22 July 2008

With nine days until Major League Baseball’s non-waiver deadline, it is still unclear in which direction Frank Wren will take the team. At 47-53, the Braves sit seven games back of the division-leading Phillies but the next eight games (including a three game set at Philadelphia) could mean the difference between Wren acquiring bat for a post-season run and waving the white flag on this season to better the chances of a run in 2009. Here is the latest news on the trade font:

• TR Sullivan of mlb.com suggests that Mike Gonzalez could fit the Rangers’ need for a reliever. This may be the most ridiculous trade speculation I’ve seen from a reputable writer, especially since he mentions Frank Catalanatto, Marlon Byrd, and Nelson Cruz as possible trading chips. Gonzalez is under team control through next season and the Braves don’t really need another utility outfielder.
• Ken Rosenthal finds it “extremely doubtful” that the Braves would discuss trading Tim Hudson even if the team sells at the deadline. Hudson is under contract through ’09 with a mutual option for the ’10 season, and is the only player on the 25-man roster with at least 30 career starts.
• SI.com’s Jon Heyman thinks the Braves will wait until right before the deadline if they are going to trade Mark Teixeira. This fits right in with Frank Wren being unsure of which direction he’ll take the team in.
• Terrence Moore from the AJC chimes in with another gem (note the sarcasm). Moore’s article suggests that the Braves won’t trade Teixeira or Will Ohman because of a team meeting in which Bobby Cox said the Braves are still trying to win the division. His other point is that the trade rumors don’t make sense because Teixeira is “pretty good”. First off, if the Braves fall out much further between now and the 31st then the team may not be in a position to realistically compete for the division. Secondly, the Teixeira rumors make sense BECAUSE he is pretty good. Sometimes I am amazed at the kind of logic that comes out of this guy.
• Braves officials have conducted conference calls with the Pirates’ front office to discuss Pittsburgh outfielder Xavier Nady according to Dejan Kovacevik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. If the Braves are buyers at the deadline, it seems Nady has a decent chance of landing in the Atlanta outfield.

There really hasn’t been much regarding Will Ohman out on the blogosphere but if the Braves do decide to sell at the deadline, he’s probably more likely to go than Mark Teixeira. It has yet to be seen if trading Teixeira can bring in more value than the two draft picks that the Braves are set to receive, and with David Ortiz coming back soon, the market is getting smaller.

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