What Would Atlanta Look Like Without The Rebuild?

Last year was a whirlwind of moves, and some fans may have lost contact with the old Braves. Most have received lucrative contracts, some are struggling, some are thriving. Let’s take a look at how the Braves would look today without the trades. After reading this, there should be no doubt in your mind we made the right moves.

 

First off, let’s see what how the men we got in return are doing in the minors:

Gwinnett:

Rio Ruiz: .385, 4 2Bs, 1 HR.

Aaron Blair: 3-0, 1.42 ERA, 22 Ks.

Tyrell Jenkins: 1-1, 2.40 ERA

Mississippi:

Dustin Peterson: .264, 2 HRs

Chris Ellis: 2-0, 1.56 ERA

Sean Newcomb: 1-0, 2.40 ERA

Andrew Thurman: 7-8, 4.12 ERA (2015)

Carolina:

Dansby Swanson: .333, 8 2Bs, Inside The Park HR

Rome:

Caleb Beech: 0-0, 3.00 ERA

Max Fried: 0-0, 1.64 ERA in first 2 starts

 

Now, let’s see how the guys we traded are doing:

Andrelton Simmons: .259, 4 2Bs, 0 3Bs, 0 HRs, 3 RBI. Andrelton has also grounded into 5 double plays, that leads the MLB and is more than 4 Major League Teams. Salary: $6.2 Million, will rise to $15 Million in 2020.

 

Jason Heyward: .179, 2 2Bs, 0 3Bs, 0 HRs, 7 RBI. Jason Heyward is LAST, in OPS, 98th out of a qualified 98. He also has more strikeouts than hits, 13 compared to 7. Jason is under contract for 8 years, $184 million, $15 million in 2016 and $22 Million in 2023. I don’t know if you know how small market baseball works, but the Braves can’t afford that.

 

Justin Upton: .241, 1 HR, 2 RBI. 24 Strikeouts leads ALL of Major League Baseball. Justin is also making $132.75 Million over 6 years, that’s $22.15 million per year.

 

Craig Kimbrel: 4 Saves, 3.54 ERA, 5 Walks in 7.2 IP. Craig is making $42 Million over 4 years, $13 Million per year for a closer who is giving up almost 4 runs every 9 innings in 2016.

 

Evan Gattis: .200, 1 2b, 0 HR, 0 RBIs. Evan also has more strikeouts than hits AND RBIs with 8 compared to 4 and 0. He’s making $3.3 million.

 

Alex Wood: 3-3, 5.06 ERA, 20 Hits, Alex has given up more walks than he has strikeouts, 8:7.

 

So, our payroll would be at around $155 million (which we can’t afford) and THESE GUYS would be stinking up the ballpark, instead of having young guys coming up with potential. It’s time to stop complaining about the rebuild.