The Braves got Upton and 3B Chris Johnson for Prado, Randall Delgado, Zeke Spruill, Nick Ahmed, and Brandon Drury. It sucks to lose Prado, but apparently he wanted about 13 million per year in any extension, so the Braves shipped him out and got 3 years of Upton for 1 year of Prado and prospects. I'd say the Braves won this deal.
Don't see this posted already: Braves trade for Justin Upton
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I think you're right ... I hate losing Prado as well but after last season there is no way he can demand that kind of money ... I think he's capable and he will have better seasons in the future, but to ask this year is reaching ... Bourne was asking for that kind of cash and he will get it, but not Prad , not this year
The Braves will be better this year for it, but not after. Upton>Prado, and Delgado would be the 6th SP. But they lose 2 SP after this year, and Delgado is the #1 contender. Spruil was probably #4, needs a year or two to develop, but besides Gilmartin is the only SP prospect in the system above A ball, after they shipped two AA top SP prospects out in the Bourn deal. Gilmartin looks like Minor, should be ready next year, but that's still putting a lot of eggs in the Teheran basket after how bad he looked last year. Ahmed and Drury are decent MI prospects, but nothing special. I'd be for it if either Upton wasn't already making $13M per, or if he'd been consistent the last 4 years. 30HR Upton is probably worth it, 17HR Upton is clearly not.
Word was they changed Teheran's delivery last year, and they gave up and let him go back to how he used to throw, with excellent results in his last 3 starts in winter ball.
Word was they changed Teheran's delivery last year, and they gave up and let him go back to how he used to throw, with excellent results in his last 3 starts in winter ball.
what?!?! how can you say the braves didn't absolutely make out like bandits here? they landed one of the best talents in baseball when he's just starting to really enter his prime years (he's 25), he's under contract 3 more years, AND they didn't give up their #1 prospect (teheran). they gave up a completely replaceable guy in prado. prado is noting but a decent avg guy with not much power or speed. then they gave up a low ceiling minor league SP prospect (again, completely replaceable given the depth of the arms in the braves system), a solid young SP in delgado who projects as a middle of the rotation guy, but who didn't do anything special with his chance last season, and a very young SS in ahmed who is several years away form the bigs and buried behind young SSs simmons and pasternicky.
imo, the dbacks got destroyed in this deal, while the braves easily could have landed a top 10 player for the next 5-6 seasons. how the dbacks didn't get teheran in return for 3 years of upton is beyond me.
imo, the dbacks got destroyed in this deal, while the braves easily could have landed a top 10 player for the next 5-6 seasons. how the dbacks didn't get teheran in return for 3 years of upton is beyond me.
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I think they get marginally better this year and a lot better after Prado would have hit free agency. They lose Hudson and Maholm after this year, so that's $15.5 million off the books they can use to get another starter if they need to next year (assuming Medlen, Beachy, Minor, and Teheran are the other 4 starters). Delgado's ceiling is probably a #3 starter. Basically, it comes down to swapping 1 year of Prado and a #3 starter for 3 years of a potential MVP candidate. I think this is a no-brainer. Then, you factor in that they now have money to either extend Heyward, Medlen, and/ or McCann and/ or get an additional piece in July.
Another way to think of it is that the Braves now have arguably 2 of the best 3 age 25 or younger position players in baseball behind Stanton (Posey is entering his age 26 season), and they still have plenty of good young pitching.
Another way to think of it is that the Braves now have arguably 2 of the best 3 age 25 or younger position players in baseball behind Stanton (Posey is entering his age 26 season), and they still have plenty of good young pitching.
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I'm assuming you're talking about 2011. He had a typical-for-him solid year last year. He's probably going to get $12 million/ year when he hits free agency next year.
exactly, except they don't need to think about extending mccann until he hits again. and i think they improved significantly this year since upton will be healthy again. you can have a .300-12-60-8 line out of prado or a .290-30-100-20 line out of justin upton. that's a significant difference.
i've just seen more than a couple of braves fans in other parts of the internet bitching and moaning about losing prado. blows my mind.
nats and braves should be fun in the NL east this year. #natitude
he didn't do anything bad, he's a good role player on a MLB team. however, upton is a top 10 talent, and has dabbled at the edge of being a top 10 player in 2011 before injuries slowed him in 2012 (look at the end fo the season numbers once he got healthy though), and he's still just 25 with 3 years under contract. prado just doesn't have the ceiling/potential or even the proven production that a player like justin upton brings to the table.
