2018 Offseason Thread....(The search for a SP, corner OF and bp arms)

[Ruzious]

Pitchers and catchers report this week. If the Braves don't make anymore moves, I'm not confident that the finish higher than 3rd in the division.

By this time, I'm thinking they could get Kimbrell for 3/50, and they're probably holding out to save pennies on the dollar. Just sign him... now. He's the best of all time, he's still got it, and he's a local hero. Don't wait till Boston figures a way to keep him. It's gonna bug me all season if they don't sign him. Every time they blow a save, it will p me off. Sign Kimbrell now.

[Nemesis21]

Pitchers and catchers report this week. If the Braves don't make anymore moves, I'm not confident that the finish higher than 3rd in the division.

By this time, I'm thinking they could get Kimbrell for 3/50, and they're probably holding out to save pennies on the dollar. Just sign him... now. He's the best of all time, he's still got it, and he's a local hero. Don't wait till Boston figures a way to keep him. It's gonna bug me all season if they don't sign him. Every time they blow a save, it will p me off. Sign Kimbrell now.

Agree. Need starting pitching also. Have you seen the big 3 the Nats have? At minimum we need Keuchel, or man up and go get Kluber.

[Ruzious]

Pitchers and catchers report this week. If the Braves don't make anymore moves, I'm not confident that the finish higher than 3rd in the division.

By this time, I'm thinking they could get Kimbrell for 3/50, and they're probably holding out to save pennies on the dollar. Just sign him... now. He's the best of all time, he's still got it, and he's a local hero. Don't wait till Boston figures a way to keep him. It's gonna bug me all season if they don't sign him. Every time they blow a save, it will p me off. Sign Kimbrell now.

Agree. Need starting pitching also. Have you seen the big 3 the Nats have? At minimum we need Keuchel, or man up and go get Kluber.

I'm not sure I'd go after Keuchel. His SO rate declined a lot last season, and while he did eat innings, his ERA+ was only 108, and in 2016 it was only 86. His lifetime OPS+ is 108, the same as Teheran. Kluber's great. I'm guessing if they make a move for him, they do it near the trade deadline when Cleveland realizes they're not going to make the postseason.

[Nemesis21]

By this time, I'm thinking they could get Kimbrell for 3/50, and they're probably holding out to save pennies on the dollar. Just sign him... now. He's the best of all time, he's still got it, and he's a local hero. Don't wait till Boston figures a way to keep him. It's gonna bug me all season if they don't sign him. Every time they blow a save, it will p me off. Sign Kimbrell now.

Agree. Need starting pitching also. Have you seen the big 3 the Nats have? At minimum we need Keuchel, or man up and go get Kluber.

I'm not sure I'd go after Keuchel. His SO rate declined a lot last season, and while he did eat innings, his ERA+ was only 108, and in 2016 it was only 86. His lifetime OPS+ is 108, the same as Teheran. Kluber's great. I'm guessing if they make a move for him, they do it near the trade deadline when Cleveland realizes they're not going to make the postseason.

But Keuchel is better than adding nothing. He's better than Gio or had we traded for Sonny. I'd rather him than Teheran. It's time to move on from Julio. I'm pretty disappointed in this offseason. We haven't improved much, while our division has gotten a lot stronger. I really thought we would have made moves to make us WS contenders. Right now we are not. AA or Liberty is wasting away Freeman's prime.

[Ruzious]

Agree. Need starting pitching also. Have you seen the big 3 the Nats have? At minimum we need Keuchel, or man up and go get Kluber.

I'm not sure I'd go after Keuchel. His SO rate declined a lot last season, and while he did eat innings, his ERA+ was only 108, and in 2016 it was only 86. His lifetime OPS+ is 108, the same as Teheran. Kluber's great. I'm guessing if they make a move for him, they do it near the trade deadline when Cleveland realizes they're not going to make the postseason.

But Keuchel is better than adding nothing. He's better than Gio or had we traded for Sonny. I'd rather him than Teheran. It's time to move on from Julio. I'm pretty disappointed in this offseason. We haven't improved much, while our division has gotten a lot stronger. I really thought we would have made moves to make us WS contenders. Right now we are not. AA or Liberty is wasting away Freeman's prime.

