Trade Deadline Is Near - Braves looking to make moves

What is the right fit? What do the Braves have that teams want and do those teams have the depth to make it happen?

The Braves have some nice chips that they could move if an interested party were to offer up a package that fits what the Braves are trying to do. Based on being 7 games out at the break, one would think that John Hart and Co. would continue to look to the ultimate end game of being good in 2017 when they move into SunTrust Park. All the moves thus far have had an eye on that being the end game. Even more recent moves involving older players are now solid trade chips to bolster the farm, create a pipeline of talent and create depth so future trades for proven players is available when the time is appropriate. All the arms they are gathering is great but as we saw with the big 3 throughout the 90's and early 2000s great pitching can cover up a lot of offensive warts but at some point you need to have a consistent offense and an increase of power, one capable of putting up some runs to aid these good young arms and lessen the amount of stressful innings they have from night to night. It is hard for young arms to pitch in 2-1 games all the time. Being last in baseball with under 60 Home Runs this season thus far needs to be addressed. It would be nice if Hart can be creative enough to get some young power in the ATL.

When the season began there were a lot of “experts” that had written off the Braves this season and gave them no chance of finishing higher then last place in the East. Thankfully the Phillies look to be tough to wrestle that position away from. Going into the All Star Break the Braves are 7 games behind Washington for the East lead. Sure it is well within reach but fans should not be fooled. The team is not in a position to contend this year. They are a competitive team but not ready to be a playoff team yet.

After an off season that saw guys like Jason Heyward Justin and Melvin Upton Jr. Evan Gatis, and Craig Kimbrel shipped out for prospects and more controllable contracted players. The Braves were not expected to field anything near a competitive team. Thankfully for the players that were left and the fans that still wanted to see some decent baseball the Braves have played just under .500 ball.

Last year the team was an all or nothing squad. It was, for the most part and Home Run or bust team that were victims of the strike out more often then not. This year most of those guys are gone and replaced with contact hitters and play a more traditional National League style of ball. Contact and speed seem to be more the focus. This “small ball” mentality makes for much more enjoyable to watch. Sure it is nice to see the Home Runs hit, but when the power dries up it is a very painful game to watch. It is hard to watch the starters trow a good game and not get any support. As stated before. it difficult on pitchers both mentally and physically. Those bright young arms can throw much more freely when they get some help and take some of the pressure off.To continue on with the plan the Braves need to look to move some guys that are not going to fit into the long term plan and are nice trade chips should the Braves manage to find a suitable dance partner with the right combination of players or prospects. Guys like Cameron Maybin, Juan Uribe and Jim Johnson and maybe Chris Johnson's contract. If the Braves can use these guys to further increase the depth at the minor league level or pick up a young controllable bat that could be very beneficial to the club going forward. What is also nice is a extra bit of money that will be freed up when the cash owed to Dan Uggla is off the books. Money+ Prospects = Flexability

John Hart has shown he is not afraid to deal and if he can take these players and sell high he needs to do so. Even by moving some or all of these players they are still going to be able to field a competitive team. If you can still supply watchable baseball and strengthen your organization at the same time, it is a no brainer.

E:6-The Jose Reyes Story

Is this Reyes forgetting he is not throwing grounders during
infield practice with 2 hoppers to first ? 

The Toronto Blue Jays are in an interesting position as they head into the unofficial halfway point of the season known as the All Star Break. Hovering  around the .500 mark, the Jays are still in decent shape in the standings and have a good shot at both the Eastern Division crown or a wild card bid. That is provided that they manage to do something on or before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. The Jays have bats that can put up crooked numbers in a hurry but that can only take them so far. They just recently rallied back from being down 7-0 in the 6th to taking the lead 8-7 going into the bottom half of the inning.....then surrendering the lead immediately and eventually losing 11-10. There are 3 things to take away from this. The jays need at least 1 more, or more realistically 2 more top end arms in the starting rotation, they need to shore up the bullpen so when the offense manages to get them back into games they have no right being in they can hold the lead and not choke it away and third, which is probably the most difficult to do...figure out what to do with Jose Reyes. 

Jose Reyes is a threat at the plate and threat on the bases. No one is going to argue with the numbers that he can give you when healthy. Big problem is, he is also a huge threat to the team defensively. Figuring out what to do about that is no small task. Well the answer is easy, but unrealistic...you pull him late in games in place of someone who can catch and throw the ball consistently. Problem with that is, if you choose to do that you are going to loose him and most likely going to loose a bunch of the Dominican players. it is hard to understand how it seems that whenever a Latin or Dominican player has an issue with something ALL the Latin/Dominican players have an issue. Sure Canadian’s and American’s will have respect for one another but rarely do you see them stand up and side with another teammate just because of nationality. It seems island pride runs deeper. That is not necessarily a bad thing, it is good to have pride in your nationality. We as Canadians take true pride in our country. The USA as we know wave the flag as much ore more then anyone but when it come down to a personal level it seems like the Latin players will side with their brethren in spite of what may be best for business. 

The Jays are in a position to make a healthy run at the playoffs and I can't believe that when other Jays like Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and especially the other Latin guys that see that Reyes’ glove and arm are costing them games that that doesn't make them mad, because it should. When they see balls going and Reyes’ glove or between his legs or he double skips a throw to first base how can they not acknowledge that he is potentially costing them games. They, more then anyone, needs to realize that something needs to be done at shortstop, especially late in tight games. Olé-ing balls that should be routine is costing the team runs, innings, pitch count, bullpen arms and surely overall moral and confidence in the team's ability to make a real run towards the playoffs. 

When it gets to the point where you figure the team is more confident with Munenori Kawasaki at shortstop in the 8th and 9th instead of your $22M guy there has to be some unrest in the clubhouse. Reyes is such a table-setter and important offensive catalyst you don't want to rock the boat and loose him. But if you are Alex Anthopoulos and it is your neck on the line and needing a good finish for your ball club to secure your employment and position as GM it is hard to let things go on as they currently are. Sure it might be nice to package him in a deal, but that is not something easily done. His salary is prohibitive and it is also a deal that is more likely to happen in the off season not at the trade deadline at best.

Hopefully Jose can refocus during the second half and really shore things up defensively. If the Jays do manage to make a move to get some arms, the new additions will need to be supported by solid defence. It doesn't even need to be spectacular defence, just make the plays you are supposed to make and that will help everyone up and down the roster.

The Art Of The Trade Deadline

The baseball trade deadline is fast approaching, but does it really mean anything? This is more of a suggested deadline but isn’t a drop dead date. Deals done before Friday can go through as any normal trade would. This is just the non-waiver trade deadline. Deals can still be made later on, provided the players clear waivers. The true deadline comes later in August when deals have to be completed in order for the players who are moved are eligible to play in the post season.

It is interesting how much different the emphasis is between the major sports as it relates to trades and trade deadline day.

MLB - In baseball there is a bit of movement usually. Deals are done primarily with 1 prominent player in the last year of a contract being moved to help a team either win a division or solidify a team that is assured a post season appearance. The asking is almost always top prospects (or package of prospects) not too often are Major League ready players exchanged for each other.

NBA- In basketball is either feast or famine at trade deadline day. With the salary cap the way it is only minor deals are made but there is the occasional huge deal that will go down. Of those big deals they are so complicated that you need a calculus degree to figure it out -" I’ll trade you my guy with no Bird rights, for your player without Bird rights a second round pick and my small forward who is retired, but I will also give you $8 million so you can buy him out and that will give us enough cap space for a mid level exception player this year and max out my star next year and you get Keith Van Horn". Not a lot of draft picks are involved in deadline deals in the NBA.

NFL - In football there is nearly no deals that are made, there is almost no reason to have a trade deadline. The only one I recall in the recent past was the deal that sent WR Roy Williams to Dallas from Detroit. The way the cap is set up and the non guaranteed contracts make it far less important and far more difficult to pull off a deal for any player as most funds are allocated by July and there just isn’t room to deal.

NHL- In hockey it is one of the must see events- it should almost be a national holiday in Canada anyway. It is all hands on deck, tv stations dedicate a day to programming and breaking anything that might even be possible or probable. These are almost all for rental players to help a team make a run not just for the Cup but in some cases just to make the playoffs because they need to try and keep their team afloat in the "non traditional" hockey markets. Nothing is off limits- players for players, prospects, draft picks and sometimes for that much needed bag of pucks.

