Not much going on from day one at the Winter Meetings as far as Atlanta Braves fans are concerned, though it's still worth pointing out a few quotes or points. These are from DOB's AJC article, the first is in regards to Andrelton Simmons:
"I don’t think anybody is untouchable, but I think he would be…" Wren said, pausing for the right adjective, "unreachable. Because he plays one of those skill positions in the middle of the diamond much better than your average bear. He’s a special player.
"The other thing is, we’ve seen him grow so much in the last two years, from the time we drafted him to rushing through the minor leagues and winning a batting title at the A-ball level. He just continues to get better and better. We may be just scratching the surface of how good he can be."
That honestly sounds like how the Braves talked about Yunel Escobar five years ago. I'm not saying Yuney and Simba are the same player, but the Braves certainly do fall in love with their guys up the middle. Of course, I would consider him untouchable and/or unreachable as well, and keep in mind that I was high on Simmons before just about anyone else was.
Wren mentioned that they were trying to re-sign Reed Johnson to be their primary pinch hitter, and he said this about the continuing search for a left fielder:
As for a starting left fielder, Wren was asked if he’d be comfortable going to spring training without acquiring another impact performer.
"Yeah," he said. "Would I be satisfied? No. But I think I would be fairly comfortable. Because I think we’re in a position where we’re starting to have some options internally that are at least interesting for us, and would be fun to watch in spring training, see how they develop. So if we did nothing in that regard … I think there’s some interesting things that could develop from our own organization."
I've mentioned that a platoon of Juan Francisco and Evan Gattis would be fun to watch, with Martin Prado shifting back and forth between left field and third base. If the last spot in the lineup is the eighth spot, then why not take a shot and develop some (more) young sluggers.
And in the no-one-is-untouchable category:
While the Braves aren’t interested in trading young starting pitchers Kris Medlen or Mike Minor, prospects Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado could be available.
"But] if we’re going to trade one of those guys it’s going to be a significant deal," Wren said. "And I don’t know if that’s going to happen or not."
Sounds about right. Though that means the Braves would probably want to get some rotation insurance.
We'll see if anything drops today at the meetings. Sounds like the groundwork for deals is being laid, but no one is getting close to finalizing anything. Maybe trades will start happening once more free agents are off the board.