Rosenthal’s Braves Rumors
Update: How could we go ten minutes without another update? Ken Rosenthal’s latest post says that Matt Harrison has been removed from the deal because he was shut down due to shoulder tendinitis, contrary to the Bowman article. Rosenthal says the Braves gave a list of young pitchers to consider as the replacement, not including Jo-Jo Reyes and that it is conceivable for the trade to move from a 3-1 to a 4-2 deal. Jo-Jo could however be included if the Rangers part with Eric Gagne or CJ Wilson as part of the deal. Most reports have said it was already a 3-2 deal but just like everything else to do with the Tex situation. You ask five different people, you get five different answers.
Update: Updates are plentiful for this post. The latest comes from Mark Bowman at Braves.com (Not exactly the best source, so take it for what it is worth). Bowman says the deal is on hold because of shoulder soreness that Matt Harrison complained of after his last start. Bowman goes on to say that this isn’t expected to be a deal breaker. If this pushes the Rangers towards Kyle Davies, then his soreness is a good thing. I’d much rather lose Davies than Harrison at this point. We’ve heard from other sources that Davies is already part of the deal, that no pitcher will be coming over, and that which reliever the Rangers will be sending over is the hold up so don’t look to much into all of this. The Braves front-office workings are very secretive so a lot of this is speculation.
Update: This is an unconfirmed report but I was told that Peter Gammons said on ESPN that the Teixeira trade was all but complete. The deal would send just Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Elvis Andrus to Texas for Teixeira. I’ve heard that a trade is all but announced for this about eight times so far so don’t look too much into it. Gammons is a very credible source but don’t expect anything before Tuesday most likely. The Rangers are trying to get as much out of this as they can and who can blame them?
Update: According to Jim Molony of mlb.com, reports are surfacing that the Rangers are likely to hold onto first baseman Mark Teixeira. Molony says the deal is Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kyle Davies, and Elvis Andrus but the Rangers unwillingness to include lefty reliever CJ Wilson is what is keeping the deal from getting done. I agree with Schuerholz in holding out for Wilson but if they do get him, it is certainly a much better trade to me then if the Braves had to include Matt Harrison.
Ken Rosenthal has the latest on three players the Braves have been mentioned to have interest in during his recent video. Here is a rundown of what he says.
- The Mark Teixeira deal is at a standstill. Rosenthal says the Dodgers are out but the Angels and Braves are still in. The Angels are offering a package of Casey Kotchman and Joe Saunders while the Braves have a package of prospects centered around Jarrod Saltalamacchia on the table, but no other names are given. Rosenthal says GM Jon Daniels is asking for one or even two more players from the Angels and wants the Braves to sweeten their deal as well. This could be a dangerous game for the Rangers if they force the Angels out and only have one suitor. Still, if the Angels add a decent prospect to their offer, that probably beats the Braves proposal. We can hope, can’t we?
- The White Sox are still listening to offers for right-hander Jon Garland, but the price is so high that most executives believe he won’t be dealt before the deadline. You may remember that the Braves offered Edgar Renteria and a top pitching prospect (most likely Jo-Jo Reyes or Matt Harrison) and were rejected. If the Braves really are intent about getting Garland, their offer may have to be centered around Yunel Escobar and not Renteria. Garland is much more of a need than Teixeira and looks like he’d cost less so why the Braves aren’t offering a better package for him boggles my mind.
- The Dodgers and Indians are at the top of the pack for Royals’ close Octavio Dotel, but the Braves are still in the hunt. The Royals are looking for a young major-league ready player and I still think that the Braves could offer Martin Prado and not miss him. Dotel would go a long way for this pen with only Damaso Marte probably as the better option on the market.
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67 Responses to “Rosenthal’s Braves Rumors”
July 29th, 2007 at 10:20 am
Will,
I understand that we need pitching, but I don’t understand why you are so down on the Tex deal and so high on Garland deal. Garland has not been all that impressive this year and I think giving up Renteria and one of our two top lefty pitching prospects is way to much for Garland as compared to giving up Salty and whoever (because beyond Salty I’ve read a number of different prospects that could be going to Texas) for Tex, a proven and consistent all-star caliber 1st baseman.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:33 am
Actually my posts look better with the Exclamation points!!! I did not recognize what you did at first, but then I looked and went thats some messed up stuff!!!
