Say hello to our new CF?

by HailStonz on Nov 16, 2007 4:39 PM EST

The Braves just shipped Villarreal off to Houston for OF Josh Anderson:

Anderson (AA) 132 G, 513 AB, 2 HR, 43 RBI, 40 SB
(HOU)21 G, 67 AB, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB

Looks like he can run a bit, and the defensive numbers don't look bad (nor all that good) at first glance. Perhaps he's a stopgap (and a cheap one) that could turn into more? Hit .309 at AA in '06, but with an OPS of .666. :-(

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Link?

I checked the transactions...where did you see this?

by themurph on Nov 16, 2007 4:53 PM EST reply actions

Nevermind

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20071116&content_id=2301 958&vkey=pr_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

by themurph on Nov 16, 2007 4:55 PM EST reply actions

What the! &*# ^$!@??

Now granted ...I haven't seen this kid play yet but a couple points that I woudl like to make:

If the Astros thought he was legit would they have just traded for Bourne?
If the Jason Tyner comparisons are accurate; which I believe they are....I would like to point out that we ALREADY had Jason Tyner and never called him up back in '04.
Why would we trade for a guy whose career minorleague OPS is .030 points lower and is one year older then the inhouse option you have? IE; Greg Blanco.
I understand that OScar didn't pitch extremely well last year but he has a track record of being a decent middle reliever/spot starter. Are you telling me we couldn't score better then a C prospect for an established ML reliever?

Again, I haven't seen Anderson play so I am guessing that the scouts see something that don't show up in the stats. However, the synopsis I have read is that he is fast, but lacks patience and is not an exceptional CF.

I am all for the idea of "insurance" but the use of the term "insurance" would imply that it offers some coverage...but I don't see it.

by calbers on Nov 17, 2007 9:57 PM EST reply actions

Yep...

I agree on all counts....what a waste of Oscar, regardless of arbitration $$$. Long relief will probably be in order next season from the #3, 4, and 5 starters (and yes, I'm throwing Glavine in that although I hope he gets the CY). I know we have several options for #5 and any one or two could serve in long relief, but Oscar is proven.

Reminds me of acquiring TJ Bohn....Why bother?

by secondbass on Nov 17, 2007 11:08 PM EST up reply actions

I disagree

I think arbitration is a big deal here, any extra money we can save leads to us using that saved money to get a bigger impact player whether that be Andruw or saving that money for a year down the road to try and sign someone like a Peavy or Santana.

Also, I agree after this past season we will need a long releif guy, but we have an abundance of starters that can fill this role. Basically we can have two or three guys that don't win a starting role battle it out for the long relief role.

Losing Oscar isn't a big deal, you talk about him being "proven", but all he did last year was pitch when we were way up or way down. The Braves record in the games he pitched was 15-36, not to mention if you go to baseballreference.com and look at his stats - his park adjusted ERA is 4.48. To me it won't be hard at all to fill these shoes, and whoever we fill them with will probably be an upgrade, all while saving some money to benefit the team either this season or down the road.

by whunt13 on Nov 18, 2007 12:33 PM EST up reply actions

Trading Oscar

It wasn't the trading of Oscar that bothered me. It was what we got in return for him. We got a 24 year old who doesn't seem to have much upside and duplicates what is already in the system. I understand that arbitration had a lot to do with the decision but I haven't looked it up yet..but i would guess a 4.48 probably is better then league average these days and given the lack of pitching everywhere it just seems to be a waste of a bargaining chip.

Yes we have other options; Carlyle, Cormier, Reyes, etc but I think that Oscar still has value and we got very little in return.

by calbers on Nov 18, 2007 2:39 PM EST reply actions

Additional thought

Oscar is only what...1 year older then Anderson? I know we assume that Oscar is 30 or 31...but I think he is 25 (maybe 26).

by calbers on Nov 18, 2007 2:43 PM EST up reply actions

Form today's Dave O'Brien blog.....

Regarding CF next year:

"Frank Wren said that if spring training opened today, CF job would be a three-way competition between the newcomer Josh Anderson, prospect Jordan Schafer and ... drum roll please ... Gregor Blanco."

Interesting....

by secondbass on Nov 19, 2007 5:24 PM EST reply actions

Also, from DOB on Andruw.....

"By the way, Bobby Cox said he talked to Andruw on the phone this morning, Andruw called him from Hawaii and asked Bobby if the Braves had signed Glavine yet. Bobby said they were about to, and that he wished they could bring back Andruw, too, "but that's not gonna work."

Again, team officials made it clear today there is no way, no chance, that Andruw's coming back on any one-year contract or anything else."

by secondbass on Nov 19, 2007 5:30 PM EST reply actions