Braves Have Money To Spend

[WraithSentinel]

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl..._spend_reb.html

This should be a very exciting offseason for us. I hope the FA class is strong. CC is already at the top of my list. I had some questions about this guy. Ever since seeing him goto the Brewers I no longer have any doubts about this guy.

[WraithSentinel]

I meant spend. Can someone correct that for me?

[coachx]

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl..._spend_reb.html

This should be a very exciting offseason for us. I hope the FA class is strong. CC is already at the top of my list. I had some questions about this guy. Ever since seeing him goto the Brewers I no longer have any doubts about this guy.

I have more doubts then ever about him. Sure he is producing but Miwaulkee is not playing him like he is a long term asset. He has just pitched his 3rd complete game in a row for the Brewers which is good for the short term goals but you would not see the Mets doing that to Santana or the Yankees giving that work load to their young stud (Chamberline) b/c both teams see them as long term investments even though they are in pennant races too. I guess I worry that CC still has something left if the Brewer continue to work him this hard through the remainder of the season and into the playoffs.

I just worry that Miwaulkee's over use of CC will catch up to him next year. Its tough to give $100 mill to a pitcher and then he gets hurt his first season to due over use the season before.

I hope we spend the money on some horses. I just don't know who.

Edited July 31, 2008 by coachx

[WraithSentinel]

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2002/02/2...ree-agents.html

There is the list of FA. We need a LF and that is about it when it come to positional players. That is assuming Jordan or Gorky are ready to take over in CF.

This is where will likely spend the money. Some of these name might need to be updated. It give us a good idea who is out there.

Starting Pitchers

Kris Benson PHI

A.J. Burnett TOR (may opt out)

Paul Byrd CLE

Ryan Dempster CHC

Jon Garland LAA

Tom Glavine ATL

Mike Hampton * ATL

Rich Harden * CHC

Orlando Hernandez NYM

Jason Jennings TEX

Randy Johnson ARZ

John Lackey * LAA

Esteban Loaiza CHW

Braden Looper STL

Derek Lowe LAD

Pedro Martinez NYM

Mike Mussina NYY

Jamie Moyer PHI

Mark Mulder * STL

Carl Pavano NYY

Brad Penny * LAD

Odalis Perez WAS

Oliver Perez NYM

Andy Pettitte NYY

Mark Prior SD

Horatio Ramirez KC

C.C. Sabathia MIL

Ben Sheets MIL

John Smoltz * ATL

Julian Tavarez ATL

Steve Trachsel BAL

Brett Tomko SD

Claudio Vargas MIL

Randy Wolf HOU

Relief Pitchers

Tony Armas Jr. PIT

Luis Ayala WAS

Joe Beimel LAD

Joe Borowski CLE

Juan Cruz ARZ

Brendan Donnelly BOS

Scott Downs TOR

Alan Embree * OAK

Scott Eyre CHC

Kyle Farnsworth NYY

Casey Fossum TB

Brian Fuentes COL

Aaron Fultz CLE

Tom Gordon * PHI

LaTroy Hawkins NYY

Mark Hendrickson LAD

Trevor Hoffman SD

Bobby Howry CHC

Jason Isringhausen STL

Steve Kline SF

Brandon Lyon ARZ

Damaso Marte * PIT

Tom Martin COL

Julio Mateo PHI

Guillermo Mota MIL

Will Ohman CHC

Hideki Okajima * BOS

Darren Oliver LAA

John Parrish SEA

Chris Reitsma SEA

Dennys Reyes MIN

Juan Rincon CLE

Francisco Rodriguez LAA

Brian Shouse MIL

Rafael Soriano ATL

Jorge Sosa NYM

Mike Stanton * CIN

Salomon Torres * MIL

Derrick Turnbow MIL

Oscar Villarreal ATL

David Weathers CIN

Dan Wheeler TB

Dave Williams NYM

Matt Wise NYM

Jay Witasick TB

Edited July 31, 2008 by HawksJJHorford

[Admin]

I meant spend. Can someone correct that for me?

Fixed

[ATLBob]

I have more doubts then ever about him. Sure he is producing but Miwaulkee is not playing him like he is a long term asset. He has just pitched his 3rd complete game in a row for the Brewers which is good for the short term goals but you would not see the Mets doing that to Santana or the Yankees giving that work load to their young stud (Chamberline) b/c both teams see them as long term investments even though they are in pennant races too. I guess I worry that CC still has something left if the Brewer continue to work him this hard through the remainder of the season and into the playoffs.

I just worry that Miwaulkee's over use of CC will catch up to him next year. Its tough to give $100 mill to a pitcher and then he gets hurt his first season to due over use the season before.

I hope we spend the money on some horses. I just don't know who.

Maybe we can poach Sheets instead.

[WraithSentinel]

Sheets is the 2nd option if we miss out on CC. Any team who goes after him better be extra careful. That guy breaks down all the time. Sure he is a very good pitcher. Do you want to hand out $15 mil per for 20 starts?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=4571

[coachx]

Thanks for the list of pitching free agents.

