Will a Trade w/Braves Be Announced Today? -- Brewers acquire CF Kyle Wren from ATL for RHP Zach Quintana (post #45)

[bill hAll Star]

Heyward is a good defender so he isn't useless against lefties, but I would hope that if the Brewers brought in Heyward, they'd get a corner/1B righty or two if Davis isn't still around for Lind and Heyward platoons.

[monty57]

On Braves' website and MLBtraderumors, there are comments about how strapped the Braves are for payroll room this offseason (they're paying Uggla $13MM not to play, and BJ Upton $15.05MM to play poorly), so I doubt they'd do anything that would add salary.

 

If there's legs to this rumor, it's probably the Brewers trading prospects for a reliever. Of course, the Brewers aren't flush with payroll room either, so it is possible we could be trading MLB pieces with similar contracts. Heyward makes some sense in this, as he's making $8.3MM in the final year of his contract, but that's quite a bit less than Gallardo or Lohse. Adding Davis to the deal could make it palatable for the Braves, but it would sure mean the Brewers are going to blow up after the 2015 season. But, that seems to fit the Attanasio m.o. more than trading for the AA/AAA third baseman mentioned earlier in the thread.

[BrewBalls]

On Braves' website and MLBtraderumors, there are comments about how strapped the Braves are for payroll room this offseason (they're paying Uggla $13MM not to play, and BJ Upton $15.05MM to play poorly), so I doubt they'd do anything that would add salary.

 

If there's legs to this rumor, it's probably the Brewers trading prospects for a reliever. Of course, the Brewers aren't flush with payroll room either, so it is possible we could be trading MLB pieces with similar contracts. Heyward makes some sense in this, as he's making $8.3MM in the final year of his contract, but that's quite a bit less than Gallardo or Lohse. Adding Davis to the deal could make it palatable for the Braves, but it would sure mean the Brewers are going to blow up after the 2015 season. But, that seems to fit the Attanasio m.o. more than trading for the AA/AAA third baseman mentioned earlier in the thread.

My take on the Braves is they are looking to add a solid starter but need to clear out some space to do so while also looking to add some young controllable talent to help them complete in 2016 and beyond. Gallardo gives them a solid durable starter and Davis is the young talent to help them compete in the future. Basically the Braves are adding $5.2M in salary to fill their rotation spot which is cheaper than any free agent available including Harang. I could see Mark A rolling the dice this season before he loses several key veterans similar to 2011.

[Mass Haas]

Has anybody mentioned that Jason Heyward is a free agent after this coming season?

 

Or that Khris Davis slugged .457 and had 61 XBH's in 2014.

 

And that in 72 more AB's, Jason Heyward slugged .384 with 40 XBH's.

 

Six-year controllable RH power-hitters are the most craved properties in all of baseball.

[BrewBalls]

Has anybody mentioned that Jason Heyward is a free agent after this coming season?

 

Or that Khris Davis slugged .457 and had 61 XBH's in 2014.

 

And that in 72 more AB's, Jason Heyward slugged .384 with 40 XBH's.

 

Six-year controllable RH power-hitters are the most craved properties in all of baseball.

I agree that young power hitters have value. But his defense minimizes his while Heyward's increases his value. Besides the one thing the Brewers currently do not lack is free swinging RH power hitters. What they need is left handed hitters, better defensive players, players who can get on base at a decent clip and a few more reliable relievers. The Brewers have prioritized power over defense for long enough to determine this formula doesn't work.

[trwi7]

Trading for Heyward would be great for the Brewers. I would gladly give up K. Davis and one of Yo or Lohse for him if they believe they could extend Heyward.

 

If his hometown Braves haven't been able to extend him, we have no shot. I don't want Heyward. One year and then he's gone, no thanks.

[bill hAll Star]

If MA is resigned to "going for it" this year and then finally going with a bit of a rebuild or an absolute retool in 2016, then Heyward is a pretty solid get.

 

I seem to remember the Braves platooning Heyward a bit more this year, but it's pretty obvious that he is an above-average/very good hitter against right-handed pitching. He's a career .840 guy and did it in a slightly tougher park/division to hit.

 

Davis has value, but if there is a plan to rebuild, having a cheap, younger RH hitter that isn't a great fielder for 3-4 more years after this one isn't that big of a deal. By the time you're done rebuilding or retooling, you've got Davis on a 1 year contract at $7 million probably.

 

If they got bullpen help and a little bit of salary relief, my pipe dream would be this roster on opening day:

 

C: Luc/Maldy

1B: Lind/(RH 1B/OF - Van Slyke?)/Luc

2B: Scooter/Jed Lowrie/Segura

SS: Jed Lowrie/Segura

3B: Aramis/Jed Lowrie

RF: Heyward/(RH 1B/OF guy)

CF: Gomez/Parra

LF: Braun/Parra

 

On any given day you can trot out 5 good LH hitters or you could trot out 8 (9 if pitcher) righties.

