No FA CF

by VegasAces on Nov 7, 2007 12:40 PM EST

This from the ajc today:

"The Braves don't plan to make offers to free-agent center fielders Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand or Mike Cameron, all of whom would require longer-term commitments than the Braves prefer.

Wren said they don't want to block the path of their prospects."

What does everyone think? The article mentions DeJesus as a trade possibility, but there must be others. I think Crisp is an option, as long as we don't give up too much. Throw him in the 8 spot and don't expect too much with the bat.

Also, what about other FA CF's that might be had on a shorter deal?

This FanPost does not express the views or opinions of Talking Chop.

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Coco!

it's a good thing that Wren's made it clear that none of those FAs will be signed. Hunter is good but will ask for a lot of money. Rowand had a good year but I don't think he can keep it up. and Cameron bla bla bla.

I would gladly welcome Crisp into the 8th spot and play CF for us. He can play CF just as well as Andruw and at leats we KNOW what we'll get from him at the plate. With Andruw it was "hmm, will it be GIDP or knee buckling K?"

by RehabReject on Nov 7, 2007 1:36 PM EST reply actions

Dejesus

I have been saying his name for the last 2 yrs. He makes good sense for the Braves. He is relatively cheap...still has the potential for upside (Keep in mind he has been hitting in the Royals line up for the last few years. Not alot of protection for anyone in that line up). He could also hit in a couple different spots in the order; 1st, 2nd, 7th or 8th. I also think the Royals could end up being an easy trading partner. Moore knows what the Braves have and should have a reasonable relationship with the Braves front office. Where as Coco Crisp is almost certain to be shopped by Boston but I think you coudl see a couple teams go after him; Cubs, Twins, Rangers, San Diego etc. I think Crisp will have more competition. I would also like to hear from someone in Cleveland who has seen Jason Michaels play recently. Is he capable of playing a good CF? If so, he would be of interest to me. Decent bat, reasonable cost.

However, as a general philsophy I think it is good to not go after one of the big name free agents. The Braves line up (assuming Escobar can continue to hit next year)doesn't really need another bat. It can survive with someone that is realitively weak in the #8 hole playing CF. I would be open to looking at a list of minor free agents, role players, and prospects and pick the best from the lot. (Harris, Schafer, Blanco, lew Ford, Brady Clark, etc) I also think that if the Braves are going to spend money...spend it on pitching!

by calbers on Nov 7, 2007 6:03 PM EST reply actions

Jason Michaels??

ask Charles Thomas what he thinks of Michaels

by RehabReject on Nov 7, 2007 10:41 PM EST up reply actions

thomas vs. michaels?

what does that mean?

by chipper4mvp10 on Nov 8, 2007 12:36 AM EST up reply actions

uhh

watch Braves games much?

back in '04

"Thomas sent a drive that seemed destined to land well over Michaels' head, but the outfielder didn't believe it. With his glove stretched over his head, Michaels got to the ball, then tried to corral it into his glove. It popped out and headed toward the grass.

Michaels made a second attempt, snatching the ball again. But in doing that, he juggled it high in the air and over the center-field fence, where a surprised fan grabbed it. Michaels could only shake his head in amazement, while pitcher Cory Lidle looked on in disbelief."

by RehabReject on Nov 10, 2007 5:16 PM EST up reply actions

Michaels...

...is an ass. He got arrested because he punched a cop in the face. He belongs in PHI.

by Smoltzs Beard on Nov 11, 2007 7:16 PM EST up reply actions

Patterson

This comment by Wren is kind of screaming for Corey Patterson I think. Crisp and DeJesus are still inked for three years and Crisp's final years are a bit pricey. Patterson could probably be had for a year at about 4 million.

by tmsnow on Nov 8, 2007 11:10 AM EST reply actions

Patterson?

Yikes...talk about a poor option offensively. I think the guy's career OBP is somewhere below .300? I realize that he plays a fairly good CF but OUCH! Someone like Dejesus is not that expensive that he couldn't be moved later. I was thinking that a line up like this in the OF would be cost effective and fairly strong:

LF: Diaz and Harris/Brandon Jones/Scott Thorman
(You could let Harris, Jones, or Thorman fight it out and platton in LF. If none of them hit you can let Diaz get 400 ABs and be ok with him in the 7 or 8 hole.) This wouldn't cost any more then 1.5 million or so for the pair.