Here is the same link but listing OF free agents as well. We definately need a power hitter if our 1st baseman is only going to hit 15 HR / year. The only problem is there are not many OFs younger then 30 who are proven that are availiable. Adam Dunn is there. For all his strike outs he is still a run producing machine and his defense is at least average in LF. Still you hate to count on the league leader on SOs as your clean up hitter. It will definately be an interesting off season to say the least.

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2002/02/2...ree-agents.html

Outfielders

Bobby Abreu NYY

Moises Alou NYM

Garret Anderson * LAA

Rocco Baldelli TB

Willie Bloomquist SEA

Emil Brown OAK

Pat Burrell PHI

Endy Chavez NYM

Carl Crawford * TB

Adam Dunn CIN

Jim Edmonds CHC

Cliff Floyd TB

Brian Giles * SD

Ken Griffey Jr. * CIN

Vladimir Guerrero * LAA

Raul Ibanez SEA

Jacque Jones DET

Mark Kotsay ATL

Rob Mackowiak WAS

Kevin Mench TOR

Jason Michaels * CLE

Craig Monroe MIN

Jay Payton BAL

Scott Podsednik COL

Manny Ramirez * BOS

Juan Rivera LAA

Rondell White MIN

[lifelong]

The Braves need pitching some how some way. We may not have Glavine, Smoltz and Hudson next season. We're in full-fledged rebuilding mode. I think the Braves need to acquire young talent or prospects and plan for the future.

[mattlanta]

I'd love to have either Sabathia or Sheets, but let's get realistic with ourselves. I'm not sure we're the kind of organization that go after the big fish with all our money. I have a feeling we'll go after a couple solid pitchers and end up with two, maybe three, solid pitchers. Derek Lowe is a realistic option, and so is Arroyo and Oliver Perez.

Young names just to name a few (30 and under) :

Oliver Perez (27)

Jon Garland (29)

Ben Sheets (30)

Mark Prior (27)

C.C. Sabathia (28)

John Lackey (30) - $9MM club option for '09 with a $0.5MM buyout

Edited July 31, 2008 by Libid21

[mattlanta]

The Braves need pitching some how some way. We may not have Glavine, Smoltz and Hudson next season. We're in full-fledged rebuilding mode. I think the Braves need to acquire young talent or prospects and plan for the future.

We have plenty of young prospects IMO. Jurrjens, Reyes, Hanson, Campillo if you count him as a prospect, Morton, etc. They just need more time to develop, and we're not just going to throw all of them into the rotation next year which is why we need to bring in some solid pitchers. My guess for the rotation is... Free Agent, Jurrjens, Reyes, Morton, Hanson. If Jair can continue to improve and adjust to ML hitters like he has this year there's no reason as to why we couldn't slot him as an ace in the future. I think Jo-Jo and Charlie have good stuff and could eventually be very strong middle of the rotation guys.

[WraithSentinel]

Jair look like the real deal but he came from the Tigers. Any Braves pitching prospect that the Braves drafted and develop cannot be counted on. They are overrated to be honest. I just have no trust in the Braves developing pitchers anymore. The one good pitcher they did develop they just gave him away to the Cards. I am speaking of Wainwright here.

We gotta make a splash in landing at least two good arms. I think we do have a chance at getting CC. I see Brewers doing a lot to keep Sheets. Give CC the 6-7 year deal he is looking for and near Johan money and he will sign. No player is worth the $100 million deals that are going around. That is the market now.

[mattlanta]

Jair look like the real deal but he came from the Tigers. Any Braves pitching prospect that the Braves drafted and develop cannot be counted on. They are overrated to be honest. I just have no trust in the Braves developing pitchers anymore. The one good pitcher they did develop they just gave him away to the Cards. I am speaking of Wainwright here.

We gotta make a splash in landing at least two good arms. I think we do have a chance at getting CC. I see Brewers doing a lot to keep Sheets. Give CC the 6-7 year deal he is looking for and near Johan money and he will sign. No player is worth the $100 million deals that are going around. That is the market now.

If what you're saying is true about Brewers doing a lot to keep Sheets, then you can expect Sabathia to be the most highly wanted pitcher in free agency - bar none. Which most likely makes him virtually untouchable seeing that the Yankees will be looking for another star pitcher to add to their rotation after Mussina's contract runs up. They were thinking about trading for C.C. before the trade deadline, and they couldn't get themselves to do it. They're not going to let go of another star pitcher like they did with Johan. Don't think they won't spend any of that money that is freed up seeing that Mussina and Giambi's humongous contract runs up after this season. That's why I said it's more realistic to think Derek Lowe, Bronson Arroyo, Oliver Perez, etc. They're not exactly ace quality- but they are pretty solid pitchers.

[ATLBob]

I'd love to have either Sabathia or Sheets, but let's get realistic with ourselves. I'm not sure we're the kind of organization that go after the big fish with all our money.

