Caption Why Braves should acquire Corey Kluber For the Braves, the red carpet is out. The organization has spent years gearing toward the 2018-19 offseason, with financially flexibility abound and enough prospects to smoke any competing offers. Their success last season – 90 wins and a division title – just feeds the lust. Remember: The Braves aren’t the surprise story anymore. They’re already being projected as a top two or three team in the National League. No more talking about “down the road.” This team will be judged on results. Expectations are back, but they are still a few pieces away. There’s been dialogue plentiful about whom the team could target. I’ve been asked who I personally like, and I go back and forth on the usual names. The most popular speculated target is Miami catcher J.T. Realmuto. I’m more interested in Indians starter Corey Kluber, who’s surprisingly on the table. I get the argument for Realmuto, whom the team’s liked for quite some time. I don’t love investing what that’ll cost, aside from sending prized prospects to a division rival, because it’s not a glaring hole in the present or future. Realmuto might be baseball’s best backstop, but are those prospects and (eventually) funds better spent elsewhere? Catching hasn’t held the Braves back. They’ve been solid with Tyler Flowers and now free-agent Kurt Suzuki. William Contreras is a couple years away, but he’s one of the higher regarded catchers in the minors. Flowers is signed. They could re-sign Suzuki or add a similar veteran. The case against Realmuto is more about combination than the All-Star himself: The Braves could add a battery mate for Flowers while grooming Contreras in Double-A. The prospects saved could be cashed in for a starter or outfielder, two bigger needs than catcher as I see it. The money for a Realmuto extension, which will be rich, could be spread out of used for internal extensions. They’d obviously upgrade with Realmuto. The goal should be just increasing the talent level and, in that respect, he’d be an absolute home run. Perhaps he tops their wish list, but the Braves won’t be the only bidder. Kluber is the most intriguing name to me. If he’s available, barring another team making a ridiculous proposal (always possible), it’s hard to find a more perfect fit for franchise and player. The Braves’ rotation wasn’t a weakness. Mike Foltynewicz is worthy of front-line distinction. You could tell me Mike Soroka, Touki Toussaint and Kyle Wright all become ace or No. 2 starters, and I’d believe you. But right now the Braves need another guy. Windows can close sooner than anyone anticipates. Development isn’t linear – one can’t expect Toussaint to blossom into that tier 1 guy next year. Kluber has provided over 200 innings in five consecutive seasons, earning All-Star honors in the past three. He’s struck out at least 222 hitters each season over that span. Moving to the National League could only help, not that he needs it. Rebuilding is over. The Braves need to assess themselves against the Dodgers, Brewers and Cubs. Philadelphia is expected to improve and with or without Harper, it’s conceivable Washington bounces back. So if they have the chance to add a bonafide ace and perennial Cy Young competitor, that’s the move. Cleveland will reportedly listen to offers for the 32-year-old due to financial restraints – a downfall that won’t behoove the Braves anytime soon. Kluber is controllable for the next three seasons at a cheap rate. He earns $15 million in 2019, with two ensuing team options worth $15.5 and $16 million respectively. It’s borderline absurd to see a veteran starter of his caliber with such a team-friendly deal. The hope here is Kluber gives you two elite seasons, and by the time he hits the market, you’ll have your rotation sorted out. As for the prospects you relinquished in the deal, it’s unlikely any reaches close to Kluber’s level. Just how the sport works. It’s an ideal balance between winning today and preparing for tomorrow. He’s not going to tie you up on a bad deal. You’ll enter a three-year window with Kluber and Foltynewicz topping your rotation. You make the trade if you believe the Braves can win a pennant in the next couple seasons. And I do. The Braves would boast a rotation of Kluber, Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Kevin Gausman and limitless options for the final spot. Obviously, Julio Teheran is even more expendable if a Kluber-type joins the fray. Now the risk: The Braves would part with guys you’ll hate to see go. Unless the Mets entertain Jacob deGrom deals, Kluber would be the apple of the market’s eye. It’s unclear what the Indians want in return, but considering they’re very much in contention, I suspect they’ll favor more immediate contributors. The Braves might prefer dealing from the lower levels, since they’ll be contending now. Kluber has miles on his arm. Maybe his decline begins in 2019 and you’re left with egg on your face. General manager Alex Anthopoulos would need confidence that the Alabama native doesn’t hit a steep decline within the next two seasons for him to be worth such a drastic move. It’s difficult to compare Realmuto and Kluber. Trading for Realmuto is acquiring an every-day player. Kluber can only make a difference once every five days. Realmuto would also heavily influence prospect development on the field, whereas we can only speculate about Kluber’s off-field assets. Given contract and age, Kluber is a three-year investment. Realmuto is under control for another two seasons, but an extension probably follows a trade. You’ll theoretically have more than three years of Realmuto, but only the first two would be below market rate. Either preference is understandable. And it’s not as though they’re the only two players on the market. But if it’s one or the other, I’ll insert Kluber atop the rotation and sign one of the several stop-gap catchers available. The Braves can create a solid catching situation, with a prime prospect on the way. Despite their wealth of arms, they still need a true ace to compete in the postseason, and Kluber just might be their guy
