Chip Shot
July 31st, 2010
7:42 pm
Jeff, do you hear ANYTHING about the Braves calling up Freeman? He’s beastin right now.
Jt
July 31st, 2010
7:43 pm
Jeff, Jeff, Jeff. This is not an upgrade. Needed a centerfielder- best one out there was Blanco. Melky cannot do it. Every flyball is an adventure-turning every which way. Blanco can defend and get on base- Prado is gone for 2 weeks maybe. Need a hitter who can put pressure on the defense of the other team. Ankiel is a WAS- not a NOW!!! This is a knee-jerk reaction that does not upgrade- it downgrades!
Alberto
July 31st, 2010
7:43 pm
To the list of Frank Wren failures, Schultz should add Glaus, a season .244 hitter hitting .237 with runners in scoring position. The lynchpins of the team have been Hudson, signed long ago, and Prado, McCann, Venters, Hansen, and Jurrjens, all Braves products. With the one exception of Wagner, who has been good so far, Wren has not made any move that he deserves credit for.
And Carbrera is batting .308 and slugging .487 in the second half!!!! How is that a “black hole in centerfield,” and how will “I bat .240 unless I’m on HGH” Rick Ankiel improve over that, Schultz??
Tweets that mention Braves, Wren send right message with deadline trades | Jeff Schultz -- Topsy.com
July 31st, 2010
7:49 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by katewilson, Jeff Schultz. Jeff Schultz said: Braves, Wren send right message with deadline trades http://bit.ly/df0lgP [...]
mikeDW
July 31st, 2010
7:50 pm
Honest question:
Is there a reason why we didn’t give Blanco a real shot in the outfield?
Dave
July 31st, 2010
7:50 pm
It’s certainly not a bad trade because we didn’t really give anything up. Blanco was never going to be more than a singles hitter who can’t steal bases despite being relatively fast. Farnsworth is a good reliever, and losing Chavez is addition by subtraction, but we upgraded an area that didn’t really need upgrading. Unfortunately, a deep bullpen doesn’t help if you can’t get the lead, and the Braves have been struggling, particularly with runners in scoring position.
Ankiel doesn’t help our pennant chances in the slightest. Wren went out and got yet another low-OBP, occasional home run guy. We needed another clutch hitter in the lineup, someone who can consistently get a key hit or advance a runner, and he didn’t get it done. Of course, there weren’t any realistic options out there for center-field that really fit the bill. It’s nice that he made the team a tiny, tiny bit better, but I don’t think this trade realistically makes any difference in our pennant hopes.
Chippers Daddy
July 31st, 2010
7:50 pm
Deal is a wash. Ankiel is a career .252 hitter. Farnsworth will be a welcome addition, especially over Chavez. But to say that the Braves didn’t have better options internally for this bullpen is a lapse in organizational knowledge. Marek and Kimbrel are both ready. Beachy is close. Not overly ecstatic on the deal, i suppose Wren made this happen for the sake of saying at least he didn’t do nothing? Correct me if I’m wrong…
Spartacus
July 31st, 2010
7:50 pm
some of you “baseball fans” just don’t get it! Ankiel is an upgrade over any other option we’ve had in centerfield this year. I’ve watched most of the Braves games this year and Blanco is really a below average centerfielder. He continually takes bad routes to balls in the gap, doesn’t hustle to balls hit in front of him and has a really weak arm. Ankiel gets injured by hustling to everything and trying to catch everything. He has a cannon for an arm, and at .261 on a terrible team, he will be an immediate upgrade in the offense at the 7th or 8th spot. Blanco never really understood how to use his speed and even when he was sent down, he had started to come back to his normal meager offensive numbers. The Braves made a move to improve in two areas of the team, centerfield and the back end of the bullpen. I say, job well done!
TheDream
July 31st, 2010
7:53 pm
Nice Article Jeff…..but speaking of MIA pitchers, what the heck happened to Scott Proctor? He was pegged to be rehabbing earlier in the season and was supposed to help provide depth and a bit of leadership in the bullpen. However, nobody has heard from him since spring training. What gives?
Chippers Daddy
July 31st, 2010
7:55 pm
BTW I saw somebody bash the Vasquez trade? Have you seen Vasquez’ ERA lately. He had a career year here in Atlanta. He wouldn’t have done it again, and his career ERA was over 4 even with his great year here. Not to mention we got a top 100 mlb prospect that could be dealt for a quality player if we really wanted to. which we wont because he is a good player. so dont be so ignorant and shortsided when evaluating previous trades…
Chippers Daddy
July 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
http://thebravechop.blogspot.com/
THE OBGYN
July 31st, 2010
7:56 pm
Solid Trade. Kyle F is a good addition. Huge upgrade over Chavo… Ankiel is a throw in gamble. If he pans out and stays healthy the rest of the year hits 10 to 12 homers total then he’s better than what we would have had. If he hits 15+ for the year we really won the gamble… If he does less than well we were just as well to keep blanco… I’m thinking he’ll end up with 10-12 and we’ll be moderately satisfied by him.