Can Justin play every position on the field?
If anybody went down or needed a day off, Prado afforded you the ability to put the next best guy in there regardless of position. That's a nice luxury to have.
If anybody went down or needed a day off, Prado afforded you the ability to put the next best guy in there regardless of position. That's a nice luxury to have.
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didn't say he had a bad year ... more like it wasn't as good as the last 2 ... actually he seemed well off previous years pace ... I haven't looked and compared stats, but I usually watch almost all of the games- and that was the observation I came away with after last season ... I know the guy is a gamer and stats don't tell the whole story - but I think there is no way he hits 13 mil under free agency unless he goes back to the previous couple of years performances
The Braves don't really need flexibility. They have possibly the best outfield in baseball now (it's either them or Anaheim) with Reed Johnson as the 4th outfielder. The only position that might have been helped out by Prado's flexibility would be 2nd.
Flexibility is nice, but it's not important enough to not want to give up 1 year of it for 3 years of a potential MVP candidate.
Flexibility is nice, but it's not important enough to not want to give up 1 year of it for 3 years of a potential MVP candidate.
I'm not sure what you were watching. Prado had an extremely solid season last year, and all of his stats back that up. And Prado isn't just a role player. Role players don't have a 5 WAR.
Yes, 2012 was Prado's best season yet.
2010 was a good year for Prado. 2011 wasn't very good but he also got staph infection and was put on bed rest in the middle of the season. Prado has been a heck of a player for the Braves. I'm gonna miss him.
2010 was a good year for Prado. 2011 wasn't very good but he also got staph infection and was put on bed rest in the middle of the season. Prado has been a heck of a player for the Braves. I'm gonna miss him.
The other thing that bothers me is the locker room. Justin isn't as much of a headcase as his brother, but the two of them together could cause problems in the locker room.
Also, who plays 3rd now? Francisco? That's a pretty big downgrade on defense and at the plate.
Also, who plays 3rd now? Francisco? That's a pretty big downgrade on defense and at the plate.
francisco was already going to be in a platoon at 3B with prado, with prado also getting time at 2B spelling uggla and in the OF. now the braves have reed johnson and jordan schaefer as OF4/OF5 and francisco/chris johnson to platoon at 3B. i'd imagine pasternicky will spend some spring training at 2B in case he's needed to fill in for uggla (he's already played 3 games there last year).
the braves still have platoon/fill in guys AND improved the everday lineup.
"With Prado, the Diamondbacks finally get the third baseman they’ve been looking for, and a pretty good one at that. No, he’s not going to repeat the +6 WAR season he put up last year, which was driven by an outlier UZR, but he’s got a nice base of skills that should allow him to remain an above average player."
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/braves-acquire-justin-upton/
Mike Trout
Albert Pujols
Prince Fielder
Miguel Cabrera
Carlos Gonzalez
Matt Kemp
Adrian Gonzaelez
Evan Longoria
Joey Votto
Matt Holliday
Adrian Beltre
Buster Posey
Ryan Braun
Andrew McCutcheon
Josh Hamilton
Giancarlo Stanton
There were off the top of my head...
All of these players are, easily, better than Justin Upton. Justin has been in the bigs 6 years and his best season was a 31 HR, 88RBI, .289 batting average year in 2011.
He's good, quality player. But to throw him in the "top 10" catergory is a pretty large stretch.
BJ has had 1 incident: when he didn't run after the fly ball then had words with Longoria in the dugout. He isn't a headcase and he was respected in the Tampa clubhouse, and that includes Longoria. Justin isn't a headcase and was respected in the Arizona clubhouse. Yes, it sucks that Prado won't be in the clubhouse. He was one of my favorite Braves, and he supposedly was one of his teammates' fellow Braves, but we got a 3 years of a young potential MVP candidate for Prado's 1 year and a #3 starter. There are plenty of high character guys still in the clubhouse.
Francisco apparently lost a lot of weight this offseason, and he tore it up in winter ball. I'm assuming they're hoping he wins the job. Otherwise, he'll platoon with Johnson. It's not as good as what Prado would have done, but it's marginally better than what a Prado/ R. Johnson/ Francisco platoon would have done.
Francisco apparently lost a lot of weight this offseason, and he tore it up in winter ball. I'm assuming they're hoping he wins the job. Otherwise, he'll platoon with Johnson. It's not as good as what Prado would have done, but it's marginally better than what a Prado/ R. Johnson/ Francisco platoon would have done.