If he's not significantly better than Teheran, why get him - especially if it'll take a multi-year contract and he'll be blocking top prospects?

[Nemesis21]

Well I'm not major stat person. But some I'm looking at he's better than Julio. Career WAR JT 17.7, DK 18.2. ERA is a push 3.64 to 3.66. DK had a better ERA, slightly, pitched 30 more innings. struck out 8 less, allowed 9 less HR, had 29 less walks in 2018 than JT.

JT is a 4-5 in a rotation, DK is still a 2-3. I don't agree that DK would block prospects, he'd be our #2 behind Folty. JT will be our 4th or 5th starter, that right there is blocking prospects. I'd rather trade JT, sign DK and put Soroka/Touki in that 5 spot.

Now this is just me going by baseball reference stats. I'm sure you can dig deeper to disagree, because I have no clue on the advance stats.

[ATL Boy]

Craig Kimbrel was spotted at the airport about to take a flight to Orlando. Could be nothing, but the Braves are currently the only MLB team in Orlando.

[Ruzious]

Well I'm not major stat person. But some I'm looking at he's better than Julio. Career WAR JT 17.7, DK 18.2. ERA is a push 3.64 to 3.66. DK had a better ERA, slightly, pitched 30 more innings. struck out 8 less, allowed 9 less HR, had 29 less walks in 2018 than JT.

JT is a 4-5 in a rotation, DK is still a 2-3. I don't agree that DK would block prospects, he'd be our #2 behind Folty. JT will be our 4th or 5th starter, that right there is blocking prospects. I'd rather trade JT, sign DK and put Soroka/Touki in that 5 spot.

Now this is just me going by baseball reference stats. I'm sure you can dig deeper to disagree, because I have no clue on the advance stats.

ERA+ is as complete a stat as there is and adjusts for ballpark differences. Average is 100. They're both career 108's. And like I said, his SO rate went down dramatically last season - which is a bad sign. And if we sign him, presumably it'd have to be a multi-year deal. If we acquire a veteran starting pitcher, it should be a 1 or a 2; not a 4 or a 5, imo.

[Nemesis21]

Well I'm not major stat person. But some I'm looking at he's better than Julio. Career WAR JT 17.7, DK 18.2. ERA is a push 3.64 to 3.66. DK had a better ERA, slightly, pitched 30 more innings. struck out 8 less, allowed 9 less HR, had 29 less walks in 2018 than JT.

JT is a 4-5 in a rotation, DK is still a 2-3. I don't agree that DK would block prospects, he'd be our #2 behind Folty. JT will be our 4th or 5th starter, that right there is blocking prospects. I'd rather trade JT, sign DK and put Soroka/Touki in that 5 spot.

Now this is just me going by baseball reference stats. I'm sure you can dig deeper to disagree, because I have no clue on the advance stats.

OPS+ is as complete a stat as there is and adjusts for ballpark differences. Average is 100. They're both career 108's. And like I said, his SO rate went down dramatically last season - which is a bad sign. And if we sign him, presumably it'd have to be a multi-year deal. If we acquire a veteran starting pitcher, it should be a 1 or a 2; not a 4 or a 5, imo.

I don't want 4 or 5 either. 2-3. It's almost ST, I doubt he gets more than 3 at this point. I'd be happy with him on 3 years. Will give more innings, less walks and less HRs than JT.

[Ruzious]

My bad, I meant I don't want a 4th or 5th starter, I want a 1st or a 2nd. And I meant ERA+; not OPS+.

[Nemesis21]

My bad, I meant I don't want a 4th or 5th starter, I want a 1st or a 2nd.

I'm confused here. He's not a 4th or 5th. JT is. DK is a 2-3. He's a 4-5 in a stacked rotation like Astros or Nats. He would be our 2 behind Folty. Unless you really want to keep Newcomb in that 2 spot. Wasn't that long ago that he won a Cy Young. JT hasn't even sniffed one. Plus maybe a change of scenery and reunion with BMac will help him rebound.