Braves grab Kyle Farnsworth and Rick Ankiel from Royals – USA Today | Hot Topics
July 31st, 2010
7:57 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
Alex The Great
July 31st, 2010
7:58 pm
This is a trade that a cheap team makes. When you have teams with 100+ million dollar payrolls, you make trades like the Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, etc. The Braves want to play with the big boys but can’t. On top of all that, they gutted the minors for Mark Texeira. We will pay for that for years to come.
Can’t come to a war with a pee shooter, folks.
Tomahawk
July 31st, 2010
7:58 pm
Well… I have to very respectfully disagree with you Mr. Schultz. It seems to me Wren is actually more focused on the coming years than really making a huge push for this year, which isn’t terrible. This year’s team has played pretty darn well and will more than likely make it to the post-season. However, it’s still a hitter away from having a solid lineup. If Wren was really serious about going for it this year, as you have stated, Jeff, he would’ve traded better talent for better players. The offense is good, but doesn’t scream “we’re going to take down your best three starters in a best-of-five series.” Wren knows that. He also knows that the organization is going to spend the next couple years promoting the likes of Freeman, Minor, Delgado, Salcedo, and Teheran. This is NOT the year for the Braves to go all in. Thanks to Wren’s brilliant waste of half the budget, the Braves have become a team that simply cannot sustain a competitive team without getting very significant contributions from young, cheap, controllable talent. That talent, Braves fans is on its way… but we can’t jump the gun too early. Patience is the real key to the Braves competing over the next few years, and Frank Wren is doing a very good job of being patient.
BUT don’t even think of counting out the current team. They don’t have a murderer’s row, but they have very good pitching and should be expected to make some noise this year.
William in Pasadena
July 31st, 2010
7:59 pm
Come on Schultz. Do you expect us to buy this crap. Why are you AJC writers such wimps and refuse to challenge the Braves management? This trade swaps scrubs for scrubs. It appears Wren is just pulling the ole rope a dope that he tries to improve the team. This fits in with all the other junk he has brought in. All I can say is, only 3 more months of Cox, and I hope he gives Wren, Chipper and Glaus a ride out of town when he leaves. Lowe, Kawakami, and McLouth’s $27 million would have brought a stud hitter,but, like I said, we like a lot of scrubs. I’ll take one stud over a bench full of scrubs anyday. Then you writers and Braves brass try to sell us on the idea of depth. I’ll bet NY writers wouldn’t be such kiss ups.
todd grantham
July 31st, 2010
7:59 pm
some speed would have been nice.
Braves grab Kyle Farnsworth and Rick Ankiel from Royals – USA Today | NH Seacoast Liberty
July 31st, 2010
8:00 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
Keith Law
July 31st, 2010
8:02 pm
KEITH LAW OF ESPN ON THE TRADE
“Atlanta has made itself marginally better, maybe, but it gave up a valuable, cheap middle relief piece who was a big part of why I liked its deal with Toronto earlier in the month.
Rick Ankiel is a bench piece who can’t play center every day, doesn’t control the zone and has had trouble staying healthy. He has raw power, but his ability to get to it has declined as pitchers have exploited his weakness against off-speed stuff. Kyle Farnsworth is actually having something rare for him — a good year — partly due to good control, but partly due to luck keeping the ball in the park, which isn’t likely to continue for a guy who’s not a ground-ball pitcher and tends to work with straight heat up in the zone.
The Royals get one real prospect in return, diminutive lefty Tim Collins, who can’t be mentioned in print without some reference to his height. I wrote when Atlanta acquired him in the Yunel Escobar deal that he “has dominated at every level where he’s pitched, including AA this year; he has great feel, a solid-average fastball and changeup with an above-average 12-to-6 curveball, but unless he improves the breaking ball or continues to improve his walk rate, he’s probably more of a setup guy than a potential closer.” Needless to say, nothing has changed in the last two-plus weeks, although Collins did face 29 batters in Atlanta’s system, striking out 14.
Gregor Blanco is a solid fourth outfielder who works the count a little and can play all three outfield positions but has no power and won’t hit enough to play every day. Jesse Chavez has been below replacement level this year for Atlanta, but I could see him being better than that for the next two years for KC as the 11th or 12th man on their staff.
Landing Collins alone for Farnsworth and Ankiel is still a solid return for the Royals, who retain their lead over Arizona in the race for the most quality left-handed arms in one farm system.”