CF: Dejesus and Lew Ford. Dejesus does OK against LHP so he may not need a platton partner at all. If so then Ford becomes your 4th OFer. Ford doesn't show career numbers that are stellar against LHP but he has never been used in a Platoon type role. Total these two would probably cost you around 2.5-3 million a year.

RF: Frenchie.

Because the Braves get production at C, 2B, and hopefully SS they can let the OF spots slide a little bit. However, if Diaz doesn't hit like he did in '07 and Escobar regresses it could be rough if you don't have a proven commodity in CF. That is why Crisp or DeJesus are better options to me. Both are versatile enough that they could hit 1, 2 7 or 8 in the lineup. Patterson can't be a top of the order guy. If Escobar struggles even a little his value drops off because he doesn't walk a lot. If he his .275 his OBP would only be .320 or so and his value as a top of the order guy drops. It would be unfair to expect the guy to hit .320 again so I don't feel comfortable writign him in pen to the #1 or 2 hole right now. I would prefer to have the option of letting him hit #8 if he gets off to a slow start.

by calbers on Nov 8, 2007 6:26 PM EST reply actions

huh?

thorman in left? is that viable?

even if he can play lf, i dont want him in the lineup...i wish they would trade him...

by Doghnut on Nov 8, 2007 9:59 PM EST up reply actions

Why is it...

...that people are still talking about a platoon in LF? Diaz has more than earned a starting spot. In the last two years he has 190+ hits in around 600 ABs. Pretty solid.

by Smoltzs Beard on Nov 11, 2007 7:18 PM EST up reply actions

Answer

Because for the last couple of years left field has been a place for ideal platooning for us to infuse unproven and young talent. I think a platoon is less about Diaz not being able to handle everyday play and more about letting some guys play that maybe aren't ready to play every day but are ready to contribute at the major league level. And hey, the platoon has worked has it not? We don't know how he would react to playing every day. Last season in fact he got a few more at bats in august and september and he seemed to slow down a bit at the end. Now I'm not arguing against the fact that Diaz has earned a chance to play everyday, but i do like the idea of a platoon in certain instances and it has worked with diaz. Maybe this year we can try one in center. But i don't know who we would put out there.

.....Matt

by yondaime4 on Nov 11, 2007 10:47 PM EST up reply actions

True...

...and yes, when the platoon works well I'm all for it. But I still feel like Bobby gave Langerhans and Harris too many ABs at certain points of the respective seasons. I understand that Diaz becomes very valuable coming off the bench in the late innings, but that does not outmatch the 4 ABs Langerhans would try to give us. And when Willie was hitting .200 for that stretch he had no business being in the lineup.

by Smoltzs Beard on Nov 12, 2007 2:09 PM EST up reply actions

Platoon

Well said. I agree. The reason that Bobby gave Langerhans and Harris a number of ABs was to see if they could produce. We found out that they can't. If they had not given Ryan 600 ABs over two years we could be looking at Langerhans as our CF option now. Now he know he is an exciting defensive player but couldn't hit water if he fell out of the proverbial boat.

Diaz is an exceptional platoon/ bench player and COULD be CLOSE to a league average LF. However, bear in mind that what we have seen out of Diaz is probably as good as it gets and as much as I like having him on the team and watching him hit he still only walked something like 16 times. His OBP is entirely dependent on his average which is a very dangerous place to live.

However, his ability to platoon and do more when needed is a great fit for the Braves. I would personally like to see Diaz get about 350 ABs and let Brandon Jones get 200 ABs in LF to see how he plays. I could see the Braves getting something like .300/.350 with 20 HRs and 85 RBIs out of their LF platoon this year. That is a lot of value for very little money. Money that they can spend in CF and the rotation.

by calbers on Nov 12, 2007 5:53 PM EST up reply actions

And also...

...just to counter your statement " Last season in fact he got a few more at bats in august and september and he seemed to slow down a bit at the end."

