Anthony Reyes Heading for the ATL?
Coming via MLBTradeRumors.com, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Dispatch reports that both the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Angels have been scouting the Cardinals. The rumor is the Cardinals are looking to unload Anthony Reyes.
Seems to me like Anthony Reyes would be a great fit for the Braves, especially with Smoltz's return to the bullpen. Sure, Reyes has had his struggles in St. Louis: 2-14 record last year with a 6.05 ERA. But he's still only 26, and he did put up great numbers in the minors, which leads me to think that he should be at least serviceable at some point in his career. I think the only sticking point here is that the Cardinals want an upper echelon prospect included in any deal. Some of the Braves top prospects include OF Jordan Schafer, OF Jason Heyward (some consider him Frank Thomas with speed...yikes), SS Brent Lillibridge, OF Brandon Jones, OF Gorkys Hernandez, and SP Jair Jurjjens (who is already in the big league rotation). Based on that list, it looks like the Braves might have an abundance of outfielders - especially with young players like Jeff Francoeur and Gregor Blanco already in the bigs. However, I'd be extremely reluctant to part with any player described as "Frank Thomas with speed" - unless that tag just mean he's an a-hole with a drug habit.
As for the Angels, I don't know what they want from the Cardinals. Maybe they realized they're really short on their Molina quota and want Yadier. Probably not the case with Napoli and Mathis playing really well behind the dish for the Halos, though. Maybe they want Troy Glaus back? Not sure if they Angels need to do a ton of scouting on him - plus, where would Figgins play? Perhaps the only player from the Cardinals that makes any sense for the Angels is Chris Duncan - but the Angels already have a crowded outfield with Guerrero, Hunter, Anderson, Matthews, and Rivera (plus a very major league-ready Reggie Willits in Salt Lake).
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2 comments:
As a Braves fan I'm torn. Do we trade prospects for a mediocre pitcher? We need a starting pitcher desperately with 3 old pitchers who are having a hard time staying healthy. I love Smoltzy, Glavine, and Hampton, but it appears they wont be healthy enough to get the Braves to the playoffs. I reluctantly say we trade Teixeira (who doesn't look like he wants to re-sign) and maybe even Hudson for a stockpile of prospects. I know Bobby Cox, Chipper, and Smoltzy deserve one more shot, but how tasty would those potential prospects be with the young talent we already have in McCann, Frenchy, Jair, Yunel, etc... UNHH!!!
As far as Reyes is concerned - perhaps I'm jaded as an Angels fan because things have worked out pretty well for guys like John Lackey and Ervin Santana, who towards the beginning of their careers looked like they would be anywhere from average to terrible. I would have dumped them for pennies on the dollar. Now, they've clearly turned things around in the other direction. Maybe Reyes can do the same? He clearly has, or at least had, the talent at one point.
As for Teixeira - yeah, they should ship him. I'm sure they can get plenty in return for him from a fringe playoff team around midseason.
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