Folty
Keuchel
Guasman
Newcomb
Touki/Soroka


Regardless, I'd take him 10 times out of 10 over JT.

[Nemesis21]

I guess we just agree, to disagree.

[Ruzious]

I'm getting antsy on Kimbrell. I'm thinking it's between Boston and Atlanta, but who knows if another team or two enter in? Here's what Steve Adams of mlbtraderumors.com mentions about Boston's lux tax situation:

It’s worth noting that an extension for Sale would push the Red Sox into the top luxury tax penalization bracket. As I explored recently when looking at what it’d actually cost the Sox to re-sign Craig Kimbrel — the taxes on any such signing could top $10MM — Boston is only about $6MM south of that $246MM barrier. Viewed through that lens, the Sox may actually prefer to wait until the end of the season, although in doing so they’d also be running the risk of allowing Sale to test the open market.

What if Philly, Washington, or NYM decide to go after Kimbrell?

To me, it's not just that Kimbrell's great, it's that our current closer and 8th inning guys should probably go down a notch. Getting Kimbrell puts them at their best roles and allows them time to develop into better relievers. Not to mention, Kimbrell's a future HOFer. Ok, I'll shutup about Kimbrell until he's signed.

[HMFFL]

From the Atlanta Hawks forum.

I have Braves rumor from a close friend.

Braves and Boras have been talking about a contract for Bryce Harper.

Rumors this whole offseason has been the Braves are open to selling the farm for Trout but it seems the Halos are making it a priority to resign him with a NTC. Braves have reshifted their focus to Harper and the interest is likewise.

I expect this will be worked out privately. Also, not so secret now, the Braves offered Machado 3/90 if he wanted a short term deal. He didn't bite but had interest in the Braves.

No other Intel other than Liberty wants to buy FSN and they want to create a Braves network for the entire Southeast outside of FL and LA. That's already out there as news. Nothing new

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[Nemesis21]

I'll believe it when I see it.

[HMFFL]

I'll believe it when I see it.

Me too.


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[HMFFL]

The Westgate LasVegas Superbook this week set over/under home-run totals for a long list of MLB hitters, including these for Braves players:

> Acuna: 30.5.

> Freddie Freeman: 26.5.

> Donaldson: 23.5.

> Ozzie Albies: 21.5.

Also, Superbook’s over/unders for pitcher win totals included Mike Foltzynewicz at 12.5 wins and Sean Newcomb at 11.5.


https://www.ajc.com/sports/leadoff-which-the-braves-spring-training-games-will/ny43y8dpZJm8ad91fIpZvN/

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[Ruzious]

The Westgate LasVegas Superbook this week set over/under home-run totals for a long list of MLB hitters, including these for Braves players:

> Acuna: 30.5.

> Freddie Freeman: 26.5.

> Donaldson: 23.5.

> Ozzie Albies: 21.5.

Also, Superbook’s over/unders for pitcher win totals included Mike Foltzynewicz at 12.5 wins and Sean Newcomb at 11.5.


https://www.ajc.com/sports/leadoff-which-the-braves-spring-training-games-will/ny43y8dpZJm8ad91fIpZvN/

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If I was a betting man, I'd go all in on the over for Folty.

I'm more likely to win Powerball than the Braves sign Harper. Hmm, Powerball's almost up to what Harper's going to sign for.

[HMFFL]

Harper giving San Diego chance to match Phillies 10yr, $330 million dollar offer. I'm hoping SD does!!!!

https://www.12up.com/posts/6302252-rumor-bryce-harper-giving-padres-a-chance-to-match-phillies-offer/partners/40030

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[Ruzious]

Harper giving San Diego chance to match Phillies 10yr, $330 million dollar offer. I'm hoping SD does!!!!

https://www.12up.com/posts/6302252-rumor-bryce-harper-giving-padres-a-chance-to-match-phillies-offer/partners/40030

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Wow, Philly has become San Diego's red-headed stepchild.