re: The ATL Thread: Offseason Edition

Upton, Upton, and Heyward in the OF!

Do not want Bauer.

No Hamilton.
No Greinke.

People want Jurrjens.

INDIAN WELLS, CALIF. - Trade talks are intensifying at baseball's general managers' meetings, and it's hard to imagine two teams matching up better than the Twins and Atlanta Braves. Each side has exactly what the other side wants.

The Braves need a center fielder and leadoff hitter with Michael Bourn expected to leave as a free agent, and they want a righthanded power hitter to play left field. Hello? Paging Denard Span and Josh Willingham.

The Twins wouldn't part with either outfielder without getting major league-ready starting pitching in return. The Braves have so much of that, in so many different varieties, it's almost silly.

"We have from veteran-veterans, like Tim Hudson, all the way down to rookies that are ready to break through that are top prospects," Braves GM Frank Wren said Wednesday. "We're looking at every possible opportunity to fill out our needs the way we need to fill it."

Moments before Wren said this, Twins GM Terry Ryan was tiptoeing around a question about the Braves. Ryan refuses to detail trade discussions publicly but said: "Anybody that's got numbers [of starting pitchers] or anybody that's got a possibility maybe of having a lot of depth, then, more than likely, we have talked to them.

"They aren't just going to distribute pitching to other clubs unless they can get something back that fills a need. Some way or another, we kind of know who we match up with."

The Tampa Bay Rays also have a starting pitching surplus and need to replace free-agent center fielder B.J. Upton, but for now, it doesn't sound like they match up as well with the Twins as Atlanta does. Maybe the Braves are hungrier to make a deal after collapsing down the stretch in 2011 and losing this year's National League wild-card game to the Cardinals.

Span is the Twins' most logical trade chip because he's under contract for two more years at a team-friendly rate, and the Twins can replace him in center field with Ben Revere.

Ryan has said no player is untouchable but also knows it would be extremely tough replacing Willingham's powerful righthanded bat. Atlanta has shown interest in Willingham in the past, and the Alabama native looks even more appealing now, coming off a career season.

Willingham's contract looks like a steal, with two more years at $7 million apiece, so he would command a bigger return than Span in a trade. What can the Braves offer? Here's a snapshot look at their vast starting pitching catalog:

Virtual untouchables:
• Tim Hudson (age 37): The 197-game winner is the staff leader.

• Kris Medlen (27): He went 10-1 with a 1.57 ERA this year.

• Mike Minor (25): The lefthander went 6-4 with a 2.16 ERA in the second half.

• Brandon Beachy (26): Another budding force, he had Tommy John surgery in June.

Available, at a price:
• Randall Delgado (22): He went 4-9 with a 4.37 ERA this year with a fastball that averaged 92 miles per hour. Atlanta agreed to trade him to the Cubs for Ryan Dempster, but Dempster vetoed the deal.

• Tommy Hanson (26): Once considered one of the sport's best prospects, he went 13-10 with a 4.48 ERA this year with a fastball averaging 89.7 mph. He's entering his arbitration years and has Scott Boras for an agent.

• Paul Maholm (30): The Twins pursued this lefty as a free agent last year. Atlanta just picked up his $6.5 million option. He went 13-11 with a 3.67 ERA this year with a fastball averaging 87.4 mph.

• Julio Teheran (21): Baseball America listed him as the game's No. 5 prospect last winter, three spots behind Mike Trout. But Teheran posted a 5.08 ERA at Class AAA with a fastball that was 91-93 mph, down from 93-95 last year.

• Jair Jurrjens (26): He'll be non-tendered after posting a 6.89 ERA this year, so if the Twins want him, they can wait until he hits free agency. He went 13-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 2011.

• Sean Gilmartin (22): He's a Scott Diamond clone who'll be knocking on the door at Class AAA this season.

The Braves might trade Delgado or Hanson for Span, though it could take other pieces to complete the deal. If the Twins offer Willingham, they might be able to get Teheran. Atlanta needs a left fielder because Martin Prado is moving to third base, with Chipper Jones retiring.

One thing's clear: Atlanta is in position to deal from its strength.

