(Yes, I suck with titles, end of story.)
While there was success on the trade front, our season obviously didn’t get off to a hot start, barely avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks. Additionally, Folty’s injury puts even more pressure on the rotation depth and hoping that at least one guy takes a needed step forward. All this isn’t helped by Snitker’s lineup construction, in which he’s reverted to the idea of Inciarte leading off again with Albies fifth.
So, how did the series with the Padres go?
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March 30: Braves 3-5 Padres
One of the key questions with the Braves is seeing who will take that step forward among their younger pitchers. With that said, Wright did not inspire at all in this outing, struggling in every inning. A Machado solo home run was thankfully the only damage in the first inning, as a Tommy Pham walk was dealt with on the next pitch by a Grisham double play. The Braves got revenge in the next inning with an Acuna single and an Albies two-run homer, but Davies was able to mitigate the damage for the next few innings. Meanwhile, Wright’s struggles continued into the second inning, as while a Cordero single was counteracted by catching him stealing, Profar’s double was converted on a Mejia double, which threatened more damage on a wild pitch by Wright. The third inning was no better, as a Grisham walk was followed by a botched pickoff and a Tatis two-run homer. Finally, Snitker had seen enough after a trio of singles scored Mejia in the fourth inning, pulling him for Grant Dayton, where the bullpen proved to hold their own. D’Arnaud was able to tack on another run with a sacrifice fly after a Camargo triple, but otherwise the Braves bats remained quiet for the rest of the game.
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March 31: Braves 4-1 Padres
A fairly straightforward game overall. Most of the Braves damage came in the second inning, when Flowers nailed a two-run home run after a Camargo single, which was immediately followed by a Dansby solo homer. The Padres were able to threaten in the bottom of the second with a pair of singles and a walk, but Profar pushed his luck a bit too far and got thrown out trying for home for Newcomb to escape the jam. Atlanta tacked on their fourth run after Ozuna’s single converted after a Freeman walk and an Albies single to left. After the Padres scored their only run off of Pham and Machado’s doubles, both teams’ bats went fairly silent for the rest of the game.
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April 1: Braves 3-8 Padres
The Padres struck early with a trio of singles from Pham, Tatis, and Cordero in the first inning to score a run, after which both Soroka and Richards settled in fairly nicely in what started to look like a pitcher’s duel. However, the Braves were able to tie the game up after Acuna capitalized on his single with a stolen base and strong baserunning on an error by Cordero in right. However, Cordero made up for his mistake by launching a two-run homer after a Tatis double, and Soroka was able to escape out of a jam in the fifth inning by strong fielding. However, the seventh inning saw the bullpen fall apart, as Melanson allowed a single and two walks between two outs in the seventh before being replaced by Greene, who promptly gave up two bases-loaded walks before forcing a groundout from Cordero. Smith was able to retire Myers and Mejia in the eighth before giving up a walk and triple, which was made worse by Pham’s two-run homer before Luke Jackson came in to retire Grisham. The Braves attempted to mount an improbable comeback after singles from Acuna, Albies, and d’Arnaud, with Acuna scoring on the latter’s single and Albies scoring on a passed ball. However, Hechavarria grounded out to short to end the game, cutting the Braves’ hope of avoiding a second series loss.
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After the series was completed, I began my "trade shitposting" rounds again, and ended up with the following:
Traded INF Jordan Rodgers to Kansas City for 3B prospect Kelvin Gutierrez, 3B prospect Emmanuel Rivera, 2B Gabriel Cancel, 3B Jake Means, and RHP Walker Sheller
Rodgers is useful enough as a multi-positional depth piece in the lower minors, but it’s always been likely that his future wasn’t too much higher than that, and as such I jumped at the chance to restock the minors a bit more. The big name is obviously Gutierrez, who has shown tantalizing promise but hasn’t been able to really put it all together and has stalled in the upper minors. Between that and the available options at third in both Gwinnett and Atlanta, he’s likely more useful as a trade piece (a fate which he experiences immediately afterwards). Rivera has been described as a "plus bat" by Fangraphs, but concerns about his future position and his lack of power limit his overall ceiling. Cancel essentially steps into Rodgers’ role while possibly having a bit more pop, although he’s a bit more limited due to a below-average arm, while Means is a 22nd-rounder from the past draft with a good batt and willingness to take a walk. Lastly, Sheller has demonstrated potential as a reliever, but he took multiple steps back last year and looks a bit more like minors depth.
Traded 3B prospect Kelvin Gutierrez to Miami for 1B Garrett Cooper, OF Magneuris Sierra, SS prospect Osiris Johnson, OF prospect Tristan Pompey, and $563,500.
Since Gutierrez was basically trade bait, I decided to see what I could get, and ended up taking advantage of the virtual Miami GM. Cooper costs me a 40-man slot, but since the Marlins were completely stupid kind enough to pay off the entirety of his salary, it’s hard for me to decline. He’s not a great fit for the Braves in either first base or the outfield, but he helps the depth a lot by being an actually viable bench option who can fill in those spots when necessary. I’m skeptical of Sierra and think he hasn’t panned out, but since he apparently already cleared waivers I’m more than content taking him on as depth. Johnson is one of the high-variance prospects that the Marlins have stocked up on recently, and in his case he’s likely to move off SS and have struggles with the bat while he develops. However, he also has a huge offensive ceiling regardless of where he ends up playing, and as such adds useful potential to the Braves’ system. Finally, Pompey has had a myriad of concerns around him regarding injuries, strikeouts, position, and makeup, but he also has a large ceiling, that of a power-hitting left fielder.
Traded OF/1B Brian O’Grady to Seattle for INF Juan Querecuto, RHP Ryne Inman, and LHP Raymond Kerr
This is probably the most reasonable one so far out of the trades. O’Grady is definitely deserving of a shot (in-game and in real life), but in this case he’s squeezed for playing time by everyone on both the Atlanta and Gwinnett rosters, so he’s traded away to further bolster the minors. Querecuto suffered from a poor performance and injuries last year, but he still has decent tools and is still projectible, so he’s absolutely worth a shot. Inman has control and command problems that make him better as a reliever, but with a projectible frame there might be more to come on his low-90s fastball. Kerr is better suited to a multi-inning relief role, but his heat from the left side and the development of his offspeed stuff make him an interesting fast-moving reliever candidate through the minors.
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So overall, it’s not a good start dropping back-to-back series to the Diamondbacks and Padres. That being said, a three-game series against the Marlins is up next, which is a perfect opportunity to rebound. And if nothing else, the Braves minors depth has definitely been improved, especially in the upper minors, which is now loaded with position player talent.
While it’s obviously a SSS, I think very few will object to the idea of me wrenching away control of the daily lineup from Snitker, as his lineup construction is arguably even more maddening than his real-life counterpart. Other than that, are there any other changes that people would like to see?