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Bingo - you're right - I just went and checked for myself ... it looks like
2010 was his best year and where he has peaked so far ... still his bat avg is above average but look at the trending decline in most of the other areas ...
http://www.fangraphs.com/comparison.aspx?playerid=3312&position=2B/3B/OF&page=9&players=
2010 was his best year and where he has peaked so far ... still his bat avg is above average but look at the trending decline in most of the other areas ...
http://www.fangraphs.com/comparison.aspx?playerid=3312&position=2B/3B/OF&page=9&players=
1st of all, i think we can all agree that RBIs and Rs have more to do with your lineup and lineup placement than the player (within reason, tyler pasternicky isn't going to drive in 100+ and score 100+ runs just by batting 3rd, but for the guys you listed and justin upton, i think we can agree that getting 600+ ABs in the middle of a remotely decent lineup should produce good R and RBI numbers).
2nd, after 2011, i'd have put upton ahead of trout, cargo, gonzalez, beltre, posey, mccutch, and stanton. i am talking about were he stood after his 2011 season compared to other player's 2011 seasons.
now factor in age, and i'd take upton easily over holliday, beltre, and hamilton.
then look at the number of guys that have been injury prone the last few years on your list (much like upton was last season): cargo, hamilton, posey (plus playing C increases injury chances), votto, longoria, kemp, etc. some of those were more freakish than others, but they all missed sizable chunks of a season recently.
not to mention, how many of those guys have had a down season or 2? especially when they were <25 and injured? do you think it would have been cheaper to trade for mccutch now or a year or 2 ago before he blew up? what about cargo? after 2009 he was a nice prospect with an OK track record in limited MLB action.
the simple fact is that upton at 25 has done more and put up better numbers and had a better single season than any of these guys from your list: beltre, mccutch, cargo, votto, gonzalez, hamilton (due to non-baseball reasons obviously), kemp, and holliday. longoria's 2009 and upton's 2011 are very comparable.
now note that i said he "dabbled at the edge of being a top 10 player", i didn't say he was 100% slam dunk a top 10 guy. but the fact that he was even in the discussion after his age 23 season puts him far ahead of the developmental curve of many of the players you listed.
to get ahead in sports, you have to get the talent cheap before it blows up. would you say upton should get a contract on par with fielder or pujols or cabrera right now? of course not, but he has the talent, has hinted at the talent, and you have to get him before he becomes the MVP candidate if you don't want to pay through the nose for him. i'd put upton right there with most of your list, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him outperform most of them any given season if he's healthy (which he wasn't most of last season).
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"they landed one of the best talents in baseball when he's just starting to really enter his prime years (he's 25), "
the 'best talents in baseball' don't hit 17 hrs in 2 of the last 3 years. he may turn out to be a perrenial 30hr hitter, which would almost make him one of the better talents in baseball, but Dan Uggla should remind you of what relying on that will get you.
"he's under contract 3 more years"
for $39M. you speak as if he'll make the minimum. there's a distinct possibility that he won't even live up to that contract. and we gave up a ton for that.
"they gave up a completely replaceable guy in prado. prado is noting but a decent avg guy with not much power or speed."
Prado actually has great defensive stats at OF and 3B, with an above average bat. But i'm glad to ship out Prado. One thing i've noticed is that he's been trying too hard to develop power, trying to earn a big contract. i'd bet that without an extension that tendency would get redonkulous this year: 20hrs, ****** avg, ton of Ks.
"then they gave up a low ceiling minor league SP prospect (again, completely replaceable given the depth of the arms in the braves system)"
uh, no. Zeke is one of their top SP prospects, AND is one of only four that may be ready for 2014. Delgado was another.
"but who didn't do anything special with his chance last season"
as is to be expected from a rookie SP.
"how the dbacks didn't get teheran in return for 3 years of upton is beyond me. "
apparently 2012 passed you by. Teheran was literally the worst pitcher in AAA last year. i guarantee you they wanted Delgado over Teheran.
the 'best talents in baseball' don't hit 17 hrs in 2 of the last 3 years. he may turn out to be a perrenial 30hr hitter, which would almost make him one of the better talents in baseball, but Dan Uggla should remind you of what relying on that will get you.
"he's under contract 3 more years"
for $39M. you speak as if he'll make the minimum. there's a distinct possibility that he won't even live up to that contract. and we gave up a ton for that.
"they gave up a completely replaceable guy in prado. prado is noting but a decent avg guy with not much power or speed."
