If there's any single reason to be put off by this deal, aside from acquiring what looks like...

If there's any single reason to be put off by this deal, aside from acquiring what looks like another future 1B/DH type [Tyler Flowers], or failing to acquire a young starter in return, or Lillibridge in general, or that the Sox don't figure to have get any benefit out of the deal in '09, it's that John Schuerholz and his scouting staff tend to come out on top in these type of deals. (Note: I know he's no longer technically the GM, but it's still his staff and he's the F'n team president.) Last year he stole Jair Jurrgens from Detroit. And the year before that it was Rafael Soriano for Horacio Ramirez. The last deal that's truly comparable to this one, however, is the Hudson trade. Dan Meyer never turned into anything and Juan Cruz, despite his strikeout rate and type-A status, has not delivered on his former promise. Reportedly the Sox were allowed to pick 4 from a list of 5 prospects. No doubt the Braves felt safe losing any of the players listed.

A South-Sider reacts to the trade
What keeps going through my mind is that we don't seem to be giving up anyone that we can't live without, while we're getting a starting pitcher we desperately need. We're also not giving up some of our best trade chips (Gorkys, Reyes, Morton, Johnson, Escobar), so we still have the flexibility to make another move or two.

11 months ago gondeee 5 comments 0 recs |

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I think calling Tyler Flowers another 1B/DH type might be selling him a bit short, but yeah, we didn’t give up any substantial arms in the deal, which is probably what Wren set out to do. Now, I wouldn’t have minded shipping out Reyes since I have a very small opinion of him instead of perhaps Gilmore (eh…), but overall the only one I fear for losing is Flowers.

But like I said in the other thread, the deal is a failure if we don’t do anything else, because he is not a #1 pitcher, and if we’re not going to get another starter then we’re not competing this year/next year anyways. But if we do then I like it.

by soup du jour on Dec 3, 2008 9:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

this is a good deal and should allow us to pursue another starter via trade, maybe even revisit the peavy talks if towers were to get off his high horse.

by heap16 on Dec 3, 2008 10:26 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

another starter and a leftfielder and we are good to go. we still have plenty of upside plays in our offense as well. johnson, kotchman, escobar, and francoeur should all improve to some extent next season. francoeur is a wild card but let us not forget that heading into last season he was baseball prospectus’s best candidate for a breakout year. they usually are dead on in their predictions. maybe his breakout will be similar to granderson’s and come a year later than they thought. i think we are about to see kelly take a big step forward this year and put out .300/.400/.475 which is a massive year for a secondbasemen. yunel should increase his output now that his shoulder is healed and he definitely has more power potential to tap into

by jeg on Dec 3, 2008 2:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The cult around John Schuerholz is ridiculous. Prospects by definition tend not to pan out as expected. It’s not like we’ve never traded a guy who’s become a stud (Jermaine Dye, Adam Wainwright). Sure, Dan Meyer and Andy Marte never turned out as they should’ve, but expecting them to 100% of the time is foolish.

by 17843 on Dec 3, 2008 2:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The “cult” around Schuerholz is not all that ridiculous. I’ve read more than one article where GMs admitted they were reluctant to deal with him because of his unacanny ability to come out on top of most of his trades. It has resulted in many GMs wanting overpayment from the Braves to cover themselves. His average is well above any other GM you can name for the past couple decades. Even his “misses” had a logic to them but things just didn’t go right. Tex did pretty much what he was supposed to do, the rest of the team fell apart; JD Drew had a career year for the Braves; even Kotsay played well when he played. You take chances in the win now mode the Braves have been in for the last 18 years.

by braves99 on Dec 4, 2008 11:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs