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In praise of Alex Anthopoulos
Posted on 11/3/21 at 12:37 pm
Posted on 11/3/21 at 12:37 pm
A look back on what Braves writers and their counterparts said (at the time) about the trade deadline acquisitions that helped the Braves bring home a world title for the first time since 1995.
World Series MVP Jorge Soler
Talking Chop- Lets go ahead and get this out of the way: Jorge Soler has not been good this season. In 360 plate appearances, he has been good for -1.2 rWAR with 13 home runs and a .192/.288/.370 slash line. However, there is real upside with Soler and the power output has been significantly better of late. For the price of a high-A relief-only prospect, this is a pretty easy flyer to take.
Royals Review- In exchange for acquiring Soler, his hot and cold streaks, and all the risk they both entail, the Braves sent Kasey Kalich. The 127th overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft, Kalich has struck out nearly 25% of batters in High-A ball as a reliever. KK’s slider is a hard-breaking weapon that he pairs with a mid-to-upper 90s fastball. But Kalich is the definition of a lottery ticket: he is a reliever only—meaning limited upside—and he has some command issues that have resulted in high walk totals.
Still, for the Royals to get anything out of Soler, who is an impending free agent at the end of the year, is a minor miracle considering that Soler had a .183/.277/.313 triple slash and -1.6 fWAR as recently as July 18. Kalich will be assigned to High-A Quad Cities. Soler’s long-term roster replacement has yet to be announced.
NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario
Tomahawk Take- There is a reason the Atlanta Braves front offense were willing to take on the salary to acquire him. The answer is simple, depth. If you look just at his offensive line, you may notice that it is slightly lower than Almonte. Well, offense is not the only way to contribute to a team. In only 61 games, Almonte has accumulated .1.0 defensive WAR, which has resulted in an overall WAR of -0.8. The difference between Rosario and Almonte in overall WAR is 1.3.
1.3 WAR is more than Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Heredia, or Ehire Adrianza have combined or individually. In fact, Rosario’s 0.5 is more than any of the aforementioned players have this season.
Away Back Gone- From Cleveland’s perspective, moving him does make sense. I will give the club that. He’s on a one-year deal so getting something in return would be the right choice. Given his down season he’s likely to be a low-end free agent, so who’s to say the Cleveland Indians don’t resign him before the calendar flips to 2022. It’s definitely possible.
Where the issue lies with this trade is that it wasn’t truly a trade. It felt more like a gift to the Atlanta Braves. Moving Rosario for any sort of prospect would make sense. Cash in on what you have to get something in return. Cleveland couldn’t even manage to do that with this deal.
The return was Pablo Sandoval. Yes, the “Panda.” The 34-year old veteran who is probably more useful as an emergency reliever than any sort of offensive production or fielder. That’s it. To make matters worse, Cleveland included cash in the agreement.
World Series MVP Jorge Soler
Talking Chop- Lets go ahead and get this out of the way: Jorge Soler has not been good this season. In 360 plate appearances, he has been good for -1.2 rWAR with 13 home runs and a .192/.288/.370 slash line. However, there is real upside with Soler and the power output has been significantly better of late. For the price of a high-A relief-only prospect, this is a pretty easy flyer to take.
Royals Review- In exchange for acquiring Soler, his hot and cold streaks, and all the risk they both entail, the Braves sent Kasey Kalich. The 127th overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft, Kalich has struck out nearly 25% of batters in High-A ball as a reliever. KK’s slider is a hard-breaking weapon that he pairs with a mid-to-upper 90s fastball. But Kalich is the definition of a lottery ticket: he is a reliever only—meaning limited upside—and he has some command issues that have resulted in high walk totals.
Still, for the Royals to get anything out of Soler, who is an impending free agent at the end of the year, is a minor miracle considering that Soler had a .183/.277/.313 triple slash and -1.6 fWAR as recently as July 18. Kalich will be assigned to High-A Quad Cities. Soler’s long-term roster replacement has yet to be announced.
NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario
Tomahawk Take- There is a reason the Atlanta Braves front offense were willing to take on the salary to acquire him. The answer is simple, depth. If you look just at his offensive line, you may notice that it is slightly lower than Almonte. Well, offense is not the only way to contribute to a team. In only 61 games, Almonte has accumulated .1.0 defensive WAR, which has resulted in an overall WAR of -0.8. The difference between Rosario and Almonte in overall WAR is 1.3.
1.3 WAR is more than Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Heredia, or Ehire Adrianza have combined or individually. In fact, Rosario’s 0.5 is more than any of the aforementioned players have this season.
Away Back Gone- From Cleveland’s perspective, moving him does make sense. I will give the club that. He’s on a one-year deal so getting something in return would be the right choice. Given his down season he’s likely to be a low-end free agent, so who’s to say the Cleveland Indians don’t resign him before the calendar flips to 2022. It’s definitely possible.
Where the issue lies with this trade is that it wasn’t truly a trade. It felt more like a gift to the Atlanta Braves. Moving Rosario for any sort of prospect would make sense. Cash in on what you have to get something in return. Cleveland couldn’t even manage to do that with this deal.
The return was Pablo Sandoval. Yes, the “Panda.” The 34-year old veteran who is probably more useful as an emergency reliever than any sort of offensive production or fielder. That’s it. To make matters worse, Cleveland included cash in the agreement.