Prado actually has great defensive stats at OF and 3B, with an above average bat. But i'm glad to ship out Prado. One thing i've noticed is that he's been trying too hard to develop power, trying to earn a big contract. i'd bet that without an extension that tendency would get redonkulous this year: 20hrs, ****** avg, ton of Ks.
"then they gave up a low ceiling minor league SP prospect (again, completely replaceable given the depth of the arms in the braves system)"
uh, no. Zeke is one of their top SP prospects, AND is one of only four that may be ready for 2014. Delgado was another.
"but who didn't do anything special with his chance last season"
as is to be expected from a rookie SP.
"how the dbacks didn't get teheran in return for 3 years of upton is beyond me. "
apparently 2012 passed you by. Teheran was literally the worst pitcher in AAA last year. i guarantee you they wanted Delgado over Teheran.
The problem with that, is they trade SP Delgado, making the minimum in 2014 and maybe 2015, for JUpton, making $13M per. Ideally there are no injuries, Beachy returns to form, and Teheran and Gilmartin join the rotation with no problems. If that happens, then they come out ahead, because finding a LF would have been difficult yet again, and they can spare the $13M. If not, then they need to find a SP with little money to do so.
This is just too easy.
Carlos Gonzalez is a great comparison, as he's been in the big leagues almost the same amount of time.
In 3030 plate appearances, Upton has 108 HRs and 363 RBIs at a .280/.355/.430 slash line. In 2390 plate appearances, CarGo has 99 HR 349 RBIs at a .299/.355/.518 slash line. And you can cry all you want about Coors Field being more hitter conduscive... but there are plenty of facts that show the treatment of balls in the humidor bring Coors Field's aggregate stats more in line wih the rest of the MLB. Regardless of that fact, CarGo has outperformed Upton in every facet of the game, including defense. CarGo might have the best arm (outside of Rick Ankiel) of any outfield in the majors.
Joey Votto won an MVP. No need for any stats here.
Adrian's Beltre's averages for the last 3 seasons are 32 HR, 103 RBIs, and at .314 batting average. His OBP and SLUG averages are also higher than Upton's BEST year.
Longoria has more HRs, more RBIs, a better OBP and a better SLG percentage in his career than Upton (in about 300 fewer plate appearances).
In 500 fewer plate appearances, McCutches has 26 fewer homers and 68 fewer RBI than Upton. McCutchen also has a GG. His AVG/OBP/SLG slash is better than Upton's too.
I'm not even going to post how much better Josh Hamilton is than Upton. Is Hamilton more risky? Sure. But he's also a lot better.
Matt Holliday (.313/.387/.586) and Adrian Gonzalez's (.294/.371/.501) slash lines both crush Upton's as well.
Matt Kemp has a .295/.352/.538 slash.... Which beats Upton in everything but OBP. Kemp also have 2 gold gloves.
So statistically speaking, all of the players rate better than Upton. I'll say it again. Upton is talented and I don't think he's reached his potential yet. But spare me the top 10 player argument. He might not even be top 10 in the NL right now. He could easily go on to a great career and keep improving.... but I'll believe it when I see it.
Another thing. Justin Upton isn't cheap. He'll make 9.75mil, 14.25mil, and 14.50mil the next 3 years with the Braves. In 2014, he'll be your highest paid player, assuming no other big contracts are taken on.
again, you listed a bunch of guys that are at least a couple of years older than upton. age matters along with ABs. you can't only look at ABs and ignore age. i said in 2011, he "dabbled at the edge of being a top 10 player".
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.as...type=8&season=2011&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0
oh look, he was ranked 13th in WAR for hitters in 2011. well i'll be damned. not shabby for a 23 year old. and that definitely qualifies as tetering on the edge of being a top 10 player (hitter is what i meant, but whatever). he also had a solid fielding rating (ratings that are notoriously faulty), but he didn't get a WAR boost from a flukey huge fielding rating like prado last year.
as for only hitting 17 HRs 2 of the past 3 seasons, i guess every sophomore step back is doomed to never be a superstar. at 21 he hit 26 bombs, at 22 he hit 17, and at 23 he hit 31. last year he only hit 17, but anyone that follows baseball knows he was hurt with the thumb most of the year, and once he finally healed up he went on a tear at the end of the season (look up his splits). also worth noting his K rates are trending downward and his BB rates are solid.
i'm not a braves fan, i'm just an objective outsider, but anyone arguing this was anything but a GREAT deal for the braves is out of their mind.
