The Deadline Has Passed, but Will the Braves Still Deal?
Braves Have Been Active and Might Not Be Done
Posted August 3, 2015. Follow me on Twitter.
While the trading deadline is now in the rear view mirror, trades can still be finalized. The only difference is an extra hurdle. After July 31, teams have to pass players through waivers - a process that exposes them to the entire league. This process is sometimes referred to as "trade waivers" or "recallable waivers." The basic premise is that unlike players who are normally waived, the team exposing the player can opt remove him from waivers if another team claims him.
If the player passes through waivers without being claimed, he can then be dealt to any team. Because of this, occasionally, a team might be worried a rival may trade for a player so they might claim him even if they have no desire to acquire the player. This can backfire if the team that exposed the player simply lets him go rather than call him back. One famous case of this occurred in 1998 when then-Padres general manager Kevin Towers was worried that the Braves would acquire Randy Myers of the Blue Jays. Whether the Braves were getting Myers or not is still up for debate, but Towers moved to block Atlanta by claiming Myers. Toronto didn't pull Myers back and the high-priced reliever went to the Padres, who had little need for an expensive reliever with Trevor Hoffman at his best. The Braves moved on with Kerry Ligtenberg closing the door.
The process is rather complicated and even more so because teams put players on waivers they have absolutely no intention of moving. For instance, a team might put ten players on waivers with only one of which they are hoping to trade.
Other teams will try to figure out who that player might be. Most players will pass through waivers simply because teams have to be prepared to take on a contract they might not want. Further, most teams don't want to block other teams from doing deals too often for fear they might get blocked in retaliation.
We won't know who Atlanta will put through waivers this month (though leaks to the media often occur). Nor will we know who might pass through waivers, but over the next few slides, let's look at guys the Braves might still be interested in dealing.
Catcher A.J. Pierzynski
There weren't a lot of rumors swirling around that Pierzynski would join other veterans like Kelly Johnson and Jim Johnson as trade fodder as the deadline approached, but it seemed like a reasonable conclusion. Pierzynski has been a lifesaver in the wake of Christian Bethancourt's failure behind the plate and could be a target for a team looking for catching depth or a replacement behind the plate in the event of an injury.
It might be tough to sneak Pierzynski through waivers, though. He is owed the balance of his $2M contract which would roughly leave about $700,000 for another team to pick up. Most teams can find that in their locker room couches so passing him through waivers might turn out far more difficult than finding a team willing to trade for him.
Corner Infielder Chris Johnson
The Braves would love to trade him. Johnson would love to be traded. He'll pass through waivers easily. However, is there a team willing to acquire Johnson even after the Braves are rumored to be willing to absorb at least the majority of what he's owed through the 2017 season (roughly $19M or so)? There was a lot of hope that Johnson would bounce back to his 2013 self after a bad second season with the Braves.
Unfortunately, Johnson has reached new levels of ineptitude this season and even if another team won't have to spend much to acquire him, they will have to find a spot on their roster for him. For some reason, teams aren't all that anxious to acquire a guy who hasn't hit and has been prone to throwing fits.
Left Fielder Jonny Gomes
Right before the deadline, there were rumors that Gomes was being sought by other teams. It's been a disappointing 2015 campaign for Gomes who hasn't been the lefty masher he once was. Considering that is his greatest value to a team, other clubs would have to roll the dice and hope he could be a platoon bat or come off the bench for big spots against left-handers and provide more for them than he has this year for the Braves.
Gomes is owed slightly more than a million for the rest of the season and carries a $3M vesting option for 2016, though he's currently not on pace to reach the 325 plate appearances needed.
Of all the trade rumors that we heard before the deadline, the oddest were that the Braves were either actively shopping Teheran or simply listening to any offers that came their way. Just 24 years-old, Teheran followed up a 3.20 ERA in his rookie year of 2013 with a 2.89 ERA last year while being a workhorse capable of 221 innings. Naturally, it looked as if Teheran would continue to progress, but this season has been anything but progress.
His ERA has been close to two runs higher than last year while he's walking more people than ever and surrendering more homeruns. He's been especially weak on the road, though he did pitch well Sunday in Philadelphia. The chances of sneaking Teheran through waivers are likely not good. After all, while he has at least four years and nearly $30M left on his contract, that kind of total is a bargain compared to what other pitchers might be looking for this offseason. But if the Braves were interested before the deadline - and there is a good chance they weren't - there might be a deal out there for Teheran.
He's come a long way since saving 69 games with the Mariners between 2009-10. Now 33, Aardsma has been steady at times for the Braves since joining the squad, though he got roughed up badly Saturday against the Phillies. That one five-run stinker took his ERA from 1.80 to 3.86. Nevertheless, he has struck out a batter an inning and could be an interesting arm for a contender. So far, righties are hitting just .125 against Aardsma.