July 31 - BA .339, OBP .363, SLG .462, OPS .824
Sept 30 - BA .338, OBP .368, SLG .497, OPS .865

So I'm not worried about him wearing down with the extra ABs. I'm sure one thing that we can agree on is that he could stand to take some more walks.

by Smoltzs Beard on Nov 14, 2007 12:47 PM EST up reply actions

Waste!

Blanco and Loadenthal could each outperform many of the realistic FA or trade options. Terrible.

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by ejruiz on Nov 8, 2007 9:06 PM EST reply actions

uhhh...not really a waste

DeJesus scored 101 runs last year in the Royals lineup. He could do that by August if he hit second in our lineup. Of course they would have to trade for him so we may lose some guys.

I've seen Greg White and Loafenthal play an entire season (plus some for Blanco) in Mississippi and they can't touch the 4+ years of ML-proven ability of DeJesus. They both would play fine defense, but I would go with Blanco over Loafy.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/dejesda01.shtml

He's very comparable to Milton Bradley during this stage of his career according to the link.

signed extension 3/06

06:$0.5M, 07:$2M, 08:$2.5M, 09:$3.6M, 10:$4.7M, 11:$6M club option ($0.5M buyout)

He would be tradeable in a couple years if Schafer (or Gorkys) is a better option.

by themurph on Nov 9, 2007 1:14 PM EST up reply actions

LOL

that is all

.....Matt

by yondaime4 on Nov 11, 2007 11:13 AM EST up reply actions

Not at all

Neither has any experience in the major leagues; neither is considered a prospect; Loadenthal hasn't even played above Double-A ball. I think we should have serious concerns about Frank Wren's GM abilities if he fills the center field void with Blanco (let's be serious, Loadenthal isn't even an unlikely candidate, he's not a candidate).

Blanco's numbers from last year were impressive on the surface (.282/.369/.362 with 26 XBHs and 23 SBs), but he also was caught in 18 of 41 attempts and only accumulated those 26 XBHs. I have serious questions about whether he's a better option than Willie Harris with those numbers; outside my concerns about whether he can hit ML pitching as he never has shown that ability.

Let's not even get started on Loadenthal. He's never played a game above Double-A. He's not seriously being considered as a no power, little experience, speed candidate; that would be Blanco or Harris.

I'd like a trade for DeJesus personally. See if we can't spin off Gorkys and a fringe pitcher (Ascanio maybe) for him, seeing our depth in both categories. If not, I'd trade Villareal and a fringe prospect (Campbell would be interesting, even Kaaihue). DeJesus has a four year ML track record, a decent .282/.359/.415 career line, and doesn't cost much. He could fill the #1/2 spot in the lineup, play solid defense, and would be easy to move in July 2009 when Schafer's ready to come up (or spin off into a left field platoon or starting job).

by 17843 on Nov 12, 2007 4:41 PM EST up reply actions

Could

Do I want Thorman in LF...no..but if he changed his swing and a light buld went off; great. However, I also doubt it would happen. He won't be traded. He will be released. He has no value to trade.

As for Blanco; He COULD out perform some players. However, you don't want to enter the season with him as your everyday CF. There had to be a reason the Braves didn't bring him up in September to see what he can do. He doesn't enter their plans as an immediate option. As for Loadenthal; he had a decent year in AA but at 25 he should have a decent year in AA. Not a serious option for the Braves. The reality is that the Braves don't have any viable internal CF options to start the '08 season. Could they ahve an internal option as early as July or August of '08? Maybe..but not May. They need to bring someone in.

by calbers on Nov 8, 2007 11:30 PM EST reply actions

Chone Figgins

I actually read that the Angels might be open to trading Figgins if they went after Arod or another candidate for 3B. Figgins would actually represent a decent option for the Braves in CF. He is a viable (though not great) lead off guy. His play in CF has been average, if not a little better. As a bonus he could fill in at 3B or 2B if the need arose. His average/OBP for the last three years has been .293 and .354 with about 50 steals. I know the Braves would take that.

by calbers on Nov 13, 2007 6:14 PM EST reply actions