2021 Atlanta Braves

THWG

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,996
Not sure who has or is coming off the 40 man roster to make room....
The Braves announced that outfielder Phillip Ervin has been claimed off waivers from the Cubs. Ervin was designated for assignment by Chicago yesterday. Four clubs in the last 6 months. Only hit .149 during coronageddon, although .262 between 2017-2019. Drafted w/ the 27th pick in the 2013 draft by Cincinnati, he has spent the majority of his time in their organization.
I love this pickup. Hopefully we can find a trade partner for Inciarte and free up some money to re-sign Greene.
 

Buzzbomb

Mello Yellow-Jacket
Messages
12,014
I agree with you wholeheartedly, THWG.
This guy hits lefties, which will make up for Duvall. Believe he hit .349 vs. LHP in 2019.

Dump salary for a good serviceable RP. If we can get Greene on the inexpensive, how about Tyler Clippard, too?
 

Buzzbomb

Mello Yellow-Jacket
Messages
12,014
Per MLBTR:
  • The Brewers were among the teams that tried to sign reliever Trevor Rosenthal before he inked a one-year, $11MM guarantee with the Athletics, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The Braves were also known to be in the mix, and they made the right-hander a back-loaded offer for two years, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Trevor Rosenthal ultimately chose the A’s back-loaded proposal (they’ll pay him through 2023).
  • Outfielder Brett Gardner re-signed with the Yankees for a $5.15MM guarantee, but at least a few other teams considered prying him out of New York. The Braves, Angels and Blue Jaysall showed interest in Gardner during his long stay in free agency, per Heyman. However, Gardner’s goal was to remain a member of the Yankees. A 2005 third-round pick who made his big league debut in 2008, Gardner is easily the Yankees’ longest-tenured player.
 

Buzzbomb

Mello Yellow-Jacket
Messages
12,014
The Braves have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Travis Snider, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The former Blue Jay will now reunite with Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who was the GM in Toronto during part of Snider’s tenure there. Snider was a star prospect early in his Jays tenure but hasn’t lived up to the hype in the majors. The 33-year-old owns a .244/.311/.399 line with 54 home runs in 1,971 plate appearances, and he hasn’t appeared in the bigs since he split 2015 between Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
 

CINCYMETJACKET

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,165
The Braves have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Travis Snider, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The former Blue Jay will now reunite with Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who was the GM in Toronto during part of Snider’s tenure there. Snider was a star prospect early in his Jays tenure but hasn’t lived up to the hype in the majors. The 33-year-old owns a .244/.311/.399 line with 54 home runs in 1,971 plate appearances, and he hasn’t appeared in the bigs since he split 2015 between Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
Most star prospects don't live up to their hype. If they did, we'd have dozens of players elected to the Hall of Fame every year. I do recognize the name though. Interesting to hear that Snider is trying to come back and hasn't played in MLB since 2015, while Scott Kazmir is also trying to come back after not having pitched in MLB since 2016, signing a minor league contract with the Giants. Kazmir was a first round draft pick for the Mets in 2002, and we traded him for a washed up Victor Zambrano, which I must say pissed me off. Rooting for both of them.
 

Buzzbomb

Mello Yellow-Jacket
Messages
12,014
Noticed that about Kazmir and the Giants, late in the day, yesterday. Remembered the Mets, but not the year. Great memory, CincyMet!
Usually the Braves take a reclamation project every year, and this time it already happened early in Drew Smyly. I guess they will squeeze another year or maybe two out of Charlie Morton if they can, with these one-year deals.

Edited to say: Former Met news....
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports the 35-year-old Cespedes “intends to play in 2021, and will hold a showcase for major-league clubs on March 2 in Fort Pierce, Fl.”
 

Buzzbomb

Mello Yellow-Jacket
Messages
12,014
The Braves have claimed outfielder Guillermo Heredia off waivers from the Mets, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). New York had designated the 30-year-old for assignment over the weekend. By claiming Heredia, the Braves will become responsible for the entirety of the $1MM salary that he’d previously agreed upon in order to avoid an arbitration hearing with the Mets.
 

Buzzbomb

Mello Yellow-Jacket
Messages
12,014
Per MLBTR:
The Angels announced Thursday that they’ve acquired infielder Jack Mayfield from the Braves in exchange for cash. Fellow infielder Robel Garcia was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. Atlanta designated Mayfield for assignment yesterday.

Mayfield, 30, is something of a familiar face for the Angels, as his lone big league experience has come over the past couple seasons with the division-rival Astros. He landed with Atlanta earlier in the offseason after being designated for assignment in Houston. New Angels general manager Perry Minasian previously worked with the Braves as an assistant GM under Alex Anthopoulos, so it seems likely that both Anthopoulos and Minasian were fans of Mayfield’s versatility and glovework during their time together in Atlanta.
 

CINCYMETJACKET

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,165
Noticed that about Kazmir and the Giants, late in the day, yesterday. Remembered the Mets, but not the year. Great memory, CincyMet!
Usually the Braves take a reclamation project every year, and this time it already happened early in Drew Smyly. I guess they will squeeze another year or maybe two out of Charlie Morton if they can, with these one-year deals.

Edited to say: Former Met news....
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports the 35-year-old Cespedes “intends to play in 2021, and will hold a showcase for major-league clubs on March 2 in Fort Pierce, Fl.”
Yeah, it's called google. I'm lucky I remembered that he was drafted by the Mets in the first round...
 

CINCYMETJACKET

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,165
And when asked whether they (the Mets) would be sending anyone to Cespedes' workout, Alderson replied that they'd be riding in on a horse, or something along those lines. If you don't recall, Cespedes arrived at spring training one day on a horse a few years ago, https://247sports.com/Article/Yoenis-Cespedes-arrives-to-spring-training-on-a-horse-44014826/ and he owns a ranch. Which is where he broke his ankle while recovering from multiple heel surgeries while trying to avoid a wild boar. Or something along those lines...
 

CINCYMETJACKET

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,165
The Braves have claimed outfielder Guillermo Heredia off waivers from the Mets, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). New York had designated the 30-year-old for assignment over the weekend. By claiming Heredia, the Braves will become responsible for the entirety of the $1MM salary that he’d previously agreed upon in order to avoid an arbitration hearing with the Mets.
The Mets dropped Heredia for Kevin Pillar. Basically just swapped outfielders. We'll see whether it was the right move or not over time.
 

THWG

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,996
FEB. 26: Pfeifer has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett, the Braves announced.

FEB. 23: The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve designated left-hander Phil Pfeifer for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for corner infielder Jake Lamb, whose non-guaranteed Major League deal is now official.
I'm glad we were able to pass him through. I think Pfeifer can be a valuable releiver, if given the chance.
 

Buzzbomb

Mello Yellow-Jacket
Messages
12,014
Liberty Media released its quarterly financials today. Baseball related overall 2019 and 2020 expenses and revenues are below:
2019 Revenues: $438M 2019, Expenses: $422M.
2020 Revenues: $142M 2020, Expenses: $227M.
A net loss of $69M for the past 2 years combined.
 
Top