Bleacher Report has its positives, but oftentimes, their trade hypotheticals are egregiously one-sided, which is why the title of one of their latest articles intrigued me — Win-Win MLB Trades for Both Teams. The Braves, who are expected to be active on all fronts once the lockout ends, were included in the piece, sending arguably their top prospect to the Yankees.
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Proposed deal: Atlanta gets RF Joey Gallo; New York Yankees get C Shea Langeliers and RHP Victor Vodnik
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Well, this is certainly a win for one side, but I’m pretty positive it isn’t the Braves. I respect what Gallo brings to the table. He’s one of the few guys in the league you can pencil in for 40 home runs every season as long as he’s healthy, and people forget just how terrific of a defender he is, winning a Gold Glove in each of the last two seasons. Gallo can play anywhere in the outfield and first base, which happens to be the Braves’ two biggest needs. Acquiring a player like him would give Alex Anthopoulos a lot of flexibility with his next move.
However, the return is completely absurd. Langeliers might be the most untouchable prospect in the Braves organization. He’s my top-ranked prospect in Atlanta’s system, and FanGraphs also just ranked him first as well. Langeliers will be a starting catcher in the majors for a long time. He’s already well above average defensively, and his bat is catching up quickly. There’s a chance he could be one of the premier catchers in the majors one day. Trading him for a one-year rental — no matter how good Gallo is — is out of the question.
Whoever wrote this either isn’t familiar with how excellent Langeliers has performed early on in his professional career, or he’s a Yankees fan. Perhaps it is both, but this trade would never happen. However, that doesn’t mean the Braves shouldn’t explore the possibility of trading for Gallo. They were interested before last year’s trade deadline, and it could be worth a phone call again this offseason.
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