 

Do things to solidify depth by inviting Kelly Johnson to Spring Training or signing him cheap. Plus you have a little depth of corner RH guys like Rogers.

 

Heyward is also probably young enough that you could give him the QO and he likely wouldn't get himself stuck in a Morales/Drew situation and would sign a contract with somebody.

[SRB]

Just saw on MLB Trade Rumors that Braves may be looking to move Jordan Walden or Tommy De La Stella. Walden wouldn't be a bad pickup for the bullpen. De La Stella on the other hand is literally Scooter Gennett in another uniform.

 

No, Tommy La Stella would be great. He is the inverse of Scooter, at least based on the relatively small sample of 2014:

 

Scooter

.253 OPS vs. LHP

.802 OPS vs. RHP

 

La Stella

.817 OPS vs. LHP

.604 OPS vs. RHP

 

Put them together and you would have had the #2 2B in the NL last season (behind Altuve, #3 MLB behind Cano and Altuve).

 

That would be a fantastic solution to our 2B-platoon need, though I don't think it's worth trading someone like Gallardo for that alone. But maybe La Stella and a plus reliever?

[bill hAll Star]

I know it worked pretty nicely with Weeks last year, but if at all possible, I'd like to platoon 2B with a guy that can play other positions on the RH side.

 

A lot of this may depend on how much they think Aramis can play or more importantly, how much they trust Segura in another year that they are "going for it." I would have to think there are several available utility guys that can play 2B/SS or 2B/3B from the right-hand side. If not, we had better really trust Aramis to stay healthy or Segura to not be really bad. We'd have an excellent 2B platoon (if we acquire a Weeks-esque platoon-mate) but be basically punting on offense with Segura at SS.

[SRB]

I know it worked pretty nicely with Weeks last year, but if at all possible, I'd like to platoon 2B with a guy that can play other positions on the RH side.

 

A lot of this may depend on how much they think Aramis can play or more importantly, how much they trust Segura in another year that they are "going for it." I would have to think there are several available utility guys that can play 2B/SS or 2B/3B from the right-hand side. If not, we had better really trust Aramis to stay healthy or Segura to not be really bad. We'd have an excellent 2B platoon (if we acquire a Weeks-esque platoon-mate) but be basically punting on offense with Segura at SS.

 

La Stella doesn't have severe minor league splits, so he could presumably play a 2B/3B/OF role against RHP, and then be the everyday 2B against LHP.

 

I don't see us upgrading shortstop beyond Segura and the scrap-heapy internal options, because it's not worth the trade cost and all capable free agents will be too expensive.

[BrewBalls]

The free agent market doesn't have much available if you are looking for someone to split time between 2B, SS and 3B. I could see Jed Lawrie, who will be expensive ($8-10M per year); Emilio Bonifacio, although I'm not sure how serviceable he would be at SS; Ramon Santiago, who is a switch hitter, albeit light hitting; or the slick fielding but often injured Rafeal Furcal. If we are only looking for someone to just platoon with A-Ram and Scooter then Alberto Callaspo could also be an option. The bonus he provides is he's a switch hitter with decent splits (vs RHP 259/328/360; vs LHP 284/334/395) who could spell Gennett versus lefties and Ramirez versus tough righties. To me the Brewers best options are Bonifacio and Callaspo. Either could be had on a 2yr/$6M deal. As much as I would love to sign Lawrie we just can not afford to spend $8-10M on a super utility player.

[brewcrewdue80]

We're kidding ourselves on Heyward for Lohse or Gallardo. Maybe if it were Peralta the deal might happen.

Heyward is a Surefire QO player. To Acquire him from Atl I'd expect a Lohse+Davis+one of Taylor/Arcia/Coulter deal. He's 25years old. Has had 2 seasons above 6WAR already. And that is with him being disappointing in his Growth. When he does blossom as a hitter(magic ages of 26-29 coming) The guy is going to be nearing 10WAR likely.

 

I don't see much of a fit between the teams. At least on Milw's side to swap a ML player for ML player.

 

Trading Quintana who's young w/o the proven numbers thus far would seem like the type where a Minor League player is swapped in return. Cody Martin doesn't sound like a Pitcher for Atl who can really go anywhere. The Back end of the Bullpen is solid and he doesn't really read as having much upside as a Starter. The Brewers could use a cheap RP and he may be the one to target. Would be a Brewers get a ML ready pitcher today for a young struggling Quintana who easily in 2-3years time becomes exactly what Martin is today.

