This trade could go down as a win-win for Braves and Tigers, because the Braves don’t have a Lot of Flexibility with…..
The Braves traded a slew of top prospects a couple of offseasons ago. The blockbuster deal brought All-Star catcher Sean Murphy to Atlanta, but the Braves also dealt arguably the best prospect in their entire system for relief pitcher Joe Jimenez.
Admittedly, I was not a fan of the trade when it went down. While Jimenez’s peripherals suggested he had plenty of upside. He was only under contract for one more season and coming off a back injury that was still healing at the time of the deal. But more importantly, the prospect the Braves traded — Justyn-Henry Malloy — had the potential to be the left fielder of the future in Atlanta.
Malloy has yet to make his MLB debut for the Tigers, but it could come any day now. He has continued to tear the cover off the ball ever since switching organizations, recording 23 homers with an .892 OPS for AAA Toledo last year. The Tigers have to be thrilled with the trade thus far, and for a while, the Braves might have had some regrets, but that’s changed over the last 10 months or so.
Jimenez was still clearly dealing with some lingering effects of the injury early last year. His velocity was down, leading to erratic results. But around June, he started to find his groove with the Braves, and over the last four months, he pitched to the tune of a 2.37 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 38 innings.
Jimenez pitched so well that the Braves handed him a three-year, $26 million contract this past offseason, and it might turn out to be yet another bargain. He’s been by far the team’s most reliable reliever through the first three weeks, boasting a 1.13 ERA and 1.57 FIP through his first eight appearances, giving the Braves another lights-out setup man from the right side to pair nicely with the left-handed A.J. Minter.
Trades don’t often turn out to be a win-win for both sides, but this very well could be one of those rare cases. The Tigers have to be excited about flipping a reliever while they are rebuilding for a potential starting outfielder, and I don’t believe the Braves are having any second guesses about Joe Jimenez, who looks like he will be a vital piece to their bullpen for several years to come.
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The Braves Don’t Have a Lot of Flexibility With An Infielder
The Atlanta Braves need to either keep this infielder on the active roster or risk losing him while still paying his salary.
What do the Atlanta Braves do with David Fletcher?
The veteran infielder was called up on Tuesday after starting second baseman Ozzie Albies was placed on the injured list, required after Albies broke his toe on a HBP in Monday’s game against the Houston Astros.
And Fletcher’s already gotten into the lineup, starting in lieu of Luis Guillorme on Friday night at second base and batting ninth. (He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.)
And it’s good that he’s useful in so many ways because now that he’s been called up, it’s going to be hard to get rid of him.
The 29-year-old Fletcher entered this most recent major league stint with four years and 168 days of service time – with last night’s game, he’s now officially earned a fifth year of service time, which requires 172 days on a major league roster.
You see, any major league player who hits five years of service time earns the ability to refuse an assignment to the minor leagues without sacrificing the monies promised to them on their contract. Fletcher, who signed his extension with the Los Angeles Angels but had that contract inherited by the Braves when they traded for him, is owed $6M for 2024, $6.5M for 2025, and then has either two club options for $8M and $8.5M or a $1.5M buyout.
And so, if Atlanta decides they don’t need Fletcher at the major league level anymore and they designate him for assignment, he can choose to reject an assignment to the minor leagues, electing to become a free agent instead, but keep receiving his 2024 (and 2025) salary from the Atlanta Braves.
Now, maybe this isn’t an issue – maybe David Fletcher likes Atlanta and the organization and would choose to remain, despite being blocked at the major league level by Orlando Arcia and, once he returns from injury, Ozzie Albies. Maybe he thinks he can beat out Luis Guillorme for playing time over this injury absence from Albies and show enough that the Braves find ways to work him into the lineup even once Ozzie returns.
But most major league players are outspoken that they want to play, and it’s entirely possible that he’d find a suitor to sign him for a role at the league minimum, which another team could do if he elected free agency but retained his 2024 salary from Atlanta. (And to answer the next question, any salary paid would offset the salary obligations from the Braves, so there’d be a minuscule amount of relief coming there if he gets picked up on a major league deal.
For the record, this same situation came up with Michael Soroka last season. Atlanta calling him up for a start in early September and then him going on the injured list right after meant that he earned enough service time to finish last season with five full years of service. Not only did that result in 2024 being his final year before reaching free agency, but also, had he remained in Atlanta, he could have elected free agency were he to not win the 5th starter’s job in spring training, which wasn’t likely. The Braves wisely went ahead and traded him last fall instead, sending him and four others to the Chicago White Sox for reliever Aaron Bummer.
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