Braves Trade Kotchman for Adam LaRoche

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?

Braves Should Trade For Nick Johnson

Here’s the deal. Jeff Schultz of the AJC wrote earliera bout how the Braves haven’t made a move and yet all the contenders are making deals. Right now the Marlins – one of the only other contending teams that has yet to make a move – is reported to have offered a minor league pitcher for first baseman Nick Johnson.

The Braves need to move. They need a bat. Standing pat will, mark my words, leave us at home and out of the playoffs. Pitching alone wins – but not enough for the Braves – as far back as we are and as upgraded as the contenders look to be – we need a bat to augment our pitching staff.

Here’s the deal: Braves trade for Nick Johnson. Offer Jo-Jo Reyes. Kris Medlen. Hell, give ‘em Casey Kotchman. Johnson plays for a few months, propels the Braves to the postseason, and splits in free agency (bound to happen). Braves play Barbaro Canizares and Martin Prado at 1B next season, give youth their chance to shine, and bring up Freddie Freeman either late next year or the 2011 season. That’s the plan to get to Freeman, who is one of the Braves’ top prospects.

But we want to win. We’re so close. We just need to win a LOT really FAST. And we need a bat to do it.

Nick Johnson is the man. Let’s rent a first base slugger for a few months. Let’s do it. I want to play postseason ball in Atlanta again. With a staff like this, we’re hard to beat in the postseason, but we have to get there first.

Extra Boost Could Help Braves

Here we are in late July, and with the Phillies considering trading their future for Roy Halladay, it’s time for Sports Illustrated to bring back the same slideshow they’ve used for the last few seasons hailing the “best midseason trades ever.” Of course, Fred “Crime Dog” McGriff, David Cone, and some of the newer guys – Orlando Cabrera, Carlos Beltran, etc, are on the list. The Phillies figure to pick up Roy Halladay in exchange for some change, where some change equals some of their top prospects. Right now, they’re at an impasse, and let’s hope they stay there.

The Braves figure to stay where they’re at – maybe trade for a reliever to solidify the bullpen. And while that’s fine, and leaves them with a chance to win the Wild Card (they can pitch, and they do get Hudson back – who at the very least is a very bad-ass long reliever – which is why recent stories have the Braves backing away from trading for a reliever), but I really want to see us pull a 1993 – we need another bat. Where do we add someone? First base. Casey Kotchman is average. He’s good enough to play in the big leagues, but not good enough to wow anybody every night. Maybe, if Kelly Johnson is not going to suck, the answer is to play Martin Prado at first instead of Kotchman – Prado has been on fire – but what about some true pop? Why not go for it and make a trade designed to take on the Phillies? It doesn’t have to mortgage our whole future – we don’t need a modern day McGriff – we just need to upgrade. We don’t need a long-term fix – trade Kotchman away in exchange for another first baseman – with Freddie Freeman waiting in the wings in a year or two, we just need someone through the end of 2010. Maybe Prado’s that guy?

Note: I don’t mean to pick on Kotchman – I like the guy – but where else do we upgrade our offense? It’s been pretty awesome recently.

Hell, don’t trade anybody and give Barbaro Canizares a chance to bring the big bat to the majors. Let Kotchman sub defensively and give Canizares a chance to bring some of his pop to the lineup.

I want to see October baseball this year. Maybe this team does that. Maybe. But seriously, do something to take it over the top.

It’s been too long since we’ve seen October baseball in Atlanta.

Alright, Kent, your turn to write an article on how the Braves don’t need to make a move…

No Arbitration For Kotchman

The Braves and first-baseman Casey Kotchman reached a contract agreement on Saturday to avoid going to arbitration.  They settled on a one-year, $2.885 million contract, which fell roughly in the middle of the figures offered up front by both parties.  The Braves had initially offered $2.475 million and Kotchman had requested $3.25 million.

Kotchman had a rough transition to the Braves last year when he arrived in the trade that sent Mark Teixeira to the Angels.  He started out in a slump for the first month or so before pulling it together a little bit to close out the season.  His time with the Braves for the season saw a .237 average and .316 slugging percentage with 2 home runs in 43 games.

I’m looking for a little better production out of Kotchman this season, but as always, we make no claims here to have any real backing for the stats we come up with before even seeing the players in preseason.  I’m predicting .285 average, 73 runs scored, 89 RBI and 15 HRs.  Kotchman doesn’t give us the production of a power first-baseman, but adds some potential pop to the bottom portion of the lineup.

