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The Deadline Looms
Written by Jonathan on July 31, 2008 – 11:22 amMark Teixeira may have been the most noteworthy move that the Braves will make before today’s 4pm trade deadline, but Frank Wren and the Braves organization still have some potential moves to make. With Teixeira gone to the Angels in exchange for Casey Kotchman, it’s time to look more towards starting to rebuild the team for the 2009 season. The Braves are in definite sell mode, so here are some quick highlights of the thoughts and rumors that are going around:
Will Ohman – The likelihood that Ohman makes it to the deadline as a Brave is pretty low. There are a few teams interested in the relief he can provide, including the Cardinals who just happen to be in town. How strange would it be to be traded to the visiting team while they were here? Trading Ohman seems like one of Wren’s more likely moves today.
Mark Kotsay – I hadn’t really thought much about the Braves trading Kotsay, but Mark Bowman gives a 50% chance that he’ll be traded before the deadline. Bowman also indicates that he may stick around until August. I don’t really know what to think about this one either way.
Jason Bay – There has been some talk in the interest of acquiring Jason Bay from the Pirates, but with the talks going on between the Bucs and the Marlins/Red Sox, I don’t see much chance of this happening this season. I could see an offseason move to help acquire a power-hitting outfielder. Update: The Pirates are still shopping Bay around to other teams but the Braves have not come up in talks. Update 2: Looks like Bay is going to the Red Sox in a trade that is sending Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers.
Starting Pitching - Don’t look for any moves on the starting pitching front today as Wren is more in sell mode to see what he can make out of our roster for the rest of the season. Some names that have been tossed around for next year are possibly trying to obtain Sabathia, Sheets, or Lackey to help bolster the starting rotation. With Hudson likely gone for part of next year. This will be a big one to look out for for next year.
Completed NL East Trades:
Mark Teixiera to the Angels, Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek to the Braves.
Gaby Hernandez to the Mariners, Arthur Rhodes to the Marlins.
There’s what I have time to throw out there right now, I will keep updating as the day goes on. In the meantime, let us know the rumors you hear and the thoughts you have about the Braves at the trade deadline.
Tags: Braves Trade Rumors, Trade Deadline
Posted in Roster Moves, Speculation | Comments