Yeah, but with nearly 50$ mill to spends and no ace (Huddy will miss at least half the season), we're def in the market to overpay a big-time pitcher. And then overpay another middle rotation guy.

Unfortunately, while we need a LF, the list of potentially available OFs doesn't excite me.

Pitching baby.

Spend that $$$.

[frosgrim]

The FA class this year is pretty awful. There just aren't any big thumpers to pick up.

I agree that pitching is probably where the Braves can make the biggest investment:

I would love to see Sabathia and/or Sheets. However, the Yankees, Mets, and Phillies will all be bidding on those guys as well.

Even if the Braves sign either CC or Ben, IMO, they need to sign another guy as well. Maybe Garland, Wolf or Lowe.

The Braves have to add some power as well.

There are some interesting options:

Jeff Kent- move KJ back to LF or trade him for a AAA power hitter. Drawback- not the greatest clubhouse guy and contract will be very big

Furcal- I know he's not a power guy, but if the Braves can't find power, getting a legit leadoff hitter is the second option. Yunel can move to 2nd and KJ as above.

Hank Blalock- a legit power guy, but plays 3rd and is always hurt. Contract might be reasonable considering his health issues. If signed may have to play LF, but if Manny can play left, anyone can play left.

Adam Dunn as someone mentioned might be a viable piece. He's really a #5 hitter, but beggers can't be choosers.

The funny thing is that the Braves have to spend money. Part of the deal that Liberty Media signed to buy the club was that they couldn't reduce payroll. While I am all for keeping the Braves competative, the 09 season is one of those seasons where I wouldn't be upset with the team just stepping back and acquiring young talent.

[WraithSentinel]

I don't see the Mets being in discussion for CC. They are likely to go after Tex. Phillies are a toss up. Yanks will obviously be in discussion. Perhaps we hold the wildcard in this whole thing. One the Braves play in the NL and two CC would get to hit. I heard he loves to hit. Yeah it is not much of a wildcard. Something to consider.

Here is something else to consider. Should the Braves make a play for K-Rod? He will likely be $12-$15 mil per for 4-5 years. I know we got Mike and Rafael. Can we trust them long term? Rafael contract is up after next year and I believe Mike contract is to.

If the Braves are going to spend the money. Might as well go after the top pitchers.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=5357

Edited August 1, 2008 by HawksJJHorford

[Admin]

The only way that the Yankees go after Sheets or CC is if they don't bring back Pettite or Mussina. Both of them make quite a bit of money and if either are re-signed I doubt that the Yankees will invest big money in FA pitcher. I think that they will go hard after Tex to replace Giambi and if they get Tex that will be the only big signing of the offseason. If the Yankees do go after a pitcher though I expect it to be Sheets since he has about 200 fewer innings of work than CC does.

[mattlanta]

The FA class this year is pretty awful. There just aren't any big thumpers to pick up.

I agree that pitching is probably where the Braves can make the biggest investment:

I would love to see Sabathia and/or Sheets. However, the Yankees, Mets, and Phillies will all be bidding on those guys as well.

Even if the Braves sign either CC or Ben, IMO, they need to sign another guy as well. Maybe Garland, Wolf or Lowe.

The Braves have to add some power as well.

There are some interesting options:

Jeff Kent- move KJ back to LF or trade him for a AAA power hitter. Drawback- not the greatest clubhouse guy and contract will be very big

Furcal- I know he's not a power guy, but if the Braves can't find power, getting a legit leadoff hitter is the second option. Yunel can move to 2nd and KJ as above.

Hank Blalock- a legit power guy, but plays 3rd and is always hurt. Contract might be reasonable considering his health issues. If signed may have to play LF, but if Manny can play left, anyone can play left.

Adam Dunn as someone mentioned might be a viable piece. He's really a #5 hitter, but beggers can't be choosers.

The funny thing is that the Braves have to spend money. Part of the deal that Liberty Media signed to buy the club was that they couldn't reduce payroll. While I am all for keeping the Braves competative, the 09 season is one of those seasons where I wouldn't be upset with the team just stepping back and acquiring young talent.

We're not goign to be spending any more money in short stop. We already have Lillibridge in the minor leagues which the Braves know deserves to be playing in the majors. He's got a lot of potential. I'd actually rather have Yunel traded and him to stay in the majors, but that's just me factoring in the fact that he's much younger than Yunel. And I believe Yunel's already reached his peak.

[BigDirty]

We're not goign to be spending any more money in short stop. We already have Lillibridge in the minor leagues which the Braves know deserves to be playing in the majors. He's got a lot of potential. I'd actually rather have Yunel traded and him to stay in the majors, but that's just me factoring in the fact that he's much younger than Yunel. And I believe Yunel's already reached his peak.

Escobar is only one year older than Lillibridge, are you sure that you're not mixing him up with another player?

[Dakin]

Yunel and Lilli have both peaked. They are what they are. Yunel is better defensively and a better hitter overall. Lilli has more speed. Neither is going to set the world on fire, but I'll take Yunel. Hopefull Lilli has some trade value.