Villarreal, Cormier to be traded ... maybe

[McCarroll21]

says Rosenthal... (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6482502)

If the Braves stay healthy, they could have pitching to trade at the end of spring training. Right-handers Oscar Villareal and Lance Cormier, both of whom were acquired from the Diamondbacks for catcher Johnny Estrada before last season, would be among the leading candidates to be dealt. The Dodgers could use a middle-inning reliever such as Villareal, while the A's could pursue Cormier as a replacement for righty swingman Kirk Saarloos, whom they traded to the Reds.

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Not really sure how I feel. We would need to trade them for pitching, but I'm not sure if we could truly get an upgrade out of them. Basically I'm just passing it along.

[Nasadega]

We would be screwed unless if we traded them for a true starter
I don't care about cormier leaving, but the Vulture really helped us after the all star break last year, I dunno if we can really afford to lose him

[Hobbes]

Oscar has shown an affinity for the long-relief role with occasional spot starts. Given the unknowns with our staff I think he is a very important piece of our pen. We don't know how much we're going to get out of Hampton. We might only get 4-5 innings out of him early in the season. And Davies/James could struggle in some of their starts as well. Having a guy who can come in an pitch 2-4 innings could be very valuable with our situation.

I think we need to keep him.

[C-Dawg]

I agree with all the comments here. I could see maybe dealing ONE of the two if the bullpen/starting pitching is otherwise strong, but NOT both. They are both very similar in their valuable ability to do rubber-armed long relief and spot start.

[jschafer24]

It would be nice to get Joe Blanton from the A's, thought i doubt they would give him up.
The Dodgers have awesome pitching prospects-Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, plus many more-that we could possibly get.

I also would only want one(Oscar Villareal and Lance Cormier)of them to be traded.

[gobravez]

I think Villarreal is a good asset to the Braves. I don't want to see Villarreal go, but Cormier, however is an odd man out with our pitching depth.

[CanadaBravesFan]

Cormier could go, that's fine with me, but Oscar will be needed before long.

[jschafer24]

I don't really won't to trade either one of them, but someone like Joe Blaton, or some other pitching prospect would easily change my mind.

[gobravez]

I wouldn't mind getting Broxton, he could be a good starter.

[Science Fiction Twin]

Trading either of these two pitchers sounds like a rumor whipped up just for the sake of having something to bandy about.

So far, it sounds to me like we're all on the same page. Without talkin' 'bout some specifics of who the Braves would get in return, there's no motivation to trade them away. The team needs to have something reliable to fall back on just in case something goes wrong. It doesn't look like there's a whole lot more uncertainty with the starting rotation going into 2007 than there was last year. Playing it safe here is the smarter move.

In my opinion, the pitchers that ATL has are worth more than what the team could get back. That alone is a good enough reason to stand pat.

[LSU31always]

It would be nice to get Joe Blanton from the A's, thought i doubt they would give him up.
The Dodgers have awesome pitching prospects-Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, plus many more-that we could possibly get.

I also would only want one(Oscar Villareal and Lance Cormier)of them to be traded.
I really doubt we would get Billingsley or Broxton.
Maybe Kemp maybe we get Wilson back is Johnson doesn't work out

[jschafer24]

I really doubt we would get Billingsley or Broxton.
Maybe Kemp maybe we get Wilson back is Johnson doesn't work out

I doubt we would get them, just saying it would be awesome to get one of those guys.

[HaRdCoReBrAvEsFaN]

O won't go anywhere unless we have to get use him to get a acceptable SP...Cormier however is posislbe though I think they keep in AAA in case they need a temp fill in from the minors to start....

[McCarroll21]

I really doubt we would get Billingsley or Broxton.
Maybe Kemp maybe we get Wilson back is Johnson doesn't work out
Billingsley, Broxton, Kemp. Those are names we were throwing around in relation to Andruw. There's no way we get any of them, even one of them, even a 5 minute discussion about one of them when we're waving Cormier and/or Villarreal.

[KB 34]

Vilarreal is extremely valuable as a great long reliever and potential starter. I'd only trade him if for a better starter. Cormier I'm open to deal if someone is really ready to part with talent to get him. That said, my expectation of someone better than the two for them is unlikely to happen so I don't see any of them being moved.

[lavell12]

It all really depends on how Kyle Davies pitches in ST. If he does really well and BC is comfortable with him as the number 5 then one of those guys will be traded. But if he is shacky while still being the number 5 they probably stay atleast Oscar. Cormier could be traded either way. Harrison could also some how be the number 5 and if that happens don't be suprised if Davies is traded because we could get a leadoff man for him.

