Reviewing last year's trade deadline and previewing this year's deadline
With the MLB Trade Deadline approaching at the end of the month and the Braves looking to sell off some veterans and bullpen talent that I mentioned in another article, this seemed like a good time to review last year’s trade deadline and preview the upcoming deadline.
Last season the Braves were 46-77 entering the trade deadline, and they were presumed to be sellers to the contenders. The only trade they made at the deadline was a three team, 13-player deal with the Dodgers and Marlins. The Braves sent SP Alex Wood, 2B Jose Peraza, RP Jim Johnson, RP Luis Avilan and the expiring contract of an injured Bronson Arroyo to the Dodgers in return for Cuban LF/3B Hector Olivera, RP Zack Bird, and a Marlins Draft Pick.
As we all know, Hector Olivera has not worked out well for the Braves because he hasn’t been on the field for the Braves, and off the field he created a PR nightmare with his domestic violence arrest at a time when the 0-9 Braves were already the laughing stock of the league. General Manager John Copollela has publicly admitted that the trade has been a failure and has accepted the responsibility, but if he can hit when he returns like he did in spring training then the trade may not be as big a disaster as it currently is. The relief pitcher the Braves received, Paco Rodriguez was a 2012 second round draft pick out of the University of Florida where he recorded the school’s lowest single season ERA in the aluminum bat era (2.18) as the team’s closer. He was the first draft pick of the 2012 draft to make his major league debut at the end of the 2012 season, and was a member of the Dodger bullpen all of 2013 posting a 2.32 ERA. Injuries set him back in 2014, until he finally needed Tommy John Surgery and has been recovering this entire season.
As for this year, the Braves will enter the Trade Deadline with a worse record than last year and quite honestly they are still carrying pieces that they should have moved last year. For starters, the Royals or Orioles would have been solid suitors for Nick Markakis and while his game hasn’t plummeted, he hasn’t gotten any younger and his defensive prowess has declined. There’s still an opportunity to trade him, but the value on his return is less than what we could have gotten. The same can be said for veterans like AJ Pierzynski whose production has nosedived or Jason Grilli before he tore his achilles (his return from a contender last year would have been substantial). If you need to see all of the players that the Braves could have on their trading block, go check my other article on the Brave’s trading pieces.
If the Braves are going to make any trades at the deadline, they need to focus on finding an established major league catcher under the age of 32 who can hit for average or power and move behind the plate better than the 39-year-old AJ Pierzynski. In a perfect world they would try to land Kyle Schwarber - a guy who can absolutely mash the baseball and hold his own behind the plate. If the catcher issue isn’t solved at the deadline then it will be priority numero uno at the Winter Meetings. Outside of Schwarber, the catcher market isn’t very deep. There are some free agency options like Wilson Ramos and Matt Wieters, but both of those guys are approaching/at the wrong side of 30 and will get overpaid because of demand. Jonathan Lucroy is a viable option at catcher even though he’s having a down year - but the Braves will need to give up prospects to a team like the Brewers that are trying to get younger, not trying accumulate veterans.
Other than catcher the Braves have shown a resiliency to accumulate pitching at any level of development, but third base is a position of interest if the organization doesn’t think Rio Ruiz or Adonis Garcia aren’t the long-term answers at the positions.