Braves trade! Braves trade! And it’s a pretty darned good one!
After midnight, GM Frank Wren briefs the still-assembled media. (Photo by M. Bradley)
Well, the Braves landed a Cub after all. Two of them, in fact, neither being Ryan Dempster. But enough about him.
Just after midnight, the Braves announced they had acquired Paul Maholm, a left-handed starting pitcher, and Reed Johnson, a right-handed bat. Johnson will definitely help a bench that needs all the help it can get. Maholm can’t possibly hurt a rotation that wasn’t exactly brimming with excellence.
Maholm isn’t a No. 1 starter, but he was 9-6 with an ERA of 3.74 for a terrible team, and he has been really good of late: Over his past six starts, he has yielded one run at most. By way of contrast, Mike Minor is 6-7 with an ERA of 5.18, and Tommy Hanson, who’s 12-5, has an ERA of 4.29. Immediately after Hanson beat the Marlins on Monday, manager Fredi Gonzalez suggested the pitcher might need to skip a turn, which isn’t the most heartfelt vote of confidence.
Let’s be clear: This trade doesn’t transform the Braves — getting Zack Greinke would have transformed them — but it solidifies them for the remainder of the regular season and gives them choices should they make the playoffs, which they absolutely should. It’s not a move on the level of Fred McGriff in 1993 or even Michael Bourn last season or (gulp) Mark Teixeira in 2007, but it’s a needs-based trade made by a determined general manager whose first choice (Dempster) wouldn’t sanction the transaction.
Give Wren credit. He went back to the Cubs and found Theo Epstein willing to keep talking. (”We never blamed them for [Dempster's demurral],” Wren said.) Getting Dempster would have cost Randall Delgado. Getting Maholm and Johnson cost Jaye Chapman, which is no big deal, and Arodys Vizcaino, who has been the most tantalizing of the Braves’ four prized young arms. (The other two being Minor and Julio Teheran.)
Vizcaino, who’s 21, throws the hardest of all, but he underwent Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. And yet: Before Monday’s game, Gonzalez was speaking of Ben Sheets actually gaining velocity after the TJ treatment. “Guys usually do,” Gonzalez said. “Can’t wait to see Vizcaino.”
The next time the Braves see Vizcaino, he’ll be a Cub. It hurts to lose an arm like that, but you that’s the price of doing business. The Braves had clear and immediate needs. Their GM has moved to fill those needs. Maybe this will work. Maybe it won’t. But it was a trade that had to be made.
“This was a perfect fit for us,” Wren said, and also this: “We wanted to put ourselves in as good a position as we can to win the division — not just make the playoffs.”
For sure, the Braves are better positioned today than they were at 7 p.m. Monday. Their rotation is deeper and better, and their bench is longer. They got an outfielder Wren called “the No. 1 [utility] guy on our board” and a starter who should push Kris Medlen back to the bullpen and perhaps ease the underwhelming Hanson out of any October starts.
Wren again: “What really pushed us [to make such a trade] is the way we’ve played the last three weeks.”
The season’s first half ended with the Braves feeling they hadn’t played to capacity. They’ve gotten closer since, and Maholm and Johnson should push them closer still. This is not a team to dismiss, ladies and gentlemen. This is a team that can get to October and stay there a while.
By Mark Bradley
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170 comments Add your comment
Joe 12-Pack
July 31st, 2012
2:45 pm
FYI, Johnson is 35 and a FA after this season. He’s making $1.15M this year.
There is a $6.5M team option on Maholm who makes $4.75M this year. 30 years old.
Curt
July 31st, 2012
2:53 pm
Tommy Hanson is probably at best a #4 pitcher. His velocity is down from what it has been and that is because he is trying to improve his location. Problem is that his location seems to be getting worse. His offspeed is decent but not consistent. Probably the worst thing about Hanson is that he can not hold runners on first. The pause he has in his mechanics allows runners more than enough time to steal and Hanson seems to be paying less and attention to runners.
Proof of all this is the game in Florida where he walked 7 and had 7 stolen bases. Yes, he struck out 7 but as we all know, Florida was and is a depleted team.
while I think he would make good trade fodder, I dont mind keeping Hanson around but I think he needs to be treated like a 4 or 5 starter until and if he can improve his mechanics
gcs
July 31st, 2012
2:56 pm
HA! The Braves killed the Phillies!
They came into ATL feeling pretty good about themselves thinking they might get back in the race. But they were swept and now they are giving up.
Hunter Pence to Giants! Victorino to Dodgers! Who is next?