Bowman: Options Patrick Corbin is arguably the most attractive free-agent pitcher, but some team executives think it's a near-certainty he'll sign with the Yankees. A reunion with Charlie Mortonis also appealing, but you'd be buying high on a 35-year-old hurler who battled right shoulder soreness in September. Dallas Keuchel is another intriguing free-agent option, but it may make more sense for the Braves to use their talent-rich pipeline to acquire a starter. Outside of including Ender Inciarte in a deal that could compensate for Cleveland potentially losing Michael Brantley via free agency, I don't necessarily see a fit with the Indians, who will likely require MLB-level talent to be included in a deal for any of their top starters. Given his health history, Michael Fulmer might no longer be considered a front-line starter. But the Braves showed definite interest last offseason, and they will likely continue communicating with the Tigers over the next few weeks and months. The wild-card option is Madison Bumgarner, whose potential availability will not be known until the Giants hire someone to run their ship. Bumgarner might no longer be Bumgarner. But his presence could certainly positively impact Foltynewicz and Newcomb. Soroka completes 6 no-hit frames00:15Jun. 13th, 2018 What about the prospects? Much of the positive talk during the Braves' rebuild centered around their abundance of pitching prospects. But as we've watched many of these hurlers reach the Major League level, we have also been reminded why it may be more appropriate to refer to prospects as suspects. We've known all along that not all prospects live up to expectations. Teams simply attempt to guard against the sudden value drop experienced this year with Luiz Goharaand Kolby Allard. In fairness, Gohara must prove he's willing to dedicate himself in a more disciplined manner away from the field. Allard is a 20-year-old who may simply have to experience natural physical growth. Teams also have to be patient with prospects like Mike Soroka, who burst on the scene with Atlanta in May and then battled a right shoulder ailment that limited him to just five starts. Soroka has the potential to be a solid middle-of-the-rotation piece when healthy, but the caution the Braves showed this year certainly enhances concerns about his future. Soroka is one of seven Braves pitchers on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list. Some of these hurlers could be used to acquire Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto or some of Atlanta's other potential trade targets this offseason. A couple may end up aiding the rotation as early as next year. But none of these starting-pitching prospects stand as that difference-making piece the Braves could add to their rotation next year and suddenly enhance their World Series aspirations.
Chirinos is pretty similar to Suzuki. The value in the bat, has 17 and 18 homers the last two seasons, respectively. Good in the clubhouse. But, has had injury issues and is bad at framing and throwing out baserunners.
I would be worried about Chirinos. Power is good but he's played in a launching pad in Arlington his whole career and he's 34 and a really subpar defender. If you're gonna go down that road just bring back Zuk.
What if you can get Chirinos for cheaper though? Worth at least making the call, doing your due diligence. Also, Wash knows him from Texas, so if they sign him, that comforts me a little bit.
Wash knew him in his prime. A catcher can lose a lot between 29/30 and 34. I like his power though. He does seem like a cheap option, hopefully we go big elsewhere if he's our guy.
Jim Bowden grain of salt, etc, but did a piece on 5 different potential trades for Realmuto. For ATL: 2. Braves –Two of the following pitchers: Ian Anderson, Touki Toussaint, Bryse Wilson, Luiz Gohara Miami’s first inquires with the Braves would probably start with their top pitching prospects, Mike Soroka and Kyle Wright, and then move on to their top position prospects, third baseman Austin Riley and outfielder Cristian Pache. After the Marlins were told “no,“ like every other team at last year’s trade deadline, they could then focus their attention on the next group of prospects. The Marlins really need to focus their rebuild on starting pitching, and no one in baseball has a deeper group of pitching prospects than the Braves. Perhaps a deal that included two arms from the group of Anderson, Toussaint, Wilson and Gohara could work.
No doubt. I meant more in terms of his ability to work with young pitchers, call a game, work in the clubhouse, etc. That stuff that I think is hard to quantify statistically but matters more for catchers.
Looking around a bit, both Heyman and his "expert" projected Zuk with a 1yr, $5M deal. MLB Trade Rumors projects 2yr, $8M total.
I'm thinking the Pirates have to trade Cervelli. He'd only be a one year guy but he's still really good. I'd think one year of him is much cheaper than two of Realmuto.
Exciting stuff. Think a Burns article yesterday said an extension would surely come with a trade. That would be fucking huge.
Would prefer to keep Riley and give them one of the CFs. Take their pick of the pitching prospect and add a lower level guy to get it done.
If it's really only one pitcher and one position guy, that's awesome. I'm sure it will still sting when we hear the names if it happens, but I want JT badly.
I don't think there's any one can't miss guy in our system right now pitching wise. Soroka probably has highest floor but I think he's a middle of the rotation guy. That's valuable but I don't think we'll regret it forever assuming we extend Realmuto. I suppose if Wright put it all together it would be pretty devastating. Touki would hurt as well.
Isn't AA's whole thing keeping trade talks close to the vest? Don't think I'm going to trust the two guys getting information from his administration.