With a contract settled for Kotchman, that leaves Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur as the only two remaining arbitration-eligible players for the Braves.  While the Braves are likely to reach an agreement for Kelly Johnson in the upcoming week or two, they realize that there is the chance that Francoeur’s contract may go the whole way to an aribtration hearing.  That hearing is scheduled for February 20th.

What should we expect out of Casey Kotchman this season?  He’s got great potential as a fielder and hopefully he can pick it up a little at the plate and create a little bit of offensive punch for us in the 2009 season.

Casey and Kelly on the Right

The right side of the infield hasn’t been this good for the Braves in quite a while – not exactly the sentence you were expecting…but let’s look a little more into the “numbers,” which so many fans and “pundits” love to dissect. Casey Kotchman and Kelly Johnson are not exactly household names in the world of baseball. After all, it’s been a while since we’ve had the scrappy second baseman Marcus Giles and gold-glove caliber Adam LaRoche on that side of the field. Instead, Kotchman and Johnson will take the reins. Johnson, who took over for Giles after he left in free agency to San Diego, and Kotchman, who will be the first baseman after a mixture of Scott Thorman and Craig Wilson didn’t work and Mark Teixeira did not do much to add victories to the Braves.

Let’s take more of an in-depth look at the guy who a lot of fans may have blamed for our horrifically bad record against the Phillies last year. Johnson’s dropped pop up in the ninth inning of a game last season allowed the Phillies to score the tying run and later the winning run in extra innings. That error haunted the second baseman, but he did not suffer at the plate. Johnson hit .287 in his second full season in the majors; however his OBP and slugging went down from the previous season. He had 13 more doubles, four fewer home runs, fewer walks and fewer strikeouts than the previous season. While Johnson’s performance at the plate has barely been consistent, many players begin to flourish in their third year in the majors. I took a look at a player who has been in the sports news a little bit because of his selfishness lately – Michael Young. Young hit .249 and .262 in his first one and a half seasons in the majors. Young’s OBP and slugging were a lot worse than Johnson’s, but if that is an indication, the Braves will certainly have what will be an all-star second baseman in the field. Defensively, Johnson made 14 errors each of the past two seasons, but his fielding percentage did go up slightly in more changes than 2007.

At first base, Kotchman leaves a lot to be desired when we compare him to the 180 million dollar man. Kotchman made his major league debut in 2004 with the Anaheim Angels and went back and forth between the majors and minors over the next three seasons. 2007 was Kotchman’s first chance to play every day and he didn’t disappoint. He hit .297 with 11 home runs and 68 RBI. He also drew 53 walks and struck out—get this—ONLY 43 times in 443 at-bats, roughly once every ten at bats. Those numbers are more in the mold of Chipper Jones in that aspect as opposed to Andruw Jones or Johnson or Jeff Francoeur. Kotchman started off last season hitting .287 for the Angels and hit 12 home runs and had 54 RBI in the two thirds of the season he was with them. Unfortunately, his production significantly tailed off to a .237 average with the Braves and just two home runs over the last two months of the season and only 20 RBI. He walked a total of 36 times and struck out 39 times last year in more at-bats than 2007.

Despite only two months of service with the Braves, Kotchman’s production has left many fans restless. Think about it this way though, if you were playing for the best team in the league and you get to the stadium one day and found out you were traded to a team that wasn’t going to the post-season, how motivated would you be to put on your best effort? As professional as Kotchman is, he is still human and there’s always an element of disappointment in getting traded out of the playoff race. The guy is a gold glove caliber first baseman (that seems to be the norm these days in Atlanta) and I predict we will see more of the production he showed with Anaheim than the last two months of this past season with the Braves.

Braves Updates

Well we’ve seen a bunch of Braves news lately, so we’ll hit it real fast for ya:

• Morton pitched well yesterday – one hit through seven innings, but he gave up a home run to Prince Fielder, and the Braves fell 4-2.
• C.C. Sabathia showed us yesterday why we need to sign him in the offseason.  8 1/3 innings of four-hit ball.  He’s insane.
• Tim Hudson is going ahead with Tommy John surgery – Dr. James Andrews (the recognized expert in this area) will perform the surgery.  Hudson will have a 12 month rehab time before he is expected back with the team.
• Chipper is expecting to be back in the lineup Friday, the first day he’s eligible off the DL.  He says that “everything feels great” and he’s no longer having trouble with either his hamstring or his quad.
• Brian McCann should be expected back in the starting lineup Monday – he’s nearly done recovering from his concussion.  He may pinch hit today.
• Casey Kotchman is off to a slow start in the NL – only 2 for 16 – with 1 RBI.  Yes, it’s only been four games, but he’s not on fire.
• Royce Ring has been designated for assignment after a really ugly stretch where his ERA jumped 5 runs.  That’s not big league ball stuff.  Vladimir Nunez is expected to replace him.  Ring, according to the AJC, has the “distinction of the worst statistical season of any reliever in the history of the franchise since the 1870s, among those who appeared in as many games as he did.”  That didn’t work out well – he’s a specialist and shouldn’t be pitching as much as he did.

Well there ya have it – maybe we’ll see you at the Stadium today.  Ben Sheets is going against Jorge Campillo.  Go Braves!

Welcome To Atlanta, Casey

Welcome to Atlanta, Casey Kotchman.  You’re our new first baseman, and I think you’ll like it here in Atlanta, where the sweet tea flows like water and “Coke” applies to any soft drink.

This is the home of Bobby Cox.  Chipper Jones.  John Smoltz.  John Schuerholz.

This is the home of winning.  This is a team that’s used to winning and may seem a little disoriented after selling at the trade deadline for the first time in many players’ careers.  We’re not used to not making the playoffs – and there’s a hunger for it here.

There’s a lot of young talent on this team, and I think you’ll fit right in. McCann is a great catcher, Francoeur shows flashes of brilliance, Escobar is a promising shortstop (add extra padding to your glove – he has a cannon), and there are tons of outfield prospects heading our way from the minors.

Bobby will always have your back.  He’ll get ejected for you once or twice if he has to.  He’ll never badmouth you to the media, and he’ll always be yelling encouraging things at you from the dugout.

The fans will like you if you’re friendly.  Hitting well helps that process, but frankly, they want another magnetic personality like Francoeur, McCann, Chipper, Smoltzie, or even Escobar.  Play your cards right and you’ll soon have your own special fan section named something like “Kotchman’s Yachtmen” or something.  We promise it’ll rhyme. We like good young players.

Take some time to look at the people who have played for this organization.  Sit down with Smoltz, Glavine, Chipper, and Terry Pendleton, hear about the old times.  Watch the video of the most remembered play by a firstbaseman in Atlanta’s history – and try to always remember to run faster than Sid.

The future is bright here.  Spirits will be a little dampened when you show up today because this group is used to winning – and that Teixeira guy was a fan and clubhouse favorite.  This group is used to seeing wins on that scoreboard and used to being at the top of the division.  We have some young pitching prospects that are dynamite, and we have a core to build around.  Chipper will always lend help if you ask him – he’s a good guy and fun to be around.  And watch out for Tim Hudson – when he gets back from Alabama he’ll probably organize some sort of prank with you in mind.  Oh, and let Jeff Francoeur take you to the Varsity.  Just don’t get any of the season long slump on you.

Settle in.  Walk around Turner Field and take a look at the retired numbers high above left field.  By the time the end of the season is here, optimism for next year will spring eternal.

We’re glad to have you – and we’re looking forward to the next few years.  Casey Kotchman, welcome to Atlanta – where the players play.

Casey Kotchman was acquired for Mark Teixeira last night from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  In 100 games this year, he’s batting .287 with 12 HRs and 54 RBIs.  He has an OBP of .327 and hits a few doubles, but not many triples.  He’s excellent defensively – only two errors this year for a .998 fielding percentage.  Fans, we think you’ll like him.  If you’re at the stadium soon, give him a hearty Atlanta welcome.

Teixeira Dealt to Angels for Kotchman

The Braves have traded free-agent to be Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in return for Casey Kotchman and pitching “prospect” Stephen Marek. Kotchman, 25, was hitting .287 with 12 homers and 57 RBI’s for the Angels this season. Kotchman, while not having the prowess of Teixeira, is a proven contact hitter and he also plays a good defensive first-base. He should provide the Braves with gap power and could be the ideal #2 hitter if he were to replicate his .372 OBP in 2007. Prospect Stephen Marek, also 25 years old, has a 2-6 record with a 3.66 ERA in 34 relief appearances for AA Arkansas. One bright spot on Marek’s stat line is that he has struck out 57 batters in 46.2 innings pitched this season. He converted to relief this season after starting games last season in High-A. Marek will not be a top prospect for this team but he may help at some point.