Tumbledown
July 31st, 2012
2:58 pm
I think the ship has sailed on Hanson improving his mechanics much. I bet we have seen the best of Hanson. For some reason though, the baseball gods shine upon him and he is able to collect wins.
billy bob baseball
July 31st, 2012
2:58 pm
luvthosedawgs68 July 31st, 2012 1:12 am Columbus July 31st, 2012 2:27 am
You just don’t get it do you, uggla cannot hit. He’s been here 1 1/2 seasons and had one good month. That was like the proverbial blind squirrel finding the occasional acorn. You guys and joe simpson must believe in leprechauns and fairy dust, with your belief in the fantasy of an uggla turnaround. I have a 18 year old toyota tercel that barely runs, I don’t expect it is going to ‘turn it around’ soon and begin running like it did in 1994-95. Neither is uggla going to start hitting over 200. IT AINT GONNA HAPPEN!
Skeezix
July 31st, 2012
3:06 pm
I feel strongly both ways on this one. We’ll just have to wait and see how it works out. If Maholm continues to pitch like he has lately, he will be a definite plus. I decided to take a wait and see approach on Sheets and he has surprised everyone with how well he has performed. If Uggla continues to disappoint, having Reed Johnson gives Fredi more options.
Tumbledown
July 31st, 2012
3:06 pm
From the Murphy’s law file: Uggla will turn it around only after the Braves give up and trade him to another team.
Skeezix
July 31st, 2012
3:08 pm
I do think Hanson needs a rest. He’s a big guy and I think the heat wears him down.
Curt
July 31st, 2012
3:46 pm
From what I hear, Hanson and Uggla (and I’m sure many others on the team) need a rest from power drinking and staying out late. Apparently these guys don’t understand that every cause has an effect.
Kevin Chop
July 31st, 2012
3:50 pm
At the end of the day, the Braves are not a world series contender, and that should be what matters the most. Sure we will probably play in for the wild card and will probably lost the one game series to a better team. Is that really a great season???
Time
July 31st, 2012
3:52 pm
Just for that one idiot calling me a idiot for quoting stats…….
4.30 1.41 .280
Don’t worry though, I won’t remind you in a couple weeks when you’re #5 starter on a bad team savior has been shelled a few times. Great trade. Ha. It was….for the Cubs.
Kevin Chop
July 31st, 2012
3:52 pm
lose*
what of it?
July 31st, 2012
3:53 pm
a much better trade than the dempster proposition or the greinke one. I’ve never been sold on vizcaino and we addressed two needs. Our rotation isn’t as bad as stats suggest. Minor and delgado have steadily improved. Hanson has not but continues to get run support. As a typical Wren-hater, I give him props for this one. now please get us a bullpen arm for reinforcement.
Hillbilly D
July 31st, 2012
4:05 pm
As a Cub fan, Reed Johnson is a good, solid bench guy but he can’t play everyday anymore. He’s hitting over .400 this year as a pinch hitter and is a RH role player, which is something the Braves need. I think he and Maholm are good additions for the Braves.
phoenix
July 31st, 2012
4:11 pm
Glad to see Reed Johnson off the bench! Unlike Hinske, he can score from second without stopping for oxygen at third.
LawDawg
July 31st, 2012
5:45 pm
On the plus side, Vizcaino is never going to be a starter and a great reliever is still only worth about 50% of a decent starter and about 5% of an ace.
Around The Horn
July 31st, 2012
5:58 pm
FRANK’S UNWISE TRADE
I don’t like Frank’s trade and here’s why:
Wren had a reasonable and workable solution staring him in the face for the rotation ills by putting Medlen into the starting rotation.
But he didn’t ultimately choose this solution!
Had he done so, surely then Frank could have found a right handed bench bat and another bullpen piece without giving up a quality arm and a potential long term star like Vizcaino.
But instead he foolishly and unwisely traded away Vizcaino.
You don’t trade away potential stars — unless you’re getting a star caliber player in return! You simply don’t do it!
But Frank did so — again, foolishly!
I’m having a very difficult time thinking positively about Frank Wren these days — in spite of what was a good decision in signing Ben Sheets.
For every good decision, Frank seems to make two terrible ones.
ESPN's Keith Law: The Braves overpaid for Maholm and Johnson | Mark Bradley
August 1st, 2012
10:37 am
[...] belief here is that the Braves made a good trade, and not every good trade is a swindle. (The Fred McGriff trade? That was a swindle.) They [...]
sidslid
August 1st, 2012
11:09 am
Cub’s pitcher’s ERA are as much a function of long term weather patterns in Chicago as ability (see: Zambrano, Carlos).
ESPN’s Law: The Braves overpaid for Maholm and Johnson - Lawyer Net
August 1st, 2012
5:34 pm
[...] belief here is that the Braves made a good trade, and not every good trade is a swindle. (The Fred McGriff trade? That was a swindle.) They [...]