July 29th, 2007 at 10:34 am
The Braves have three problems going into the stretch. The rotation, the bullpen, and the first base to a much lesser extent because our offense is fine now and would be even better with Salty starting every day. You can kill two birds with one stone though. The reason the pen is doing awfully is because it has been overworked. If you get another starter, the pen won’t have to work from the fourth inning once a week and will probably save about six innings a week for them, which is a lot. We would get both Tex and Garland until the end of 2008. Both would cost about the same next year but Garland we’d have a chance to resign. Garland has an ERA of 4.12 this season and has averaged 6.2 innings per start this season. Move him out of the AL and the toughest division in baseball and he could have an ERA around 3.5 quite easily and be our 2a starter. Why do people think we need Tex? The offense would be fine and using Salty everyday would make it very good. If we had a chance to trade Yunel and Jo-Jo for Garland, which they’d probably take because Yunel is much younger and cheaper than Renteria, then I would jump all over that in a second. That would be a great deal for the Braves and we don’t lose Salty who will be 10 times better than Yunel in a couple years.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I just dont like the idea of trading Yunel!!! Apparently he is our Future SS, at least it appears that way!!! And JoJo will be a GOOD #4 Next year!!! I would not trade either one!!! I know you like Harrison way more, but I would trade Harrison before JoJo!!!
I agree we do need another Starter, Lefty reliever(or reliever that is tough against lefties), and and a descent First Baseman!!! Wish we could just trade Salty, Harrison, and Thorman straight up for Tex!!! Then trade Prado and Larew for Odalis Perez, and Dotel with cash coming back!!!
July 29th, 2007 at 10:57 am
I have to disagree. The offense is not fine. It’s highly inconsistent thanks to the gaping hole at first base and the .213 average in CF. With another power hitter, the team would win games like yesterday’s instead of losing them. The rotation has stabilized compared to earlier in the year. Another quality starter would be great of course, but it’s not the most urgent need. A big bat at first base and another top notch reliever (preferably a lefty) are more pressing needs than a starter.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Yunel is going to be an average shortstop for years to come. Good thing to have but not exactly one in a million. Salty will be a slugging first baseman, which is much more useful. We have a decent first baseman right now and that is Salty.
Jo-Jo might be a good number five next year but I doubt he’ll immediately be able to throw 180 innings of 4.30 ERA Ball that you’d like to see a good number four do. Harrison could probably step in next year and toss 200+ innings of 4.00 ERA ball. The only thing he doesn’t have on Jo-Jo is pure stuff but he is a command lefty that could easily make the shift to the majors I think. I would not miss Jo-Jo at all if we traded him away, he just isn’t a very good pitcher and won’t be unless his command drastically improves.
And Odalis Perez SUCKS! He is in one of the biggest parks in baseball and everything about him still sucks! Matt Harrison, Dan Smith, Lance Cormier, etc. could all do better than he could.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:05 am
We have a good bat at first who is sitting on the bench thanks to this insane trade with the Rangers. We don’t need offensive help. Our bullpen can’t do much, we have a pitcher at 3 who can’t pitch more than five innings, one in the four spot who is inconsistent, and one at 5 who is downright awful. That is taking a HUGE toll on our bullpen. And let me break down Andruw for you since you obviously didn’t read my comment in the other thread. I’ll copy it over here for you…
“For the Andruw question, yes, I believe he is back. let me give you his line from this month. Andruw is hitting .266/.369/.553 in 94 at bats with 7 homeruns. If he did that over the course of the amount of ABs he got last year, he’d have 42 HRs. Last year he hit .262/.363/.531 with 41 HRs by the way.”
If you think the OPS over .920 is hurting us in the cleanup spots then there is something wrong with your logic. We need a pitcher MUCH more than Tex.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:07 am
What’s with everybody saying that Yunel Escobar is only going to be average. This guy has shown nothing but signs of greatness in his ta bats. He is also one of the most clutch players on the Braves.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:21 am
A player with a good average, slighty above average speed and plate discipline, and little power with a good glove is not great. That is average. In the future I see him as a .300/.340/.410 guy with around six homeruns and 13 SBs per year along with a couple gold gloves in his career. if you think that is great then explain.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Will,
I just don’t know if Salty will be the slugging first baseman you claim he will be. He has hit sub .200 over the last month and a half as well as being a defensive liability. The defense may be why Franco is playing over Salty right now, although the trade is certainly a viable factor.
July 29th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Are you serious? He is 22, just came up from AA, and has shown a lot in little playing time. Don’t take a slump to mean he won’t be that good.
July 29th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
Franco is playing to prevent any type of “injury” to Saltalamacchia so he can be traded for Tex.
July 29th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
wow you don’t think a 300 hitter is great. Thats by no means average.
July 29th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
yunel may be just an average hitting SS, but in the field he could become one of the best in the game. and if Tex i holding it up at 1B, the Braves could have the best defense in all of baseball, not to mention an above average offense. the pitching staff seems to be coming around as well. its the bullpen that is the glaring problem to me
July 29th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
At least we don’t have a Reitsma/Kolb problem.
July 29th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
hey Will……you told me a couple weeks ago that Garland was not a good move because the law of averages would catch up to him….now you want him so bad???