Orlando Cepeda would help
July 31st, 2010
8:05 pm
At the very least, it frees Hinske from outfield duty, allowing Melky to play left, Hinske to first and let Troy rest his aching feet/knees. Without his base, his hitting has no chance.
Greg
July 31st, 2010
8:06 pm
Forget the Chavez part of the trade. Saito just lost his job to Farnsworth. Look at what will be the new late inning reliever rotation and the trade makes sense.
South Georgia
July 31st, 2010
8:07 pm
Trade is acceptable but can anyone convince Bobby Cox to take out starting pitcher before he gives up three runs when he is obviously through for day?
CECIL UPSHAW
July 31st, 2010
8:07 pm
JEFF,YOU ARE DEAD WRONG ON THIS ,BUD!!! THIS IS MUCH TO DO ABOUT NOTHIN’!!! WAIT ,YOU DO HAVE ONE THING RIGHT…..WREN WILL BE THE G.M. OF THE YEAR IF THIS WORK’S,HOWEVER DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH!!!
Ray
July 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
Another deal where we trade someone (Chavez) whose value has dropped to almost nothing. Just like Francouer, Reyes, Escobar. Ankiel and Farnsworth were available as free agents, but the Braves didn’t pursue them. Now, they have to deal assets to get them. Also, the 2 options are way too high for the Braves so these guys are simply rentals -as usual. But compared to the Soriano deal (which now amounts to a complete giveaway), this deal isn’t so bad.
Mathman
July 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
I agree, bring up Freeman. The Braves won’t though. Who would you send out? The choices would be Diaz, Cabrera, Conrad, Hinske, Ankiel, or Ross. We only carry a 13 man roster with 12 pitchers. So, which one of the above would you send out?
Answer: The Braves will continue to run Glaus out there, maybe resting him occasionally with Hinske. We will not see Freeman this year, unless Glaus or Hinske go on the DL.
South Georgia
July 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
Does Bobby know when to take a pitcher out?
BoroBall3
July 31st, 2010
8:10 pm
I have no idea why so many dont like the Farnsworth transaction… I think many of you forget that the Braves offered him a two (or threee) year deal to stay in Atlanta to be the closer and got outbid by the Yankees for a couple billion dollars… They like Farnsworth and for all in tense and purposed, Farnsworth never disliked being in Atlanta… this is going to work out
Josh
July 31st, 2010
8:11 pm
Jeff – pointing out that these guys don’t have to be the center pieces of the trade is the most overlooked part of the article. But now, the center pieces of the team have to start playing like it. I’m just glad we have someone with speed and great arm (Ankiel) in center.
Concerned
July 31st, 2010
8:13 pm
Can not believe that Melky and Hinsky were in the outfield laughing about that error made by Melky………SUCH A SHAME!! That play alone probably cost us a win.. They should not be allowed to start again!! They are both slow as hell and cant play outfield….I hope Bobby or Wren sees the replay and scolds them for this mochery !
Oregon Brave
July 31st, 2010
8:13 pm
Don’t sweat the 18-25 crowd, Jeff I like your style. Been a Braves fan since ‘57 and I can’t recall an acquisition more horrible than the Mike Hampton deal. By August of ‘08 we didn’t have any starters that could even go 5 to qualify for a win did we? So FW overpays for a couple of innings eaters in DLowe and KK. Wasn’t it against the Braves that Ankiel started his downward spiral as a pitcher?
BuckheadBrave
July 31st, 2010
8:15 pm
Who knows, there is no telling you people act as if baseball can be predicted and if it can you are the ones who can do it. Who knows, you need this guy to have a hot 2 months, who would have thought Glaus would have the May and June he did, none of you, if you say you did you are a liar. What is Ankiel comes in here and has an Adam LaRoche like second half and hits 14 HRs, none of you predicted that from Laroche, if you say you did again you are a liar. He’s not worse than Gregor, he’s not worse than Melky and he has the potential to flash more power in the next two months than those two will their entire careers. Stop acting like you know what will happen, its not football where bigger and faster always wins, baseball is weird, quirky, and wildly unpredictable and you never know what player with a bit of raw talent will out of nowhere start bombing the ball out of the park. Did you honestly think the lackadaisical Laroche we saw in his first go around here would EVER have the two months he had his second time around? It could be the same thing this time.
RealPerspective
July 31st, 2010
8:16 pm
Why are these “Braves fans” not only not at least happy with the deal, but flat out upset with it? Breaking the deal down piece by piece shows it is AT WORST a wash for us.
Chavez < Farnsworth – no brainer. People complaining about getting a good bullpen arm, familiar with the club, and experience on a big stage are certainly not getting it. This is also addition by subtraction.
Blanco cash – Unless the cash is a considerable amount that makes a difference in the future for roster flexibility. That being said, we had him for a very short time and he is no lock to be anything special.