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Posted on 11/3/21 at 12:38 pm to Murph4HOF
Adam Duvall
Talking Chop- Duvall, 33 next month, continues to hit for power as he did during his tenure in Atlanta from 2018-2020, batting .229/.277/.478 with a 104 wRC+, 22 home runs, 68 RBI and 1.1 WAR with his usual steady defense. It is worth noting Duvall’s numbers drop off drastically against opponents other than the Braves; his wRC+ is only 78 against non-Atlanta teams in 2021.
Fish Stripes- The Alex Jackson addition gives the Marlins a new face at a position of need. A former first-round draft pick, the catcher has thrived at the plate in Triple-A this season (slashing .287/.366/.694 with a 167 wRC+ in 123 plate appearances).
Unfortunately, he’s been unable to make the leap to the majors effectively: .070/.200/.093 with a 44% strikeout rate in 50 combined plate appearances from 2019-2021.
The key to this transaction is whether or not Jackson will stick at catcher defensively. In ranking him 22nd on their newly updated Braves top prospects list, Baseball America says he “has improved dramatically as a defender over the last few years...his framing metrics are good.”
Joc Pederson
AJC- Pederson will add power to a decimated Braves lineup that’s missing Acuna, Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud in the middle of its order. Pederson has always fared much better against righties than left-handers. He’s hit .236 with a .837 OPS in his career against right-handers as opposed to a .203 average with a .593 OPS against lefties. Peterson has played regularly this season, and Anthopoulos said his playing time will be decided by manager Brian Snitker.
Anthopoulos called Pederson “solid” defensively. He can play both corner outfield spots (and center if necessary), but Anthopoulos said he’s most comfortable in right field. He’d mostly played left field for the Cubs.
Chicago Tribune- Ball, 23, was ranked Atlanta’s No. 12 prospect by MLB.com coming into the season while Baseball America rated him No. 18 in their system.
The 6-foot-6 Ball boasts prodigious raw power. In his first professional season in 2019, Ball hit .329 with a 1.023 OPS, 17 home runs and 18 doubles in 62 games between rookie league and Low A.
But after no minor-league season last year, Ball has not yet recaptured his debut season’s success. Through 53 games at High A, Ball’s slash line sits at .207/.354/.396 and six homers with a 27.8% strikeout rate, an increase of more than 8% from 2019, though his walk rate has improved by the same rate.
Ball likely is two-plus years away from the majors, but he adds power to the Cubs’ farm system.
Talking Chop- Duvall, 33 next month, continues to hit for power as he did during his tenure in Atlanta from 2018-2020, batting .229/.277/.478 with a 104 wRC+, 22 home runs, 68 RBI and 1.1 WAR with his usual steady defense. It is worth noting Duvall’s numbers drop off drastically against opponents other than the Braves; his wRC+ is only 78 against non-Atlanta teams in 2021.
Fish Stripes- The Alex Jackson addition gives the Marlins a new face at a position of need. A former first-round draft pick, the catcher has thrived at the plate in Triple-A this season (slashing .287/.366/.694 with a 167 wRC+ in 123 plate appearances).
Unfortunately, he’s been unable to make the leap to the majors effectively: .070/.200/.093 with a 44% strikeout rate in 50 combined plate appearances from 2019-2021.
The key to this transaction is whether or not Jackson will stick at catcher defensively. In ranking him 22nd on their newly updated Braves top prospects list, Baseball America says he “has improved dramatically as a defender over the last few years...his framing metrics are good.”
Joc Pederson
AJC- Pederson will add power to a decimated Braves lineup that’s missing Acuna, Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud in the middle of its order. Pederson has always fared much better against righties than left-handers. He’s hit .236 with a .837 OPS in his career against right-handers as opposed to a .203 average with a .593 OPS against lefties. Peterson has played regularly this season, and Anthopoulos said his playing time will be decided by manager Brian Snitker.
Anthopoulos called Pederson “solid” defensively. He can play both corner outfield spots (and center if necessary), but Anthopoulos said he’s most comfortable in right field. He’d mostly played left field for the Cubs.
Chicago Tribune- Ball, 23, was ranked Atlanta’s No. 12 prospect by MLB.com coming into the season while Baseball America rated him No. 18 in their system.
The 6-foot-6 Ball boasts prodigious raw power. In his first professional season in 2019, Ball hit .329 with a 1.023 OPS, 17 home runs and 18 doubles in 62 games between rookie league and Low A.
But after no minor-league season last year, Ball has not yet recaptured his debut season’s success. Through 53 games at High A, Ball’s slash line sits at .207/.354/.396 and six homers with a 27.8% strikeout rate, an increase of more than 8% from 2019, though his walk rate has improved by the same rate.
Ball likely is two-plus years away from the majors, but he adds power to the Cubs’ farm system.
This post was edited on 11/3/21 at 12:50 pm
Posted on 11/3/21 at 3:31 pm to Murph4HOF
Phenomenal job by the GM to rebuild the outfield for a run instead of rebuilding the team for next year.
Now, which of the four, if any, do the Braves re-sign?
Now, which of the four, if any, do the Braves re-sign?
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