Braves trade Tex

**OAR** · July 29th, 2008, 06:31 PM

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3510042"]Braves deal Teixeira to Angels for Kotchman, minor leaguer - MLB - ESPN[/ame]

**R13** · July 29th, 2008, 11:15 PM

dumb move imo

**sup-rbeast** · July 29th, 2008, 11:38 PM

It's a good move....Jones on the DL...Atlanta not going to get close to the wild card..and they get a pretty good 1st baseman and a pitching prospect...not bad.

**1inStripes** · July 30th, 2008, 08:09 AM

They needed to get something back for him, because they probably won't be able to resign him. Injuries have just decimated the Braves this year.

**CoeburnCane** · July 30th, 2008, 08:52 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: raider13</div><div class="ubbcode-body">dumb move imo</div></div>

Dumb post, IMO.

Casey Kotchman isn't exactly peanuts. Guy's a good ballplayer and only has 4 years of MLB time under his belt, most of that as a reserve, and he was one of the best prospects in the Angels' system before this season, when he's finally gotten consistent PT.

So, your dumb move got the Braves:

1) younger at a key corner IF position,
2) better defensively than Teixeira,
3) got the above two w/o losing much offensive pop at all,
4) a better chance to sign a young 1B for the long-term than they would have had they kept Teixeira.

Also, Steven Marek, the Minor League pitcher Atlanta got from Anaheim is highly regarded as one of their top low-minor pitching prospects they had in their system. So he wasn't any slouch.

So yeah...dumb move...where's that "roll eyes" icon when you need it.

And I don't even like the Braves. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

**burton2019** · July 30th, 2008, 10:27 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CoeburnCane</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: raider13</div><div class="ubbcode-body">dumb move imo</div></div>

Dumb post, IMO.

Casey Kotchman isn't exactly peanuts. Guy's a good ballplayer and only has 4 years of MLB time under his belt, most of that as a reserve, and he was one of the best prospects in the Angels' system before this season, when he's finally gotten consistent PT.

So, your dumb move got the Braves:

1) younger at a key corner IF position,
2) better defensively than Teixeira,
3) got the above two w/o losing much offensive pop at all,
4) a better chance to sign a young 1B for the long-term than they would have had they kept Teixeira.

Also, Steven Marek, the Minor League pitcher Atlanta got from Anaheim is highly regarded as one of their top low-minor pitching prospects they had in their system. So he wasn't any slouch.

So yeah...dumb move...where's that "roll eyes" icon when you need it.

And I don't even like the Braves. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]</div></div>

Check and mate. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

**neutral88** · July 30th, 2008, 10:43 AM

Although I do see some of the logic in the Braves trade, lets use some common sense here and not talk down Big Tex, for example, "Braves didn't loose much pop in the trade"...Seriously???Tex has 20 Hrs already this year, Kotchman has 12, that puts Tex on target for his normal high 30-low 40 in Hr's, and Kotchman on target fot a low 20 season....Thats a lot of Pop...Kotchan didn't miss any more normal playing time last year than any other player, and he could only muster 11 hr's, Tex was up in the 30's as ussual....Tex is also only 2 1/2 years older than Kotchman, so there is no huge age difference or anything...The trade tells me the Braves don't plan to be a contender for the next few years...Nothing wrong with that, thats just what kind of trade it was....But the braves did loose alot of pop, and the biggest feared power hitter in their lineup...

**CoeburnCane** · July 30th, 2008, 11:17 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: neutral88</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Although I do see some of the logic in the Braves trade, lets use some common sense here and not talk down Big Tex, for example, "Braves didn't loose much pop in the trade"...Seriously???Tex has 20 Hrs already this year, Kotchman has 12, that puts Tex on target for his normal high 30-low 40 in Hr's, and Kotchman on target fot a low 20 season....Thats a lot of Pop...Kotchan didn't miss any more normal playing time last year than any other player, and he could only muster 11 hr's, Tex was up in the 30's as ussual....Tex is also only 2 1/2 years older than Kotchman, so there is no huge age difference or anything...The trade tells me the Braves don't plan to be a contender for the next few years...Nothing wrong with that, thats just what kind of trade it was....But the braves did loose alot of pop, and the biggest feared power hitter in their lineup...</div></div>

So, you want Tex's 30-40 HR's this year when the Braves are likely out of contention, as opposed to the 25-30 that Kotchman can give them for 5-6 years from here on out if/when they sign him long term (which was almost certain they couldn't do with Tex). Trade 40 HR's to a contender in return for more youth, just as good or better defense, and the possibility of getting 125-180 HR's over the span of 5-6 years in return? Plus a pitcher? That's a great deal if you're the Braves and you knew for an almost certainty you wouldn't be able to sign Tex long term in his walk season.

And for the record:

Tex's #'s this season:
BA - .283
HR - 20
RBI - 78
OBP - .390
SLG - .512
SB - 0

Kotchman's #'s:
BA - .287
HR - 12
RBI - 54
OBP - .327
SLG - .448
SB - 2

Kotchman's #'s don't pale in comparison by no means--both guys have solid #'s. A little less power, but the guy has potential to have just as much power as Tex. And this season--both Tex & Kotchman have .998 fielding percentages--so you don't lose anything on that end, and Kotchman has more time in his career to just get better.

The Braves are entering rebuilding mode. They don't need a bunch of stars like Tex, they need solid centerpieces like Kotchman/Marek.

**neutral88** · July 30th, 2008, 11:24 AM

alot of time??? Tex is 2 years older???

Like I said, i see the point in the trade, i said that above as well but evidently it was overlooked...

but as you numbers show, the Braves lost alot of pop...And gained nothing in return...So my statement stands on your stats...the braves lost alot of pop....I never said they were gonna be able to keep Tex...But to say they didn't loose much pop is crazy, they lost the most feared hitter in their lineup, for what now will probably be the 4th most feared, if even that high...

Like I said above, i see the point in the trade, but lets not act the Braves didn't loose anything...If the pitcher doesn't make it to the big stage, they basically got jack, cause Kotchman played all of last year and hit 11 hr, no sign this year isn't just some kind of fluke.....