The Atlanta Braves Weekly Wrap

by gondeee on Dec 13, 2009 5:11 PM EST

Here's a look at the major stories in the world of the Atlanta Braves for the week ending on December 13th:

In the Press...

There were early rumors, then more rumors, and finally Rafael Soriano decided to accept arbitration from the Braves.
Soriano was quickly traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for another bullpen arm, Jesse Chavez.
There were early reports at the Winter Meetings that Kelly Johnson was in high demand on the trade market, but apparently that was not the case as the Braves non-tendered Johnson yesterday.
Ryan Church was initially DFA'ed to make room for Soriano on the roster, and then he was non-tendered later in the week.
The Braves have shown some interest in free agent Xavier Nady.
Matt Diaz was re-signed for the 2010 season by the Braves.

At Talking Chop...

For a complete and detailed recap of the Braves happenings at the Winter Meetings, click here.
I penned a post hoping that the Braves stay away from Mike Cameron.
CB previewed the Rule 5 draft, and correctly called that Edgar Osuna would be the guy off the Braves roster who was selected. He was selected by, surprise, the Royals. Those Royals also signed two other ex-Braves players.
Talking Chop got the exclusive scoop on all the Braves minor league and international free agent signings.

Notable FanPosts and FanShots...

jdunk asks the if trading Derek Lowe will make the Braves better.
Meanwhile, JKowalek thinks the Braves and Cubs should make a swap involving Lowe.
And AndrewWK wants the Braves to swap Lowe for a speedster.

Coming up tomorrow on Talking Chop, the combined community top-25 Braves prospects.

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Comments

Pretty shitty week if u ask me

MATT DIAZ IS THE F**K*NG MAN.
They made me change my signature...

by nick9314 on Dec 13, 2009 5:21 PM EST reply actions

i was thinking the exact same thing...

so this must be what it feels like to be a Pirates fan!

In Frank Wren I trust.

by Scott Coleman on Dec 13, 2009 5:25 PM EST up reply actions

Got em

MATT DIAZ IS THE F**K*NG MAN.
They made me change my signature...

by nick9314 on Dec 13, 2009 5:52 PM EST up reply actions

well,...

we are now the Pirates South.

by Mr. Sanchez on Dec 13, 2009 6:08 PM EST up reply actions

Hmm...I wonder who's gonna be the number 1 prospect tomorrow?

In Frank Wren I trust.

by Scott Coleman on Dec 13, 2009 5:26 PM EST reply actions

Tough choice. I heard there's this guy names Jordan Howard or something and he's supposed to be decent...

MATT DIAZ IS THE F**K*NG MAN.
They made me change my signature...

by nick9314 on Dec 13, 2009 5:54 PM EST up reply actions

oh yeah, I forgot to say this earlier:

It REALLY made me laugh.

On an MLBTR comment thread, a Braves fan was saying our bullpen was set because (and I quote): “The Braves have a good upandcoming bullpen with to guys named Kraig Krimbel and Julio Tevesqz.. or something like that.”

/FACEPALM

In Frank Wren I trust.

by Scott Coleman on Dec 13, 2009 6:26 PM EST up reply actions

I also saw someone mention a Diaz/Gomes platoon...

how do you platoon guys that do the same damn thing (aka hit lefties but not righties)?

by Mr. Sanchez on Dec 13, 2009 9:33 PM EST up reply actions

They both hit righties decently

The differences being that while Diaz still hits for decent AVG and OBP against righties with no power, while Gomes has good power but a low OBP.

Also, Diaz dominates lefties to a much greater extreme.

by Bronn on Dec 13, 2009 11:10 PM EST up reply actions

Let me rephrase...

who on earth platoons a right handed hitter that does much better against lefties than righties, with a right handed hitter that does much better against lefties than righties. How do you work a platoon, when you’d want them in (or out) of the lineup against the same guys?

by Mr. Sanchez on Dec 13, 2009 11:56 PM EST up reply actions

Potential moves going forward...

