Braves Trade Kotchman for Adam LaRoche

Written by Colin on July 31, 2009 – 3:03 pm

Adam LaRoche is coming home. LaRoche, who was just earlier this month traded from the Pirates to the Red Sox, has been swapped straight up for Casey Kotchman, it appears. If you’re wondering how this trade stacks up, it’s about a straight up deal, if that. Casey Kotchman hits for a higher average and has better defense, but LaRoche hits for more power and knocks in more runs. But he strikes out more than twice as much. Yes, seriously.

That said, the Braves want power. They want a little more pop in their lineup and LaRoche gives them that. He has to work on keeping the strikeouts down (he’s whiffed 83 times already this year, compared to Kotchman’s 28). LaRoche does walk a bit more, too.

The bottom line is that the Braves think LaRoche is a better fit and jumped on the opportunity to bring him back home. When he was with us before, he struck out less. He now gets to play with his old buds and hopefully provide some punch to the back of our lineup, which isn’t looking shabby now. Here’s a guestimated lineup, assuming everyone is healthy:

McLouth, Prado/Johnson, Chipper, McCann, Anderson, Escobar, Church/Diaz, LaRoche. Having someone on pace to hit around 20 homeruns is not a bad person to have in the 8 hole – especially if the guys before him are on base enough to give him RBI opportunities. Sure, he’s only hitting .248, but I’m choosing to stay on the positive side of this trade. I’ll leave the negative to someone else.

Kudos to Wren and Cox for going out and making a move that they believe makes this team better. They’ve been right so many times in the past when it looks like a wash – why should now be any different?


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Posted in Roster Moves | 4 Comments »

Source: Braves Acquire Adam LaRoche

Written by Colin on July 31, 2009 – 2:12 pm

Update: Looks like this is a done deal – Kotchman for LaRoche. ESPN is confirming as are multiple sportswriter sources via Twitter.

Update: Yahoo’s Gordon Edes (and MLBTradeRumors) reports that the Braves have acquired Adam LaRoche from the Boston Red Sox. There are a few confirmations that this is at least in the works, very close, if not confirmed. Monitoring…

SI’s Jon Heyman reports that now that the Red Sox have acquired Victor Martinez from the Indians, they’re looking to move Adam LaRoche. The Braves are reported to be interested.

LaRoche is hitting .248 this season but that’s with 13 homers, 43 RBIs, and far too many strikeouts. He’d be a bit of power for the Braves (who wouldn’t be able to unload Kotchman onto the Sox) but isn’t quite a high average hitter. That said, he’s probably a better fit for the Braves than Nick Johnson, as I suggested this morning.

Glad to hear the Braves may be looking to upgrade their first base slot at the deadline. Now Braves: make a smart deal, upgrade us a bit, and don’t mortgage the future.

Personal note: I’m not sure that LaRoche is that much of an upgrade over Kotchman. Too many strikeouts and not high enough OBP. What are your thoughts? Good idea or no?


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Posted in Speculation | 5 Comments »

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