Braves Trade McBride

by gondeee on Jun 20, 2007 4:49 PM EDT in Trade News Comment 12 comments

The Atlanta Braves announced that they have traded left-handed reliever Macay McBride to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for left-handed reliever Wilfredo Ledezma.

Ledezma has primarily been a reliever in his five-year major league career, but he has made 33 starts out of the 106 games he has appeared in, though none have come this year.

I'll have more on the trade as more details become available.

Joey Devine was also recalled, but I'd imagine it will be much like the last time he was recalled where he didn't make it into a game. He's simply there in case of emergency because Ledezma likely won't arrive until Friday's game.

Update [2007-6-20 17:32:5 by gondeee]:

This trade makes me think back to Monday night’s game against the Red Sox where McBride couldn’t get the last out with a six-run lead. Cox looked real peeved having to get up Soriano and Wickman and eventually bring Wickman into the game. Is seems like the Braves may have lost confidence in McBride and just felt he needed a change. Perhaps the same could be said for Ledezma:

The deal could allow the Tigers to make room in the bullpen, as Ledezma is out of minor league options -- meaning if the Tigers tried to send him down, they could have lost him to another team.

So… we traded for a guy who was going to be sent down to the minors but for the fact that he was out of options. ‘Dez is a pitcher with a history of wildness that has continued this year. I find this trade a real head-scratcher. The only real "reasons" I can see for the Braves making this move are (1) they did lose confidence in McBride and (2) Ledezma’s one of those guys the organization has coveted for a long time – he’s a hard thrower and he’s left-handed… but still, it's a real head-scratcher.

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Ledezma?

You sure it's not Maroth. What's your source?

by Chipper on Jun 20, 2007 4:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Release

From the official pregame notes which are released by the Braves.

by gondeee on Jun 20, 2007 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Besides...

...Maroth is just a younger version of Mark Redman. We don't want him. He'd give up 40 homeruns if he pitched half his games in Atlanta.

by gondeee on Jun 20, 2007 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But

What does Ledezma do for the Braves. He's a left handed reliever and McBride could have done better. That made no sense trading for him.

by Chipper on Jun 20, 2007 5:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ah man

It was Ledezma. Why not Maroth? we needed a starter more than anything. I believe Maroth could have succeeded as a Brave, Roger McDowell and all.

by Chipper on Jun 20, 2007 5:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Terrible.

This equates to making a trade for the hell of it. Ledezma has shown nothing to be impressed by at the ML level (terrible K/BB ratio and only one decent ERA and WHIP year) and there's really no reason to think that will change. Detroit has done a very good job with its pitchers, so it's not like he's imminenly salvage-able. McBride's inconsistency was enfuriating, but he did show flashes of brilliance. I don't like this trade one bit and it will take Ledezma outperforming McBride for a few years to change my mind.

by ejruiz on Jun 20, 2007 6:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Take a look at this highlight reel

It may change your mind...

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=425656

by Chipper on Jun 20, 2007 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow..

Some good movement on his pitches. But man, that's some violent mechanics. Herky jerky, though it helps to hide the ball coming out of his hands. And from the 5 K video I watched, left handers were having a tough ass time.

Two Teams, Two Coasts - One Obsession

by Rain Delay on Jun 20, 2007 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not Convinced.

On the same page as all of those videos you can find the kid's stats and they show that his highlights, while impressive, are far from the norm. His career strikeout ratios of 5.44 K/9 and 1.36 K/BB make him roughly equivalent to the 2007 edition of Sidney Ponson (5.50 K/9 and 1.35 K/BB) and his numbers so far this season (6.06 K/9 and 0.92 K/BB) are different, but not better. Let's compare those stats to the ones our starters have put together so far this season:

Smoltz: 7.76 K/9 and 4.00 K/BB (76 K and 19 BB in 88.2 IP)
Hudson: 4.97 K/9 and 2.23 K/BB (58 K and 26 BB in 105 IP)
James: 6.67 K/9 and 1.71 K/BB (60 K and 35 BB in 81 IP)
Davies: 5.66 K/9 and 1.32 K/BB (45 K and 34 BB in 71.2 IP)
Redman/Carlyle/Lerew/Cormier: 5.65 K/9 and 1.24 K/BB (41 K and 33 BB in 65.1 IP)
Ledezma (Career): 5.44 K/9 and 1.36 K/BB (171 K and 126 BB in 283 IP)
Ledezma (2007): 6.06 K/9 and 0.92 K/BB (24 K and 26 BB in 35.2 IP)

You see, he's no better than our #4 and #5 starters in terms of strikeouts and walks. In other words, while he shows flashes of dominance, he is not a difference-maker.

Look, I wish this kid all the best of luck and hope he'll be as good as we need him to be, but there is simply no reason to be excited about this trade. It's a lateral move (McBride could start and did so quite well when he was sent down to Richmond this year) that says more about the Braves frustration with Macay than it does about their desire for Wilfredo. By no means does this improve our chances of winning a championship this year, so I consider this deal a non-issue.

by ejruiz on Jun 21, 2007 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Remember Sosa

When we got Jorge Sosa I think the sentament was similar to this one. He didn't have that impressive a resume, but for one year at least we were able to make him a respectable major leaguer.

by gondeee on Jun 20, 2007 10:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh forgot

Look at the multi media section of that page to get the videos

by Chipper on Jun 20, 2007 6:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wow

That's nasty! What would that look like coming around every 5th day? I'd love to see Davies bumped and have Ledezma up there. If control is his issue then starting may help. Sometimes pitchers need a few pitches to warm up and in relief situations you may only get 10-15. Further, even though it's not my birthday, can Buddy go wait 7 more years for another win? I hear this kid Villarreal is pretty good...

by torchy on Jun 20, 2007 9:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs