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Coming February 8
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Transaction Action
Placed RHP Vicente Padilla on the 15-day DL (bulging disk - neck), retroactive to 8/16; recalled RHP Travis Schlichting from Albuquerque (Triple-A). [8/20] Activated LF-R Manny Ramirez from the 15-day DL; designated INF-R Juan Castro for assignment. [8/21] Placed RHP Travis Schlichting on the 15-day DL (shoulder); activated RHP Jeff Weaver from the 15-day DL; claimed C-R Rod Barajas from the Mets off waivers. [8/22] Activated C-R Rod Barajas; optioned C-R A.J. Ellis to Albuquerque. [8/24] Noted the loss of LF-R Manny Ramirez on a waiver claim by the White Sox; recalled RHP Ramon Troncoso from Albuquerque. [8/30] Activated RHP Vicente Padilla and SS-S Rafael Furcal from the 15-day DL; recalled C-R A.J. Ellis from Albuquerque. [9/3] Recalled RHPs John Ely and Jon Link and MI-R Chin-lung Hu from Albuquerque; purchased the contracts of 1B-R John Lindsey and UT-R Russ Mitchell from Albuquerque; transferred C-R Russell Martin from the 15- to the 60-day DL. [9/6] Purchased the contract of OF-L Trent Oeltjen from Albuquerque; designated INF-R Ronnie Belliard for assignment. [9/7] Released INF-R Ronnie Belliard. [9/9] Traded RHP Octavio Dotel to the Rockies for a PTBNL. [9/18] Traded OF-R Preston Mattingly to the Indians for OF-L Roman Pena. [9/26]
Signed LHP Mike Hampton, and assigned him to Reno (Triple-A). [8/21] Released INF-R Bobby Crosby; recalled UT-R Ryan Roberts from Reno. [8/24] Activated RHP Leo Rosales from the 60-day DL; recalled RHP Carlos Rosa, 1B-L Brandon Allen, and INF-S Tony Abreu from Reno. [9/1] Purchased the contract of LHP Mike Hampton and recalled LHP Zach Kroenke from Reno. [9/3] Recalled OF-R Cole Gillsepie from Reno. [9/7] Designated RHP Cesar Valdez for assignment; purchased the contract of C-R Konrad Schmidt from Mobile (Double-A). [9/13] Outrighted RHP Cesar Valdez to Reno. [9/16] Obvious Good Move: You want a good move from a team that is giving Mike Hampton a last chance? It used to be that this sort of desperate effort to hang on was the butt of jokes in venues as obvious as Tank McNamara, when it made light of Steve Carlton's unwillingness to give up 25 years ago. OK, let's see... how about cutting Bobby Crosby? I figure a few A's fans might get a contact high from that. Non-Obvious Good Move: Replacing Crosby with Roberts. Not that there's any kind of impending greatness in the former Blue Jay organizational soldier, but he's not a complete joke at the plate, and he renewed his emergency catcher's license with a couple of appearances behind the plate with the Aces, giving him almost the complete Swiss-army knife's set of skills for a super-utilityman (he's short of a permission to play center, having last played there in 2007). Meh: Calling up Allen. You might consider the failure to deal Adam LaRoche as one of the notable non-accomplishments of the DiPoto interregnum before Kevin Towers' arrival as the new GM, but enthusiasm for Allen's prospect status should definitely be set at "indifferent" after he hit just .261/.405/.528 in the PCL, even with the benefit of one of the world's best hitter's parks. He'll only be 25 next season, and it's hard not to like a kid who walks in 17 percent of his plate appearances, but the standard for adequacy at first base is high, perhaps too high for Allen to easily reach. An attempt to check out his adaptability in left field suggests he's going to be in the PCL for a long time, but there's always the chance that LaRoche's option doesn't get picked up, and the Snakes employ Allen because going without a first baseman would betray a lack of seriousness. What About the Children? I suppose we could cite Schmidt here, because if he doesn't have a future as Germany's chancellor, somebody's going to have to wind up as Miguel Montero's caddy, and why not an undrafted free agent who has been knocking around the organization since 2007? Unfortunately, he's already 26 years old, and this season's "success" at Double-A involved his generating walks in five percent of his PAs, and he committed 12 throwing errors in just 89 games behind the plate. Zach Kroenke might stick around as a situational lefty after shutting southpaws down by limiting them to .188/.255/.297 at Reno; arguing against that kind of dominance was his striking out just 15 percent of them. Takeaways: Kevin Towers has got a big job ahead of him, so his deal, running through 2012 with consecutive club options for two-year terms after that initial stretch seems a bit strange-unless it's about allowing him the freedom to get away as soon as he might like.
Designated LHP Randy Flores for assignment; recalled MI-S Jonathan Herrera from Colorado Springs (Triple-A). [8/20] Released RF-L Brad Hawpe. [8/24] Noted to loss of LHP Randy Flores on a waiver claim by the Twins. [8/25] Outrighted LHP Greg Smith to Colorado Springs; signed RHP Luis Ayala, and assigned him to Colorado Springs; recalled LHP Franklin Morales from Colorado Springs. [8/26] Placed RHP Manny Corpas on the 15-day DL (strained elbow), retroactive to 8/26; recalled RHP Samuel Deduno from Colorado Springs; placed MI-R Clint Barmes on the Bereavement Leave List. [8/27] Placed 3B-L Ian Stewart on the 15-day DL (strained oblique), retroactive to 8/26; activated MI-R Clint Barmes from the Bereavement Leave List. [8/30] Acquired RHP Manny Delcarmen from the Red Sox for RHP Chris Balcom-Miller. [8/31] Activated RHP Taylor Buchholz from the 15-day DL; recalled INF-R Chris Nelson from Colorado Springs. [9/1] Activated RHP Aaron Cook from the 15-day DL. [9/3] Activated RHP Matt Daley from the 60-day DL; recalled C-R Michael McKenry from Colorado Springs. [9/6] Designated RHP Taylor Buchholz for assignment; purchased the contracts of C-R Paul Phillips and OF-R Jay Payton from Colorado Springs; recalled RHP Edgmer Escalona from Colorado Springs. [9/7] Noted the loss of RHP Taylor Buchholz to the Blue Jays on a waiver claim. [9/9] Activated LHP Jeff Francis from the 15-day DL. [9/12] Placed RHP Aaron Cook on the 15-day DL (fractured fibula), retroactive to 9/9; acquired RHP Octavio Dotel from the Dodgers for a PTBNL; transferred RHP Manuel Corpas from the 15- to the 60-day DL. [9/18] Activated 3B-L Ian Stewart from the 15-day DL. [9/23]
Activated RHP Homer Bailey from the 15-day DL; optioned 3B/LF-L Juan Francisco to Louisville (Triple-A). [8/15] Signed C-S Yasmani Grandal to a four-year, $2.99 million big-league contract; designated RHP Micah Owings for assignment. [8/17] Optioned RHP Carlos Fisher to Louisville; recalled LHP Travis Wood from Louisville. [8/19] Placed OF-L Jim Edmonds on the 15-day DL (strained oblique); optioned RHP Jordan Smith; recalled RHP Sam LeCure and INF-R Chris Valaika from Louisville. [8/24] Outrighted RHP Micah Owings to Louisville. [8/25] Placed RHP Mike Leake on the 15-day DL (shoulder fatigue), retroactive to 8/25; recalled 3B/LF-L Juan Francisco from Louisville. [8/27] Placed OF-L Laynce Nix on the 15-day DL (sprained ankle), retroactive to 8/26; optioned RHP Edinson Volquez to Dayton (Low-A); activated RHP Aaron Harang from the 15-day DL; recalled LHP Aroldis Chapman from Louisville. [8/31] Recalled RHP Carlos Fisher and 1B-S Yonder Alonso from Louisville; purchased the contract of C-R Corky Miller from Louisville; transferred RHP Russ Springer from the 15- to the 60-day DL. [9/1] Activated SS-R Orlando Cabrera from the 15-day DL; recalled RHP Jordan Smith and LHP Matt Maloney from Louisville. [9/3] Recalled RHP Edinson Volquez from Dayton. [9/7] Activated RHP Mike Leake and OF-L Jim Edmonds from the 15-day DL. [9/10] Acquired UT-R Willie Bloomquist from the Royals for future considerations; recalled RHP Jared Burton from Louisville; designated RHP Enerio Del Rosario for assignment. [9/13] Sold RHP Enerio Del Rosario to the Astros. [9/16] Activated OF-L Laynce Nix from the 15-day DL. [9/18] Obvious Good Move: Slipping Aroldis Chapman onto the active roster. Think K-Rod 2002 without the roster chicanery. Think Livan Hernandez in '97 or David Price in 2008, since he's good enough to shut the door or get something started. If anything goes wrong with any component of the staff, the hard-slinging Cubano has the potential to dominate. Non-Obvious Good Move: Having the benefit of absenting O-Cab for a month, because from August 3 to September 3, Paul Janish contributed a .263/.336/.400 and quality defense toward an 18-9 run that helped put the division away. Add in the oddity that Janish is one of the few stick-bearing bipeds who hasn't gotten a massive benefit from hitting in the Gap, and you have a nice little supporting argument for not exercising their option on Cabrera in 2011, and just turning the job over to the homegrown item. He's not a future star, but credit Dusty Baker for reasonably taking a shine to the kid's virtues in 2009. Tough Choice to Make: Picking a post-season rotation. Even if we set Mike Leake aside as a likely shutdown, and Aaron Harang because of his problems with both health and performance, but keep Volquez in the mix thanks to the presence of pitchers on the 60-day DL who he could slot in for, take a look and consider the numbers of the other fistful of choices:
So who does Dusty run with? Bailey seems like the easy guy to delete from the rotation, but what order do you line up the other four? Travis Wood has a pair of good games against the Rockies, and a complete-game shutout against the Phillies; he missed the Braves and had a bad day against the Giants. Cueto had a pair of quality starts against the Phillies, and didn't have a good game against any of the other potential playoff opponents. Arroyo has never won a game in Coors, he's 0-4 in San Francisco, he missed the Phillies, and he took a beating by the Pads back in April. Volquez had good games against the Braves and Rockies. Other than leaning toward Wood and Cueto against the Phillies, with Arroyo and Volquez at home on short leashes if that's their matchup, I'm not sure there's a happy pattern to pick from there. Leading with Wood against the Braves makes sense because of Atlanta's losing record against lefties, I suppose. But a quick glance at the options doesn't suggest an easy bunch of picks, and Arroyo's utility as an innings eater doesn't mean as much in must-win games against better lineups. Meh: The split on playing time behind the plate isn't a platoon, but more a matter of letting Ryan Hanigan catch Homer Bailey and Bronson Arroyo, and letting Ramon Hernandez catch everyone else. Since both catchers are contributing at the plate as well as behind, it's another bit of interchangeability if Dusty wants to get aggressive with double-switches in a post-season series, not unlike what the team has going for it at shortstop (see above) or the outfield.
Activated C-R Geovany Soto from the 15-day DL; optioned C-R Welington Castillo and OF-L Sam Fuld to Iowa; recalled 1B/OF-L Micah Hoffpauir from Iowa. [8/23] Optioned RHP Justin Berg to Iowa; purchased the contract of LHP Scott Maine from Iowa. [8/24] Recalled C-R Welington Castillo from Iowa. [9/2] Activated RHP Carlos Silva from the 15-day DL; recalled RHPs Justin Berg and Jeff Samardzija and OF-L Sam Fuld from Iowa; transferred LHP John Grabow and RHP Esmailin Caridad from the 15- to the 60-day DL; purchased the contracts of OF-L Brad Snyder and UT-S Bobby Scales from Iowa Cubs. [9/7] Placed C-R Geovany Soto on the 15-day DL (shoulder surgery), retroactive to 9/19; placed OF-L Tyler Colvin on the 15-day DL (punctured chest); activated Esmailin Caridad from the 60-day DL,and optioned him to Tennessee (Double-A); designated RHP Mitch Atkins for assignment. [9/20] Obvious Good Move: Nothing in particular. With so many of the usual suspects summoned up for their third or fourth or fifth spin in Wrigleyville, it isn't like these guys don't know their way around the cramped clubhouse, or the names of the guys already here. Maine might come in handy as an extra lefty, but his rates at Iowa were bass-ackwards. Welington Castillo should get a few more reps behind the plate with Soto done for 2010, not least because there's something sort of depressing about the proposition that Koyie Hill could end up starting a third of your team's games behind the plate, but also because Castillo is a decent prospect who's up after a slugly season for the I-Cubs, with a .243 ISO while gunning down 39 percent of opposing base thieves (to accentuate the positive). Non-Obvious Good Move: Hauling up the one new-ish name in the mix, Snyder. An interesting enough pickup back in the day, he probably won't turn into a useful regular in the majors, but he did deliver a nice season in the cornfields, hitting .308/.381/.568, and getting his walk rate back up around 10 percent for the first time in five years. He's already 28, however, so I'm basically celebrating a good year from a fourth-outfielder aspirant. Or, at best, the Marlins' next starting center fielder, because it isn't like they're going to be able to move Alfonso Soriano or Kosuke Fukudome without eating huge quantities of cash and asking for very little in return. Meh: They've given Samardzija a pair of starts, and he's won both games, even managing his first big-league quality start on Sunday. Whether or not they actually make space for him in the rotation this winter is probably the biggest tell as far as whether they've closed the book on ambition for this amalgamation of talent-they control a full quintet of starters already, nobody's likely to trade for Carlos Zambrano, even with five quality starts in his last six, while Silva is almost as unlikely, and Gorzo the Magnificent is one of the odd bits of brag-worthy low-cost additions that Jim Hendry has to his credit, and he's the lone lefty in the bunch. If Hendry gets anything dealing either the Big Z or Silva beyond a quarter of their salaries, it might have to involve another exchange of expensive regrets, not unlike last winter's Bradley deal. If he manages to make the Cubs better-as he did in getting Silva, surprisingly enough-it'll be cause for compliment on making the best of a bad lot. There's also the decision of what to do at first base, where they've made the unexciting decision to play Xavier Nady regularly, and define Hoffpauir's position more regularly as "witness." That's just as well-Hoffpauir is already 30, and he didn't outslug Snyder or even Bryan LaHair with the I-Cubs. Takeaways: Hopefully, we'll see a lot of Castillo behind the dish in the last week-plus of action, because he's worth showcasing, barring a decision to capitalize on a better player's under-control value by trading Soto next spring after his first spin through arbitration, and once he proves he's healthy. Soto's value may never be higher, and he's already heading into his age-28 season.
Outrighted 4C-L Greg Dobbs to Lehigh Valley (Triple-A). [8/20] Activated 1B-L Ryan Howard from the 15-day DL; placed 1B/OF-L Ross Gload on the 15-day DL (strained groin), retroactive to 8/19. [8/21] Signed LHP Nate Robertson to a minor-league contract, and assigned him to Lehigh Valley. [8/26] Placed RHP Danys Baez on the 15-day DL (back), retroactive to 8/25; recalled LHP Antonio Bastardo from Lehigh Valley. [8/27] Purchased the contract of C-R Paul Hoover from Lehigh Valley. [9/1] Activated 1B/OF-L Ross Gload from the 15-day DL; repurchased the contract of 4C-L Greg Dobbs from Lehigh Valley. [9/3] Recalled RHP Scott Mathieson from Lehigh Valley. [9/5] Purchased the contract of LHP Nate Robertson from Lehigh Valley; recalled RHP Vance Worley and LHP Mike Zagurski from Lehigh Valley. [9/6] Recalled OF-R John Mayberry from Lehigh Valley. [9/7] Activated RHP Danys Baez from the 15-day DL; placed RHP Scott Mathieson on the 15-day DL (strained lat), retroactive to 9/6; designated LHP Nate Robertson for assignment; claimed RHP Cesar Carrillo off waivers from the Padres. [9/9] Released LHP Nate Robertson. [9/10] Designated RHP Cesar Carrillo for assignment; purchased the contract of SS-R Brian Bocock from Lehigh Valley. [9/12] Noted the loss of RHP Cesar Carrillo on a waiver claim by the Padres. [9/15]
Optioned LHP Michael Dunn and INF-R Brandon Hicks to Gwinnett; activated LHP Eric O'Flaherty from the 15-day DL. [8/20] Optioned LHP Mike Minor to GCL Braves (Rookie); recalled RHP Craig Kimbrel from Gwinnett. [8/27] Optioned RHP Craig Kimbrel to Gwinnett recalled LHP Mike Minor from Gwinnett. [8/29] Optioned RHP Cristhian Martinez to Gwinnett; recalled RHP Kenshin Kawakami from Gwinnett. [8/30] Optioned RHP Kenshin Kawakami to Danville (High-A); recalled OF-L Nate McLouth from Gwinnett. [8/31] Recalled RHP Kenshin Kawakami from Danville; recalled LHP Michael Dunn from Gwinnett; purchased the contracts of RHP Scott Proctor, C-R J.C. Boscan, and 1B-L Freddie Freeman from Gwinnett; outrighted OF-R Wilkin Ramirez to Gwinnett; transferred RHP Kris Medlen from the 15- to the 60-day DL. [9/1] Activated 1B/3B-R Troy Glaus from the 15-day DL. [9/2] Recalled RHPs Craig Kimbrel and Cristhian Martinez from Gwinnett. [9/7] Recalled INF-R Brandon Hicks from Gwinnett, and placed him on the 60-day DL; purchased the contract of RHP Brian Beachy from Gwinnett. [9/20] Obvious Good News: Getting O'Flaherty back from the DL provides Bobby Cox with a second lefty he's come to trust, now and into October-if the Braves get there-although it's worth noting that Dunn has been effective in a low-leverage role, if as wild and frightening as Kimbrel was in his previous stints. Speaking of Kimbrel, he's been exceptional since his return, striking out 12 of 16 batters faced, allowing a lone hit-and going walk-free. Making the System Work for You? Taking Minor out of the majors came a series too late, as the Braves headed to Denver on August 23-25 with a dead spot on the roster as long as they were carrying him while knowing he wouldn't pitch again until the 31st. It might not have really mattered, in that Cox might not have used anybody called up in his place, because the skipper seemed determined to work Jonny Venters and the recently returned Spuds O'Flaherty almost daily. The Braves lost three to the Rockies, blowing a nine-run lead-capped by Venters' ninth-inning implosion pitching in his fourth game in five days-in the last match to complete the sweep. Meh: Glaus may be back from the DL, but despite early talk that he'd be geared up for some action at third base upon his return, he's made one late-game appearance at the hot corner since his reactivation. He's really only caddying for Derrek Lee and helping populate a deep September bench, making just two starts now that he's healthy. The Outfield Shuffle: Inconveniently enough, Melky Cabrera has gone into another one of his funks at the plate, and Rick Ankiel is become little more than the answer to a trivia question TBNL, not the center-field fix the Braves thought they might have added. Happily, the Braves are nevertheless reaping the benefit of having a multiplicity of alternatives, but that's because McLouth's back and bopping. Even that wasn't the product of any success in Gwinnett, as he hit six homers in 151 PAs, with a weak .149 ISO. If McLouth is back to what they thought they'd acquired when they traded for him, that's the best possible outcome for their outfield situation, but as things now stand, there are really just two certainties: Jason Heyward owns right field, and Matt Diaz will start in left against lefties. Beyond that, Cox can shuffle between Ankiel, McLouth, and Cabrera in center, and pick from that trio plus Eric Hinske for starts against right-handers in left. Effectively, Cox has as many outfielders as Lincoln had generals-that there are a lot of choices doesn't necessarily mean there are really that many good ones.
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BP Fantasy for 2012
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revised PECOTA projections, Depth Charts, PFM, and more
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