[KB 34]

Davies value is incredibly low right now so trading him would be stupid. If he struggles, the he should be sent to AAA to get it together. I'm also sick of hearing about the leadoff hitter. It seems to me the Braves have several options in Aybar (with KJ to LF), Prado, KJ, and Langerhans. To trade away pitching, which costs tons and you can never get enough of, for a marginally better leadoff hitter makes no sense to me.

[nickzilla6066]

We will have pretty decent (but not great) depth in pitching, so trading someone would probably not hurt too much. Oscar seems too valuable to really consider without getting back either multiple prospects (aren't we depleted in minor league outfield talent?) or something of similar value, but if someone offers anything halfway decent for Cormier I say pull the trigger.

[McCarroll21]

Davies value is incredibly low right now so trading him would be stupid. If he struggles, the he should be sent to AAA to get it together. I'm also sick of hearing about the leadoff hitter. It seems to me the Braves have several options in Aybar (with KJ to LF), Prado, KJ, and Langerhans. To trade away pitching, which costs tons and you can never get enough of, for a marginally better leadoff hitter makes no sense to me.As am I. You're correct that we have quite a few options. There's also Blanco to add to your list.

[Science Fiction Twin]

It all really depends on how Kyle Davies pitches in ST. If he does really well and BC is comfortable with him as the number 5 then one of those guys will be traded. But if he is shacky while still being the number 5 they probably stay atleast Oscar. Cormier could be traded either way. Harrison could also some how be the number 5 and if that happens don't be suprised if Davies is traded because we could get a leadoff man for him.

Still haven't finished smoking the end of that crack rock?

It'll take more than Kyle Davies being shakey (btw) in Spring Training this year for him to lose a spot in the rotation. And if he does in fact start the season in Richmond, I most highly doubt that Matt Harrison will be next in line for the job. By all accounts, Harrison is not ML-ready despite the hype on mlb.com and fantasy baseball magazines.

And if Davies is solid, that does equate to the Braves trading any other pitcher. It's like pretty much everyone that's previously posted, the two pitchers in question aren't going anywhere any time soon.

Drew, do you think that the Braves are going to trade Davies and end up with a position player with speed and a healthy .OBP? What makes you think that such a trade is possible now when nothing seemed to be possible over the span of the past 4-5 months? I know that you've got a hearty penchant for outlandish trades but I think even you would agree with me that there's no way that the Brave would be able to make a trade like the one you're warning us not to be surprised about.

[lavell12]

Still haven't finished smoking the end of that crack rock?

It'll take more than Kyle Davies being shakey (btw) in Spring Training this year for him to lose a spot in the rotation. And if he does in fact start the season in Richmond, I most highly doubt that Matt Harrison will be next in line for the job. By all accounts, Harrison is not ML-ready despite the hype on mlb.com and fantasy baseball magazines.

And if Davies is solid, that does equate to the Braves trading any other pitcher. It's like pretty much everyone that's previously posted, the two pitchers in question aren't going anywhere any time soon.

Drew, do you think that the Braves are going to trade Davies and end up with a position player with speed and a healthy .OBP? What makes you think that such a trade is possible now when nothing seemed to be possible over the span of the past 4-5 months? I know that you've got a hearty penchant for outlandish trades but I think even you would agree with me that there's no way that the Brave would be able to make a trade like the one you're warning us not to be surprised about.

I don't think the Braves are going to trade Davies because I think he will get the job out of spring training but if he fails to get the job, he will have more trade value then anyone else who fails to also get the job. Davies is a young talented prospect so the Braves will hold on to him.

[jschafer24]

No way we trade Davies.

[Science Fiction Twin]

Harrison could also some how be the number 5 and if that happens don't be suprised if Davies is traded because we could get a leadoff man for him.


Davies is a young talented prospect so the Braves will hold on to him.

Which is it?

[RaggledyFan]

I don't see much of a reason to trade away good pitching. Right now pitching is harder to come by than anything else. We have good options at some of our questionable areas...Leadoff etc. I think we should stand pat until we really see what we need. Maybe until April or May, If our 2nd base, leadoff, 1st base, 5th starter hasn't worked out we may be able to make a trade. Who knows Villareal may be able to take the 5th starters spot if Davies faulters. Davies would probably be sent back down to AAA.

[jschafer24]

There is no point to trade Davies. His only 23 with a crapload of potential. I doubt we would even get a decent deal for him. Once he regains his confidence he'll be just as good as most pitchers in the NL.

[Scalpel19]

Villareal will not be going anywhere. I've been told that he is the emergency fifth starter this year and could maybe even be the number 5 to start the year if Davies falters and that if anyone would possibly get traded on the pitching staff, it would be Cormier.