Another Minor League that would fit could be Todd Cunningham A player who reads as a Logan Schafer type only a switch hitter with a little more Bases on Balls skill. Schafer I don't know if he has any options left for 2015 but he may turn in to a guy who's just going to be let go if Cunningham is the man in trade who's identical but will have options.

 

That'd be my guess on a deal being worked out. I wouldn't understand Atl parting with their Arb eligible Relievers as they are relatively cheap and effective. I don't see who would go to Atl from Milw of equal value and vice versa. They aren't getting Lohse/Gallardo+Quintana for one of them.(well maybe Walden is worthy)

[LouisEly]

Maybe what's holding the trade up is that it's part of a 3-team (or more) trade. The return doesn't have to come from Atlanta.

[RockCoCougars]

The Braves are a team that I wouldn't want to deal with. They are always pleading poverty and never seem to want to part with anything but fringe players. To me, they are like that kid in the neighborhood who always wanted an arm and a leg for their baseball cards. Maybe they are still having bad flashbacks from the brutal Teixiera deals

[SRB]

If somebody already told Quintana that he's definitely being traded and it hasn't been confirmed by any mainstream sources yet, it probably means it's some non-factor minor league swap that the team won't bother announcing for a week or two.

 

Only way it's something bigger is if there was a miscommunication and Quintana was simply told he's under consideration, as a courtesy.

[jerichoholicninja]

Just saw on MLB Trade Rumors that Braves may be looking to move Jordan Walden or Tommy De La Stella. Walden wouldn't be a bad pickup for the bullpen. De La Stella on the other hand is literally Scooter Gennett in another uniform.

 

No, Tommy La Stella would be great. He is the inverse of Scooter, at least based on the relatively small sample of 2014:

 

Scooter

.253 OPS vs. LHP

.802 OPS vs. RHP

 

La Stella

.817 OPS vs. LHP

.604 OPS vs. RHP

 

Put them together and you would have had the #2 2B in the NL last season (behind Altuve, #3 MLB behind Cano and Altuve).

 

That would be a fantastic solution to our 2B-platoon need, though I don't think it's worth trading someone like Gallardo for that alone. But maybe La Stella and a plus reliever?

 

61 MLB at bats vs left handed pitching is hardly relevant. He's a lefty hitter like Gennett. It would be pointless to have both of them on the roster.

[SRB]

Just saw on MLB Trade Rumors that Braves may be looking to move Jordan Walden or Tommy De La Stella. Walden wouldn't be a bad pickup for the bullpen. De La Stella on the other hand is literally Scooter Gennett in another uniform.

 

No, Tommy La Stella would be great. He is the inverse of Scooter, at least based on the relatively small sample of 2014:

 

Scooter

.253 OPS vs. LHP

.802 OPS vs. RHP

 

La Stella

.817 OPS vs. LHP

.604 OPS vs. RHP

 

Put them together and you would have had the #2 2B in the NL last season (behind Altuve, #3 MLB behind Cano and Altuve).

 

That would be a fantastic solution to our 2B-platoon need, though I don't think it's worth trading someone like Gallardo for that alone. But maybe La Stella and a plus reliever?

 

61 MLB at bats vs left handed pitching is hardly relevant. He's a lefty hitter like Gennett. It would be pointless to have both of them on the roster.

 

The reason Gennett needs a platoon partner is not that he's a LHB, it's that he's especially atrocious against LHP even compared to normal LHB. Any competent 2B would be a good platoon-mate, and La Stella hits LHP as well if not better than RHP.

[endaround]

Except he doesn't. And the fact that his K rate against left handed major league pitcher is 18.5% is really worrisome. His BABIP will fall to a sustainable .300 or so and then you have a .216/.300/.316 hitter versus left handed pitching. Yes he's better than Gennett versus left handed but that doesn't mean he should be a target.

[Roderick]

Put them together and you would have had the #2 2B in the NL last season (behind Altuve, #3 MLB behind Cano and Altuve).

 

Altuve is AL now, so #1

[TooLiveBrew]

Per Adam McCalvy:

 

#Brewers make a Minor League trade: Get CF Kyle Wren from the Braves for former third-round pick Zach Quintana, a RHP.

[Kelbysdaddy]

Looks like Logan Schafer 2.0.

[pacopete4]

Looks like Logan Schafer 2.0.

 

Huh?

[logan82]

Looks like Logan Schafer 2.0.

With less power. Not sure about the defense.

[Kelbysdaddy]

Looks like Logan Schafer 2.0.

 

Huh?

Left handed center fielder, decent avg and obp, not a lot of power. Bbref shows his defensive stats looks pretty good. He's also Frank Wrens son.

[fondybrewfan]

Based purely on performance to date; Wren has been far better than Quintana. Not a bad player to have in the system. I am guessing since the Braves fired his dad that there were relationship issues and they felt it was best to part ways with his kid.