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.as...type=8&season=2011&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0
oh look, he was ranked 13th in WAR for hitters in 2011. well i'll be damned. not shabby for a 23 year old. and that definitely qualifies as tetering on the edge of being a top 10 player (hitter is what i meant, but whatever). he also had a solid fielding rating (ratings that are notoriously faulty), but he didn't get a WAR boost from a flukey huge fielding rating like prado last year.
as for only hitting 17 HRs 2 of the past 3 seasons, i guess every sophomore step back is doomed to never be a superstar. at 21 he hit 26 bombs, at 22 he hit 17, and at 23 he hit 31. last year he only hit 17, but anyone that follows baseball knows he was hurt with the thumb most of the year, and once he finally healed up he went on a tear at the end of the season (look up his splits). also worth noting his K rates are trending downward and his BB rates are solid.
i'm not a braves fan, i'm just an objective outsider, but anyone arguing this was anything but a GREAT deal for the braves is out of their mind.
My problem with your statement is that you keep referencing what was, by far, hit best season. If he re-creates those numbers, then great. But I'm more of an "average" season kind of guy... and Upton's average season isn't worth what he's getting paid, at this point in time.
there isn't a MLB talent evaluator out there that would take delgado over teheran. delgado might be "safer" but he has a much lower ceiling and when you are trading guys with high ceilings like upton, you want guys with high ceilings in return like teheran. you can find a middle fo the rotation SP on the free agent market or out of your own system, but it's much more difficult to find a true ace stud. delgado also has serious control issues.
as for spruill, he's a back end of the rotation innings eater. nothing more, nothing less. very low ceiling. he's heading into his 6th pro season and only put up 5.76 Ks/9IP and a 3.63 ERA (3.52 FIP so he wasn't unlucky) in AA. and unlike teheran, this is in line with his career minor league numbers. there is nothing wrong with him, and he may have a nice productive career, but he's not the type of prospect that should be included in a deal for a 25 year old elite talent.
don't believe my assessment? http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/atlanta-braves-top-15-prospects-2012-13/
the point is that between ages 21-24, guys are in the process of developing. most times, a player during those years is ascending and his numbers are not stable. and you ignore last year's thumb injury when citing his numbers from last season. you can't just ignore the primary cause behind his 2012 power drain. now if upton averages .280-19-70 the next couple of seasons, then that's what he is, but at this point, i have no reason to think he's going to merely repeat the avg of his age 21-24 seasons. just like pretty much all those players you listed eralier improved on their pre-25 year old seasons.
i should note that much like recruiting, nothing is guaranteed as far as development goes. however, much like a team that signs mostly 4* and 5*, the odds are in your favor to be a successful program. and if you sign mostly 2* and 3*, the odds are against you. similarly, you can land a projected superstar like upton who already has a solid MLB track record at age 25, in exchange for a super utility guy (prado), a projected middle fo the rotation guy with control issues (delgado), a projected back end of the rotation guy (spruill), a SS still a few years away when you already have 2 young MLB ready SSs (ahmed), then the odds are that you will "win" the deal. upton could suck and delgado could become the next pedro, but that's a risk i'd easily take if i were the braves.
They also have J.R. Graham, who will be ready for the big team in '14 or '15. He's the #2 prospect in the system behind Teheran, and he should start the season as Gwinnett's ace. And they can always go get a middle-to-back-end of the rotation guy for 1 year. Sure it won't be for the league minimum, but neither was Mahlolm, who they had to go get even with all the pitching depth we had last year. The staff and the payroll are both fine for the next 2-3 years.
I don't think you've noticed how bad 2012 was for Teheran. Prior to 2012, your statement would be correct. But Delgado has surpassed him now. He is not a #3 ceiling guy now, he's a #3 right now with potential for more, under control for 6 years.
What I think you are missing is the 'sweet spot' of prospects: those that have proved themselves at AA. Very little development is still necessary, the odds of panning out spike upwards, and they are cheap for a looong time to come.
For example, a #4 starter with 6 years of team control is worth what, $20m? And that's just Spruill. Delgado is worth another $20m. So Upton would have to be worth $79m over 3 years just for the value to equalize.
I'm fine with the trade because it makes the team better now, and this is a good year to go for it, and rarely can you put all the pieces of a team together without overpaying somewhere. But to say the trade is a steal is just incorrect.
What I think you are missing is the 'sweet spot' of prospects: those that have proved themselves at AA. Very little development is still necessary, the odds of panning out spike upwards, and they are cheap for a looong time to come.