Each league has different ideals and how valuable is a player? How valuable is a top prospect? How valuable is a draft pick? Do I try to win now by mortgaging the future or do I hold onto the unproven guy who may become a superstar or may never crack my lineup.
By this Friday we will know what some baseball GM’s have decided what is more important.

NHL D-Day...What Dealings Wil Be Done And By Whom?

With 3pm looming March 4th there has been little or no movement on the trade front. 1 Minor deal yesterday but other then that it has been quiet...perhaps too quiet. Today and yesterday there were a lot of players that were put on waivers. This will give teams the chance to bury some cap money in the AHL and free them up financially to pull the trigger on a deal. This may allow for more player- for-player deals then just players for draft picks.

What do teams on the cusp do, St. Louis and L.A. both potentially could make the playoffs but is that worth grabbing a player only to get pounded by San Jose or Detroit in the first round or get 1 last solid draft and stockpile prospects that you can move in the summer for perhaps an established point producer or 1-2 defenceman...guess we will know in a few hours!

More in hockey then any other sport deadline day has become a beast upon itself, buyers sellers and those who choose to stand pat. there seems to be a lot more teams this year that could be potential buyers but the leagues are so tight that it is tough for GM to decide to unload or load up. It looks like there will be the potential for more minor deals and role players being moved, I wouldn’t expect too many big name players being moved.

The hometown Senators are sellers for the first time in recent memory and it is up to Bryan Murray to shop some players who may fit into long term plans and try to get back some prospects to help out the depth in Binghamton, bolster the team going forward and or stockpile some all important draft picks in this salary cap system that they are in. Just a few rumored to go are Chris Neil, Filip Kuba, Christoph Schubert and again this year Antoine Vermette.

We will have to keep an eye on the ticker and stay on top of the happenings as teams begin to make their moves.

NHL Trade Deadline 09

It is getting close to that time of the year when the NHL becomes a game of high stakes poker. With the trade deadline only a few days away GM’s are already looking at their team and where they are at and other teams on what they can get. The buzz words are all there ”buyer, seller, secondary scoring, puck-moving-defenceman, UFA (unrestricted free agent) and draft picks”.

TSN (TradeCenter 09) and Sportsnet (HockeyCentral Deadline 09) are all ready for a day of covering the happenings of the day, both going on the air at 8am until the 3pm deadline in hopes that there are an abundance of deals that take place to fill the time.If they take an hour to break down a 4th line player for a 5th round pick you’ll know it is a slow day.

Usually the Ottawa Senators are buyers at this time of year, but not this year they look to rid some money and some players and grab some youth and draft picks. Since they are not in the running to make a “right now move” the interest is in what they do with the players they have, who they get rid of and what they get in return. This is the angle that I am looking forward to, I am almost more interested in what draft picks get moved rather then some of the “big” names do. With the Word Juniors that was held in Ottawa and last years draft in Ottawa I have taken a shine to the young players and where they will end up.

With the inconsistent play this year the Sens have positioned themselves into probably a top 10 pick this year and it could be interesting to see what else they can get in the coffers.I am sure there will be plenty to have to say as Wednesday 3pm draws closer so stay tuned!

There is also another reason why I am interested in the developments not only going into the trade deadline but to see how the rest of the season plays out. Since the Senators are having an off year I have had the chance to look at some other teams and have come to the conclusion that I am in need of another team to cheer for. NO, I am not changing my allegiances from Sens Army, I will continue to Be Red, and plan to stay on the wagon. Teams can’t always be good (case in point my Atlanta Braves, 14 consecutive Division Champions, then a few years of sub .500 seasons). What I am looking for is more specific and perhaps a little more scientific.

Here is the criteria I am looking at, I don’t want it to be a front runner right now so it doesn’t look like I am jumping on a bandwagon, so teams like San Jose and Detroit are out. I have whittled the list down to probably 4 potential teams... in no particular order; Pheonix, St. Louis, Chicago, and L.A..

Over the next little bit I plan on posting Pros and Cons for each team before making a final decision. It would be helpful if you the reader would make a vote on the comments page as to what direction you think I should go and perhaps why. If there is another team in the West that you think deserves some interest by all means make a case for it. I will take it all into consideration when making a decision. Give me some feedback and if after the Pros/Cons changes your mind just leave a comment on those as well.