Guerry Clegg: Don't believe a word the Braves are saying
Days after trading Andrelton Simmons in his first deal flying solo as the Atlanta Braves general manager, John Coppolella denied rumors that he was shopping Freddie Freeman.
I don't believe him.
Not because I think Freeman necessarily is being shopped.
It's just that I don't believe anything the Braves' management says any more, especially when it comes to money. Over the last 12 months, there's been a huge difference between what they say and what they do.
So when Coppolella and his boss, John Hart, talk about fielding a more competitive team next season, I don't believe it.
Consider this quote from Hart as the Braves were getting ready to head to spring training last February:
"For our core guys that we have here that are under contract -- we love the players, we love the makeup, and we're looking to add to that core. Now, we'll play it out. Every year is a new adventure. It doesn't mean that you don't take a look at things as you go along. But that's the plan: Build around our core."
That core was Freeman, Simmons, Craig Kimbrel and Julio Teheran.
Simmons and Kimbrel are gone. And now they want us to believe that Freeman and/or Teheran won't be next?
Here's a quote from Coppolella in April on rumors that they might trade second base prospect Jose Peraza.
"We have no interest whatsoever in trading Jose Peraza."
By midseason, Peraza was gone, packaged with Alex Wood and Jim Johnson for Cuban prospect Hector Olivera.
Hart talked about restocking the farm system while remaining a playoff contender. "Parallel lines," he called it. With Simmons gone, Freeman and Teheran are the only two players left on the projected 2016 Opening Day roster who were on the 2014 roster. After a 42-42 start last season, they unloaded several veterans for prospects and finished 25-53. That seems like a full-scale rebuild to me.
In dealing Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Evan Gattis, Craig Kimbrel, Wood, Jim Johnson and now Simmons -- all popular and productive players -- while getting ready to move into a new ballpark that the majority of their fans don't want, the Braves have lost all credibility.
They justified abandoning Turner Field to be the centerpiece of a new strip mall in Cobb County because the move would generate more revenue that they could pour into the payroll and stay competitive.
So if that's the case, then why didn't they structure more contracts to pay heavier salaries or bonuses after 2017, when the increased revenue started coming in?
It shouldn't matter that Simmons will make nearly $40 million over the last three years of his contract.
It shouldn't matter Craig Kimbrel will make $13 million in 2017.
It shouldn't matter that
Heyward will command a hefty contract this winter as one of the few free agent hitters with strong upside.
It shouldn't matter that Freeman will have more than $100 million remaining on his contract after this season.
Isn't that what the move to Cobb County was all about, to boost revenue to pay big salaries? That's why I didn't criticize it initially.
A state of the art ballpark with better surroundings and a more competitive payroll sounded like a fair tradeoff for more traffic and abandoning their roots of 50 years, since the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium now serves as a parking lot for Turner Field.
Viewed separately, the Simmons trade to the Los Angeles Angels has its upside. They gave up great defense for slightly better offense in Erick Aybar and landed two promising pitchers, Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis.
Well, supposedly promising prospects. The Angels are not deep in pitching. If they valued Newcomb and Ellis as prospects, why would they trade them to upgrade themselves defensively?
But you can't view the Simmons deal simply by itself. You have go all the way back to the first swing of the wrecking ball, the trade of Heyward for Shelby Miller.
I reluctantly supported that trade because starting pitching is so valuable, and Miller was a proven big league winner still under a favorable contract. When they subsequently signed Nick Markakis to replace Heyward, the trade looked even smarter.
They were a move or two away from competing for the NL East title. Sure, that meant they'd most likely have to deal Upton or Gattis, whom they determined was better suited for 150 games in left field and DH when they played at American League parks than 120 games at catcher.
That's when they lost credibility. Coppolella and his boss, John Hart, insisted they wouldn't trade Gattis unless they got a deal too good to turn down. But they dealt him to Houston for Mike Foltynewicz, a hard thrower whom the Astros were quickly giving up on. Gattis proved to be a solid run producer, while Foltynewicz is close to becoming a bust.
It was a risky and unnecessary trade, much like the Simmons deal. They dealt Simmons before the winter meetings next month, when the bidding almost certainly would have been even higher. This isn't Shark Tank, where Mr. Wonderful will yank his deal off the table in five seconds. Simmons' trade value was only going to increase.
They claim to be committed to building a championship-caliber team for that first season at SunTrust Park in 2017. Again, that supposedly was the whole purpose of leaving Turner Field. But by stacking the farm system of mostly prospects who won't be competitive big leagues for three or four years, it's looking more and more like the Braves will spend their first few years at SunTrust with a losing team.
Coppolella insists otherwise. He insists that this offseason will be dedicated to making the team more competitive in 2016.
I'll believe it when I see it.
-- Guerry Clegg is an independent correspondent. You can write to him at sports@ledger-enquirer.com
This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 9:43 PM with the headline "Guerry Clegg: Don't believe a word the Braves are saying ."