"Any time someone says you have excess pitching, you cringe a little bit because that's not generally the case," Wren said. "But I think you have to be realistic as well. We like our pitching staff the way it's constituted. We like our young guys a lot, but as we put our team together, if something makes sense, we're open to discussing it.

It wouldnt be as sexy as upton x 2 + heyward but I would be okay with it.

A lot of sources think Swisher is a good fit but do we really want to throw 15+ his way?

ETA and LOL at JJ being used as trade bait at this point as some sources are saying

quote:

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Do people not understand Jurrjens will be released?

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I am not here to confirm nor deny this.

I think he'd be a welcome addition to any contender.

Good read.

In roughly 100 less plate appearances, Span had a slightly higher batting average and OBP. Granted, he played in about 30 less games with only 17 SB's compared to Bourn's 42.

Clearly would be a step down in production and defense but I think we all realize we are going to take a step back at CF unless we resign Bourn or maybe Upton (based on upton's potential. )

With that being said, getting rid of Hanson would be great IMO and taking Span for cheap would leave more money for a LF. (Based on that article's assumption of Hanson for span)

2013 MLB Draft Order
1 Houston Astros
2 Chicago Cubs
3 Colorado Rockies
4 Minnesota Twins
5 Cleveland Indians
6 Miami Marlins
7 Boston Red Sox
8 Kansas City Royals
9 Pittsburgh Pirates
10 Toronto Blue Jays
11 New York Mets
12 Seattle Mariners
13 San Diego Padres
14 Pittsburgh Pirates
15 Arizona Diamondbacks
16 Philadelphia Phillies
17 Milwaukee Brewers
18 Chicago White Sox
19 Los Angeles Dodgers
20 St. Louis Cardinals
21 Detroit Tigers
22 Tampa Bay Rays
23 Baltimore Orioles
24 Texas Rangers
25 Oakland Athletics
26 San Francisco Giants
27 New York Yankees
28 Cincinnati Reds
29 Washington Nationals
30 St. Louis Cardinals
31 Tampa Bay Rays
32 Texas Rangers
33 Atlanta Braves
34 New York Yankees
35 New York Yankees
36 Kansas City Royals
37 Miami Marlins
38 Arizona Diamondbacks
39 Baltimore Orioles
40 Cincinnati Reds
41 Detroit Tigers
42 Houston Astros
43 Chicago Cubs
44 Colorado Rockies
45 Minnesota Twins
46 Miami Marlins
47 Boston Red Sox
48 Kansas City Royals
49 Toronto Blue Jays
50 New York Mets
51 Seattle Mariners
52 San Diego Padres
53 Pittsburgh Pirates
54 Arizona Diamondbacks
55 Philadelphia Phillies
56 Milwaukee Brewers
57 Chicago White Sox
58 Los Angeles Dodgers
59 St. Louis Cardinals
60 Detroit Tigers
61 Los Angeles Angels
62 Tampa Bay Rays
63 Baltimore Orioles
64 Texas Rangers
65 Oakland Athletics
66 San Francisco Giants
67 Atlanta Braves
68 New York Yankees
69 Cincinnati Reds
70 Washington Nationals
71 San Diego Padres
72 Cleveland Indians
73 Colorado Rockies
74 Oakland Athletics
75 Milwaukee Brewers
76 Miami Marlins
77 Houston Astros
78 Chicago Cubs
79 Colorado Rockies
80 Minnesota Twins
81 Cleveland Indians
82 Miami Marlins
83 Boston Red Sox
84 Kansas City Royals
85 Toronto Blue Jays
86 New York Mets
87 Seattle Mariners
88 San Diego Padres
89 Pittsburgh Pirates
90 Arizona Diamondbacks
91 Philadelphia Phillies
92 Milwaukee Brewers
93 Chicago White Sox
94 Los Angeles Dodgers
95 St. Louis Cardinals
96 Detroit Tigers
97 Los Angeles Angels
98 Tampa Bay Rays
99 Baltimore Orioles
100 Texas Rangers
101 Oakland Athletics
102 San Francisco Giants
103 Atlanta Braves
104 New York Yankees
105 Cincinnati Reds
106 Washington Nationals

Lohse
Bourn
Soriano

Swamps' Top 100 >>>>> Sickels.

What happens if a team signs two players who rejected qualifying offers?