July 29th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
No, I said that his BABIP would catch up with him. I also said it was a bad move to trade Renteria for him. I’d trade Yunel for him though. He is going to be a good pitcher. He isn’t an ace, but he’ll be good. This is probably a little under where his ERA should be but a 3.5-3.7 ERA is what to expect in the NL if he came. Also, the bullpen is now suffering big time because of the rotation’s shortcomings so it much more important to get a starter.
And you have to look past just average Chris. Average is somewhat important but something like OPS that takes into account your hitting ability, on base ability, and power is much more important. Yunel may be a .300 hitter, but if his OBP is only .340 and his SLG is right around .400 then that is a below average offensive player. Average is not the end-all. OPS is the best measure of a player’s offensive value.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
If Salty isn’t traded to Texas (or to Pittsburgh or wherever), I hope that he is the everyday first baseman after the deadline. I understand protecting him from injury, but I also know that if the Braves keep losing games in extra innings, there may not be much of a race left.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
If he isn’t traded, he most likely would become the everyday first baseman with Julio Franco and Scott Thorman getting more at bats than usual backups. That or he is sent back down. They cannot just let him sit on the bench with the amount of ABs he is getting of late. They are just not having him risk injury by playing right now in case.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
two more days, then a vacation.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
oh, where you headed? I’m going to be out in a couple weeks on a week-long cruise in Alaska.
July 30th, 2007 at 12:43 am
Will, you dont think JS would EVEN think about offering Hanson in the deal do you? Since Harrison may not be in the deal, and they may not even want Davies!!! I just know JS would not do something like that!!! Hanson has the stuff to be an ACE. by 2009 or 2010 he will be our #1 or #2 Starter as long as he does not get hurt!!!
July 30th, 2007 at 12:47 am
Pitchers that young normally don’t get traded. They have a lot of time to get injured or drop off the charts. I think he has the best stuff in farm system though. Feliz could be closing in though.
July 30th, 2007 at 4:31 am
With all the expectations on the trade, do you think JS would consider coming out of it without a pitcher?
Vacation, well still considering, Proably somewhere around here within Japan, southern Alps maybe for some mountain climbing.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:46 am
Never put anything past JS. I Think he will get a starter.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Ken Rosenthal is reporting the Tex deal is done, pending league approval of medical records. Salty, Elvis, & 2 “pitching prospects” (Harrison & Davies?) for Tex & Ron Mahay.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:48 am
The Braves have acquired Tex and Mahay for Salty, Andrus, and two pitching prospects. — MLBTR and Ken Rosenthal.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Dang! I didn’t read DWonder’s post
July 30th, 2007 at 10:57 am
As much as I love Teixeira, I really hope that with the Rangers getting 4 prospects (1) they are picking up quite a bit of his salary, and (2) one of the prospects isn’t Hanson.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:01 am
any word on who the pitchers are yet?
July 30th, 2007 at 11:06 am
whats the url on the site confirming these reports
July 30th, 2007 at 11:08 am
I really like Salty. I have no doubt he’ll be a very good player in a few years. He’s not ready defensively to play first base at the major league level this year, and lately he hasn’t been hitting as well as he did when he was first called up. The Braves have a great shot at making the playoffs this year, something that is no longer an annual rite like in the ’90s. If they were going to lose 100 games, then yeah let Salty learn first in the bigs. But to catch the Mets or win the Wild Card, they need more than what Salty can give them this year. They need somebody like Teixeira.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:13 am
No need for speculation anymore Mark Texiera is finally a BRAVE…. pending physical and those usually never become a draw back http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7074846
theres it is if you dont believe me!!!
July 30th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Rickey, MLBTR and Ken Rosenthal and Buster Olney have confirmed the reports
July 30th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Anyone that has espn news turn it on its right there in the bottem right hand screen… cant argue with that..
July 30th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Breaking News on ESPN.com Jayson Stark reports that Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay are being traded to the Braves for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, and two minor league pitchers pending medical examination.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:24 am
Now if we can just get a #3 or #4 starter, we’d be real dangerous….
