wouldn’t Adam Everett be a better expenditure of resources than Furcal in the event of Escobar being dealt? I know he can’t hit, but he’s a defensive wizard. He’ll be dirt cheap, perhaps only 2-3 million a year tops, and the injury risk is roughly equal if not less with Everett.

It’s worth consideration. I’m still against moving Escobar, too.

trading Escobar would be so much easier if Lilibridge had just hit last year.

I think there’s some underestimation of just how good Everett has been defensively. From 2004 on, nobody at any position has been as valuable with the glove as Everett. Comparing Lillibridge to Everett defensively is almost like comparing Billy Butler to Albert Pujols at the plate – one has all the talent in the world but hasn’t done it consistently at this level, the other is one of the best ever. Everett has been that good in the field. He gives back a good chunk of it at the plate, but I’d wager a good sum that his cost per win above replacement will be about 50% or less than that of Furcal or Renteria.

Obviously Furcal’s price tag is much higher, but that aside, is there any comparison? I like Yunel, and I’m glad he’s panned out. BUT, if he’s traded for an ace and the Braves sign Furcal, I think it’s a win-win. Sure that will be a lot of cash, BUT, barring injury, the Braves would have a legit #1, something they didn’t have last year after Smoltz went down and won’t/wouldn’t have in 2009 otherwise. Plus they would have a legit leadoff hitter!! Yunel is a solid #2 hitter, but Furcal is a legit leadoff hitter, something the team doesn’t currently have. Defensively, I think they are comparable so I don’t think they’d win/lose because of one or the other. Furcal as a hitter is more valuable to a team than Yunel. He’s just more dynamic.
All in all, it would be awesome to keep Escobar and get an ace or aces but if push came to shove, I’d be happy to see Furcal back in an ATL uniform and Peavy toeing the rubber every 5th day.

Could it be that Wren is looking at signing Furcal first, then maybe trading Escobar in a package deal to acquire Grienke? Not saying I agree with it, but maybe he’s using it as a step towards a new infield? (Trade Esco for pitching, trade Johnson (+more?) for Ludwick?)

A healthy Furcal would be a really good asset for the Braves when he is on the field. He is an excellent defender-good club house guy-great lead off hitter. I think he could be one of the guys who is worth the money spent…..IF….he is healthy. That isn’t a given.

He was out a good bit last year for health reasons and has always been something of a health risk. If the Braves are going to spend the money to bring in a SS when they have guys like Escobar, Lillibridge, and Infante on their bench they need to be certain that this guy is going to be able to contribute and play. The Braves are desperate for offense. You can’t spend that much money on a free agent that is likely to be out for large chunks of time during the season. They would be better off spending that money to go after a LF (the idea of Ibanez is becoming more attractive to me these days on a 2 year deal). If they were to sign a middle of the order LF and traded Escobar you would see someone like a Lillibridge batting 8th-which is fine. The Braves would have SOME offense at the other spots in the line up and could handle a weaker hitter with speed in the #8 spot. I personally like to see someone with speed in the # 8 spot as it gives you a little more variety as to how you approach the pitcher’s AB. If you put Lillibridge in the #8 spot and let him run I think he could swipe 20+ SBs and give the opposing pitcher some challenges when going after our pitchers.

This off-season is like some giant Rube Goldberg machine, dozens of moving parts which change every day. I think he honestly doesn’t want to gut our system, but the pressure to get a couple of big names must be enormous. Yunel is a terrific player, but we have an adequate replacement in Lillibridge. KJ is a terrific player, but we have an adequate replacement in Prado. With Infante around, we can patch together a good infield every day.

The problem is, we need both a slugging LF and probably two starting pitchers. It looks like we won’t find them in FA, so we will have to trade. It’s going to be painful, no matter what happens.