The Atlanta Braves (thread 1)

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Looks like we'll be seeing Schafer sooner rather than later. Know nothing about this minor-league pitcher but, if Heyward continues to impress in the minors then this is probably a good move.
 
Heyward has nothing to do with this move. Wren felt like both Blanco and Schafer were better than him. He would've been sent down to AAA after spring training. I'm glad the Schafer era has begun in Atlanta.
 
I don't know that I'd quite call a 25 year old with only 13 IP in AA a "nice prospect," but it's always better to get something rather than nothing for a guy you're about to cut loose. (Or worse, to keep a guy who's out of options on the ML roster even though he sucks, just because you don't want to lose him for nothing. I'm looking at you, Scott Thorman.)

Looks like Darrow's got good control, at least. Maybe he'll end up being a useful spare part for the bullpen.
 
The problem with Darrow is that he has a violent delivery. I think he had TJ surgery a couple of years ago which set him back.
 
Clearly. But it seems mind-boggling that the same franchise which was willing to let John Smoltz walk this year over a difference of $3m or so is now willing to commit right now to paying Chipper Jones's bad back/knee/hamstring/tendinitis/etc thirteen million dollars in 2012.
 
The situations, while comparable, aren't the same though. Chipper is a ticking time bomb, but he's also the defending NL batting champ. In my mind, Smoltz was almost completely about nostalgia.
 
I'd completely agree if they'd extended him through 2010 and given him an option for 2011, maybe even with a gentlemen's agreement to revisit it every offseason to add seasons on a year to year basis. But to go ahead and guarantee the contract through 2012, with an extension for 2013?

The guy's about to turn 37 now. He hasn't played a full season since he was 31. He'll be 40 in the last guaranteed season of the contract. Nothing against Chipper, but this just seems like a terrible risk for a franchise that is already hamstrung by its budget constraints.
 
Seems obvious, but then what are they going to do if Freddie Freeman turns out to be the real deal and is pushing for ML at-bats in two years? I just don't get this at all.
 
Although . . . there are a number of guys that have been able to play 3rd base into their late 30s. Plus there's always LF again.
 
Heyward is still crushing this spring. "During a Double-A game in Viera yesterday, Jason Heyward went 4-for-5 with two homers and five RBIs."
 
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