So far we have had a little good – Resigning of Diaz and Hudson- and a little bad -Lack of return for Soriano and Johnson. Does anyone have any thoughts on the Braves potentially looking at Vlad Guerrero. I know he isnt as good as he once was but once… could he be better than anyone else we could get to man a corner OF spot -eg Nady or Cameron? I think So. The other player i would LOVE to get is Adrian Gonzalez. The Padres went to trade him and he IS a better player than any free agent on the market. Any chance of a trade, maybe a three way trade with Lowe involved?

by Freemans on Dec 13, 2009 8:34 PM EST reply actions

Vlad can’t play the field. I’d stab Wren with a rust butter knife if he signed him.

by bravesfan91 on Dec 13, 2009 8:41 PM EST up reply actions

no no no to Vlad. he makes GA look like Nyger Morgan in the outfield.

and it would take a ton to get Gonzalez. i would think that deal would model the Teixeira one.

In Frank Wren I trust.

by Scott Coleman on Dec 13, 2009 8:41 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

So what if it would. There would be differences… we would have him from the start of the year and he is under cheap contract for i believe 2 more years yet. And if we could somehow package Lowe in a three way trade. Teixeria is actually a good example. We gave up to much for him but he was the best signing the Yankess made last year. If you look at Gonzalez’s stats outside of SD they are incrediable! He is way better than Holliday or Bay. We have the prospects and the extra pieces and yes its a gamble on the prospects coming back to bite us but he is a proven stud!

by Freemans on Dec 13, 2009 9:10 PM EST up reply actions

dont get me wrong

I’d absolutely love to get AGon. I go to a few Padres game a year and they’re always on TV at my house. He’s the real deal.

I just don’t wanna empty the farm system. It would probably take Freeman, one of Minor or Teheran, one of Cody Johnson or Milligan and maybe another low level prospect or two. No thanks.

In Frank Wren I trust.

by Scott Coleman on Dec 13, 2009 9:17 PM EST up reply actions

AT LEAST

I don’t know if we could do it without Heyward, and if we didn’t give him up, it would take Freeman, Teheran, Randall Delgado, Bethancourt, and probably somebody else.

by eaheckman10 on Dec 13, 2009 9:52 PM EST up reply actions

Three Way Trade idea is Intriguing

If we could get the Angels in on the trade, a three-way deal may work. You are right to say we would have to give up a lot, but we would get one of the best players in baseball in return.

Braves Get: Adrian Gonzalez, Gary Matthews Jr.

Angels Get: Derek Lowe and mid level prospect from braves

Padres Get: Freddie Freeman, Mike Minor or Kris Medlen, Julio Tehran and another low level prosepct from the Braves
Brandon Wood and another prospect from Angels

Angels would replace Lackey with Lowe and get rid of Matthews contract, so they would have a little flexibility in the free agent market.

Padres would get a couple good young pitchers from the braves as well as Gonzo’s future replacement in Freeman. They would get a major league ready infielder in Wood as well as another prospect from Angels based on their needs

Braves would get the middle of the order bat they covet and clear Lowe’s salary, but they would replace it with Gary Matthews Jr. contract. We give Matthews a chance in our outfield to start the season and hope he can play well enough for us to flip him for a salary dump mid season or after the season.

Obviously I am not a professional GM, so this would need some work, but I think there are some possibilities there.

by gutisking on Dec 13, 2009 9:48 PM EST reply actions

we wouldn't have to give up that much if we are also taking back Matthews...

and because of that, the Angels would need to give up more.

by Mr. Sanchez on Dec 13, 2009 9:53 PM EST up reply actions

IMO there is no way we get rid of Medlen. He is our insurance policy for starters. What if one of them goes down?

by eaheckman10 on Dec 13, 2009 9:53 PM EST up reply actions

JoJo Reyes

as well as Redmond could fill in, but they would be less effective than Medlen. You have to ask yourself if it is worth the risk to get a player like Gonzalez. Our offense should score several more runs with that projected lineup, so a loss of one of our starters for a period wouldn’t be something we couldn’t overcome.

by gutisking on Dec 13, 2009 9:58 PM EST up reply actions