Then what bat do you get? Corey Hart? hurt thumb and mixed results. Carlos Guillen? will fly through waivers next month. Who else seriously??? I wish we could have pried Marlon Byrd from the Cubs but there is no reason to think that was even in the realm of possibility. I pick him because he plays center and hits with average and some power… plus he plays amazingly hard every play.
Sit tight and ride it out.
Reid Adair
July 31st, 2010
8:16 pm
Kyle Farnsworth taking Jesse Chavez’s spot is an improvement; adding Rick Ankiel is not. The Braves needed power. As you mentioned, Jeff, Troy Glaus has shown that May’s numbers were the exception rather than the norm.
Ankiel’s 25 home runs were much like Glaus’ performance in May. Outside of 2008, he’s never hit more than 11. Ankiel is not a solution to the need for power.
To some, it looks good now; for me, it looks to be another dud.
Jeff Schultz
July 31st, 2010
8:18 pm
Asheville Dawg — Don’t put your torch in storage yet. Might need it in a few weeks for Glaus. Hah!
NOCAHOMA
July 31st, 2010
8:18 pm
PEOPLE chill! trade = mediocre players for a different set of mediocre players. with the ones that were here you KNEW they were of no help, at least with the new mediocre players we could get 1 or 2 GOOD months out of them. that makes the deal viable.
Jeff Schultz
July 31st, 2010
8:20 pm
Chip Shot — Haven’t heard. My PURE speculation: I’d be surprised if he’s not called up. Wouldn’t shock me if they DL’d Glaus. Have to do something.
BuckheadBrave
July 31st, 2010
8:20 pm
NOCAHOMA, my thoughts exactly the same people who want the Braves to win now also want them to stock up for a future that may never arrive. There is no pleasing them.
Jeff Schultz
July 31st, 2010
8:20 pm
JT, JT, JT… Disagree on this not being an upgrade (does it make a stronger impact when I type the name 3 times too).
I'm jaded...
July 31st, 2010
8:22 pm
I’m in panic mode…I feel this team is put togather with spare parts and the Phillies have a car that just got out the shop…and it’s tuned up fine….I’ll pull for Braves like crazy…but I’m worried….
Jeff….I googled DB Cooper…he’s still around…living it up Brazil…
Jeff Schultz
July 31st, 2010
8:24 pm
The Dream: Proctor’s numbers @Gwinnett: 2-3, 8.28. Don’t expect to see him up here.
RealPerspective
July 31st, 2010
8:24 pm
Jeff – A little early, but any thoughts (prior to letting it play out) on the waiver wire strategy or some names/target positions that are being tossed around as potentials?
Doc K
July 31st, 2010
8:25 pm
Frank Wren is stupid! All he has done is took a team that lost 90+ games and turned them into a first place club in front of heavily favored Philly. And Bobby Cox can’t manage either, 14 straight division championships and has the respect of every player in MLB. We need to fire both of them and hire a couple of self proclaimed genius bloggers!
Jeff Schultz
July 31st, 2010
8:25 pm
The Obgyn — Fair analysis.
RealPerspective
July 31st, 2010
8:26 pm
half my post was cut out… hmmmm reading out now makes no sense. I will try again.
Jeff Schultz
July 31st, 2010
8:26 pm
William in Pasadena — If you think I don’t challenge Braves’ management (or any team’s front office in this town), this must be the first column of mine you’ve ever read. I’m sure others can fill you in.
Furman Bitcher
July 31st, 2010
8:26 pm
Jeff I agree completely with you. Good solid trade that filled two needs that we had and we did not give up anything except the weakest link in our bullpen.
Furman Bitcher
July 31st, 2010
8:27 pm
Tough crowd tonight
Jeff Schultz
July 31st, 2010
8:27 pm
Keith Law — OMG, Keith Law isn’t overwhelmed! Well, that’s it, the trades stinks. Time to go home.
Bobby Waits Too Long
July 31st, 2010
8:27 pm
Hope there was lots of cash involved in the deal. Was probably just a thousand or two to say and cash. Why in the world does Bobby wait so long with starters. He must still be “jerk leg” about his bull pen. Another case of another inning too long. How many of these games has Bobby Cox lost. I love Bobby but this is a major weakness. We would probably have at least eight more wins this season if “too long” Bobby had made the call to the bullpen sooner.
RealPerspective
July 31st, 2010
8:28 pm
retry:
Chavez < Farnsworth – no brainer. People complaining about getting a good bullpen arm, familiar with the club, and experience on a big stage are certainly not getting it. This is also addition by subtraction.
Blanco cash – Unless the cash is a considerable amount that makes a difference in the future for roster flexibility. That being said, we had him for a very short time and he is no lock to be anything special.