July 30th, 2007 at 11:25 am
One of the minor league pitchers has been confirmed to be Matt Harrison.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:25 am
by the way…i live on Long Island in the heart of Mets country, and Mets fans are EXTREMELY nervous right now. you guys should hear what they’re saying on sports talk radio…they’re in panic mode
July 30th, 2007 at 11:27 am
I haven’t seen Harrison confirmed yet. I would think if he or Davies were in the deal, his name would have been used; I hope these are two lesser known pitchers (Dan Smith, etc)
July 30th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Good.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:31 am
ESPN via Fort-Worth Star Telegram says the two pitchers Texas will receive are 19-year-old right-hander Nestali Feliz and another pitcher to be determined.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Crap, this is a terrible trade. C’mon guys, really think about it…..how much better will the Braves be because of this? I know about the uncertainty of prospects, but how many more wins will having Tex get us instead of starting Salty? NOT MANY. This teams offense was ALWAYS its strength and its not going to get astronomically better with more good hitters (ask the Yankees). Without good starting pitching and good bullpen, we’re going to be a slightly above .500 team. And there’s no reason to believe, though they’ve been consistent, that the Mets still won’t run away with this division.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:39 am
i dont think JS is done….he knows we still need a starter and he still has pieces to deal.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Neftali Feliz and Harrison.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:54 am
I actually like the deal, the offense is good when we’re on ….. but we all know thats doesn’t happen everyday. Hope we can still get a pitcher yet but if not, maybe we can NOW outslug the rest of the pitching weak teams. Everyone else is hurting for pitching too so why not take advantage of their weaknesses too
July 30th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
JM from the Rangers MVN page…I really like this deal with Harrison and Feliz involved. Sounds like the Dodgers never actually made an offer, and the D’Backs got involved too late to make a serious run.
July 30th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
What a bad deal for Atlanta UNLESS we can resign him to an extension!!! If we dont sign Tex to an extension this might be JS worst move EVER!!! We could not EVEN get CJ Wilson in that damn deal!!! Instead we get a 36 year old Lefty!!! At least you would think we could have gotten Gagne, at the very least!!! We will probably end up having NOTHING to show for this deal in 2009!!!
July 30th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
If nobody else was making serious offers, why’d the Braves give up so much? Who were they bidding against. Some of the other offers from teams like the Angels pale in comparison to what the Braves have dished out. I REALLY hope we can sign this guy to a multiyear deal, but the money just isn’t there to do it. Tex isa 14-17 mill/year guy.
July 30th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
why does everyone say this won’t be worth anything if we don’t sign him long term?? what happens if he helps us win 2 world series in a row??? was it still a bad deal? trying to win championships is the whole idea anyway isn’t it. why wait for the future braves that can eventually help us when we can win now, and build ourselves strong again by people wanting to play for the champs
July 30th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
CordD, Basically thats still what I was thinking about!!! World Series is in that equation also!!!
July 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
braves#1 and CoryD, I was thinkin of going further with World Series winners.
July 30th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Teixeira deal is done we get him and Mahay for Salty Andrus, Neftali Feliz and a player named later (Harrison probably). WORST TRADE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 30th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
OK, we’ll see if you sing the same tune come October.
July 30th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Corey,
Can you honestly sit here and tell me that one guy is going going to make the difference, and take us to the World Series?
July 30th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Braves are close to getting Dotel, MLBTR says maybe Brandon Jones or Thorman may get him. That’s there hunch.
July 30th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
I hope we don’t trade Jones and Rain Delay, you’ll se later, but with him and possibly Dotel coming and another rumor with a Starter coming, (don’t ask me, ask Todd), then we have it in the bag.
July 30th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
if the Royals will take Thorman for Dotel then i will personally drive him to the airport.
July 30th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I’ll tell him goodbye (and good ridance!)
July 30th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Talent is there to be harvested. This has always been JS mode. Harvested for whom. Not for us. The boss has spoken now we just have to watch and see what comes down. I dont think we have the pitching to get us a WS ring, and that is the ultimate measure of this deal. Anything less than a WS ring doesnt make this worth the price. But no one will know until October or November.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
i may be extremely optimistic, but i think theres a good chance we can re-sign Tex, which would make this deal a success. Alot of reports out there that payroll will increase anywhere from 5 to 15 million…add that to the assumption that we wont be paying Andruw the 15-20m he’ll be getting next year and there seems to be enough money there to re-sign Tex.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
We better not trade Our Starting LF next year in Brandon Jones for Dotel!!!
July 30th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Jon Heyman on SI.com is reporting that Feliz & the player to be named were instead of Harrison due to his sore shoulder.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Ron Mahay: 2.77 ERA, .250 avg vs LH / .224 avg vs RH, 1.38 WHIP
July 30th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
I don’t think that the player to be named is Harrison because then we most deffenitely would have gotten C.J. out of it. And Corey, dude I know that Teixeira is going to make a huge inpact plus if we can get Dotel, that will be great, but I dont think trading two future superstars and two other prospects for a year and a half of Teixeira. When I said worst trade ever I assumed the player to be named was Harrison. I still don’t like the trade but it won’t be too bad if that player is someone else.
July 30th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I like Thorman but if we can get Dotel which I doubt we will since a handful of other teams are after him too, that will be a lopsided trade similar to the H. Ramirez Soriano swap in the offseason.
July 30th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
MISERABLE TRADE!
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