While lefties have battered him around, Aardsma could pair with a left-hand specialist for seven inning duties somewhere.
Posted August 3, 2015. Follow me on Twitter.
While the trading deadline is now in the rear view mirror, trades can still be finalized. The only difference is an extra hurdle. After July 31, teams have to pass players through waivers - a process that exposes them to the entire league. This process is sometimes referred to as "trade waivers" or "recallable waivers." The basic premise is that unlike players who are normally waived, the team exposing the player can opt remove him from waivers if another team claims him.
If the player passes through waivers without being claimed, he can then be dealt to any team. Because of this, occasionally, a team might be worried a rival may trade for a player so they might claim him even if they have no desire to acquire the player. This can backfire if the team that exposed the player simply lets him go rather than call him back. One famous case of this occurred in 1998 when then-Padres general manager Kevin Towers was worried that the Braves would acquire Randy Myers of the Blue Jays. Whether the Braves were getting Myers or not is still up for debate, but Towers moved to block Atlanta by claiming Myers. Toronto didn't pull Myers back and the high-priced reliever went to the Padres, who had little need for an expensive reliever with Trevor Hoffman at his best. The Braves moved on with Kerry Ligtenberg closing the door.
The process is rather complicated and even more so because teams put players on waivers they have absolutely no intention of moving. For instance, a team might put ten players on waivers with only one of which they are hoping to trade.
Other teams will try to figure out who that player might be. Most players will pass through waivers simply because teams have to be prepared to take on a contract they might not want. Further, most teams don't want to block other teams from doing deals too often for fear they might get blocked in retaliation.
We won't know who Atlanta will put through waivers this month (though leaks to the media often occur). Nor will we know who might pass through waivers, but over the next few slides, let's look at guys the Braves might still be interested in dealing.
Catcher A.J. Pierzynski
There weren't a lot of rumors swirling around that Pierzynski would join other veterans like Kelly Johnson and Jim Johnson as trade fodder as the deadline approached, but it seemed like a reasonable conclusion. Pierzynski has been a lifesaver in the wake of Christian Bethancourt's failure behind the plate and could be a target for a team looking for catching depth or a replacement behind the plate in the event of an injury.
It might be tough to sneak Pierzynski through waivers, though. He is owed the balance of his $2M contract which would roughly leave about $700,000 for another team to pick up. Most teams can find that in their locker room couches so passing him through waivers might turn out far more difficult than finding a team willing to trade for him.
Corner Infielder Chris Johnson
The Braves would love to trade him. Johnson would love to be traded. He'll pass through waivers easily. However, is there a team willing to acquire Johnson even after the Braves are rumored to be willing to absorb at least the majority of what he's owed through the 2017 season (roughly $19M or so)? There was a lot of hope that Johnson would bounce back to his 2013 self after a bad second season with the Braves.
Unfortunately, Johnson has reached new levels of ineptitude this season and even if another team won't have to spend much to acquire him, they will have to find a spot on their roster for him. For some reason, teams aren't all that anxious to acquire a guy who hasn't hit and has been prone to throwing fits.
Left Fielder Jonny Gomes
Right before the deadline, there were rumors that Gomes was being sought by other teams. It's been a disappointing 2015 campaign for Gomes who hasn't been the lefty masher he once was. Considering that is his greatest value to a team, other clubs would have to roll the dice and hope he could be a platoon bat or come off the bench for big spots against left-handers and provide more for them than he has this year for the Braves.
Gomes is owed slightly more than a million for the rest of the season and carries a $3M vesting option for 2016, though he's currently not on pace to reach the 325 plate appearances needed.
Of all the trade rumors that we heard before the deadline, the oddest were that the Braves were either actively shopping Teheran or simply listening to any offers that came their way. Just 24 years-old, Teheran followed up a 3.20 ERA in his rookie year of 2013 with a 2.89 ERA last year while being a workhorse capable of 221 innings. Naturally, it looked as if Teheran would continue to progress, but this season has been anything but progress.
His ERA has been close to two runs higher than last year while he's walking more people than ever and surrendering more homeruns. He's been especially weak on the road, though he did pitch well Sunday in Philadelphia. The chances of sneaking Teheran through waivers are likely not good. After all, while he has at least four years and nearly $30M left on his contract, that kind of total is a bargain compared to what other pitchers might be looking for this offseason. But if the Braves were interested before the deadline - and there is a good chance they weren't - there might be a deal out there for Teheran.
He's come a long way since saving 69 games with the Mariners between 2009-10. Now 33, Aardsma has been steady at times for the Braves since joining the squad, though he got roughed up badly Saturday against the Phillies. That one five-run stinker took his ERA from 1.80 to 3.86. Nevertheless, he has struck out a batter an inning and could be an interesting arm for a contender. So far, righties are hitting just .125 against Aardsma.
While lefties have battered him around, Aardsma could pair with a left-hand specialist for seven inning duties somewhere.
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