For example, a #4 starter with 6 years of team control is worth what, $20m? And that's just Spruill. Delgado is worth another $20m. So Upton would have to be worth $79m over 3 years just for the value to equalize.
I'm fine with the trade because it makes the team better now, and this is a good year to go for it, and rarely can you put all the pieces of a team together without overpaying somewhere. But to say the trade is a steal is just incorrect.
I did forget graham, probably because his elite status is so new.
The payroll for next year is very worrisome. Lots of arb raises, very little excess coming off the books. I predict someone, likely Venters, will have to be traded to make payroll. And that's with cutting ties with McCann.
The payroll for next year is very worrisome. Lots of arb raises, very little excess coming off the books. I predict someone, likely Venters, will have to be traded to make payroll. And that's with cutting ties with McCann.
Did you miss the fact that the fangraphs link was from like last week? Also, if you wanna go into 2013 with Delgado as your SP3, i hope you like struggling to win 75 games.
The braves payroll will be fine. Pretty sure it will be under $100M which is pretty middle of the pack in MLB.
Here are the 2012 team payrolls: http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/salaries/_/name/ari/arizona-diamondbacks
Even with the addition of the uptons, a chunk of that salary is offset by chipper's retirement, the braves payroll is not too high at all. If management won't foot the bill on that kinda payroll, then they just aren't that committed to winning.
Here are the 2012 team payrolls: http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/salaries/_/name/ari/arizona-diamondbacks
Even with the addition of the uptons, a chunk of that salary is offset by chipper's retirement, the braves payroll is not too high at all. If management won't foot the bill on that kinda payroll, then they just aren't that committed to winning.
$32 million comes off the books (Hudson, Maholm, O'Flaherty, and McCann). That leaves enough to re-sign or extend Mac if he recovers and cover arb raises and extensions for players like Heyward and Medlen plus go get a middle of the rotation starter.
Bold Prediction: The Braves will at least seriously shop McCann this season, even if we decide not to trade him. He's 29 year old catcher, and he has a LOT of mileage on his knees already. He's already been essentially an everyday starter for almost a decade. And we all know he's a free agent after the season. Plus we've got Christian Bethancourt waiting in the wings to take over. Now just might be the time to sell high on him, which the Braves have had a knack for doing through the years.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/national-league/atlanta-braves/
$1M extra to BJUpton, plus arb to Heyward ($4M), Medlen ($3M), Venters ($1.5M), CMart (500k), Janish (0), Kimbrel ($7M), Freeman ($3M), Beachy ($3M), Walden ($1.5M), Schafer (0), Francisco (Super Two, $2M), and Josh Wilson (0). That's $26.5M i calculate in arb raises, leaving $5.5M for a starting C and a SP (not 2, as i forgot Beachy is coming back mid-season, but it does rely on Teheran being 1 and no injuries). Gilmartin will probably be ready by next year, but that leaves only Graham as an injury fill-in, and he's still barely pitched above A ball at all. I saw elsewhere that the Braves are expected to sign a vet to stash in AAA, and that makes sense, but should be added to the cost of the trade. So, like i said, it's relying a hell of a lot on Teheran. But i guess the Braves are in the situation where they've got to take some chances.
Plus, this trade means Teheran is right now the #5 starter. after a 5 ERA in AAA in 2012. ballsy, i'll give it that.
Also, i guess with JUpton in the lineup then we can afford to have a defensive C. that will help, those can be had from anywhere.
$1M extra to BJUpton, plus arb to Heyward ($4M), Medlen ($3M), Venters ($1.5M), CMart (500k), Janish (0), Kimbrel ($7M), Freeman ($3M), Beachy ($3M), Walden ($1.5M), Schafer (0), Francisco (Super Two, $2M), and Josh Wilson (0). That's $26.5M i calculate in arb raises, leaving $5.5M for a starting C and a SP (not 2, as i forgot Beachy is coming back mid-season, but it does rely on Teheran being 1 and no injuries). Gilmartin will probably be ready by next year, but that leaves only Graham as an injury fill-in, and he's still barely pitched above A ball at all. I saw elsewhere that the Braves are expected to sign a vet to stash in AAA, and that makes sense, but should be added to the cost of the trade. So, like i said, it's relying a hell of a lot on Teheran. But i guess the Braves are in the situation where they've got to take some chances.
Plus, this trade means Teheran is right now the #5 starter. after a 5 ERA in AAA in 2012. ballsy, i'll give it that.
Also, i guess with JUpton in the lineup then we can afford to have a defensive C. that will help, those can be had from anywhere.