McCarroll21
04-30-2007, 06:03 AM
Braves Trade Langerhans to A's
By: Josh McCarroll (http://www.braves-nation.com/forums/member.php?u=1) | Braves-Nation.com
Following the Braves 9-7 loss to the Rockies on Sunday, the Braves traded outfielder Ryan Langerhans to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Langerhans collected only three hits in forty four at bats with the Braves in the early going, but was starting to show signs of slowly breaking out of his slump. Despite taking a 0-3 in Saturday night's game, he reached base and scored twice. Then on Sunday, Langerhans doubled to the opposite field and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. It was his first RBI and extra base hit of the season.
Langerhans was taken back when he received the news after Sunday's loss.
"It caught me off guard," Langerhans said. "I'm looking forward to going out there and playing. I'm not really sure about a lot of the details at this point. It's a little saddening [to be leaving]. I came up with a lot of these guys. They have been good to me here. It being the first time [to be traded] is what makes it shocking."
He is currently slated to be starting in center field for the A's on Tuesday, and will likely be there every day for the time being. The A's have been rotating players in center field so far this season after losing Mark Kotsay due to injury in Spring Training.
Kotsay has been placed on the 60-day disabled list as he recovers from back surgery. The A's also have been without Milton Bradley and Nick Swisher to injury for times during the season. Bradley is currently on the disabled list, while Swisher is nursing a sore hamstring that is keeping him out of the lineup.
To fill the roster spot, the Braves have called up utility player Willie Harris. The largest beneficiary of the deal seems to be Matt Diaz, who would seemingly get the start in left field for the time being.
Now on to how this will impact the Braves, other than losing the services of Langerhans.
First, will it be a player to be named later or cash that the team receives in exchange for Langerhans.
One obvious choice to be a player to be named is right handed pitcher Brad Halsey. He has been starting in Triple-A for the A's and has had a recent falling out with the A's management. Visibly upset about not being chosen to make a start last week in place of the injured Rich Harden, Halsey let loose on the organization.
His last start was skipped because he was told that he was going to possibly be called up for the A's and fill in for Harden, but then got passed over and was told the team was going to have him sent in for an MRI.
Halsey's MRI results have not come back yet and will go in for a second opinion on his shoulder at a later point this week. One would assume, that with the Braves need for help in the rotation, that Schuerholz would ask for him in return if his results come back to show a clean bill of health.
In three starts for Sacramento, Halsey is 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA. He has walked only three batters in 17 innings and hitters are only batting .238 off of him.
Other than completing the trade, the Braves have some other things to look at surrounding this deal. They need to find an answer for left field for this season, while also taking into account the possible departure of Andruw Jones after the season.
Until today, Langerhans was the front runner to replace Jones in center field next year because of his defensive abilities. That is obviously not the case anymore, so the Braves search goes on.
Obviously, at this point you put next year on the back burner and concentrate on improving the team for 2007, so the glaring question mark right now is left field.
Currently, Matt Diaz is set to receive at bats in left field on a nearly every day basis. One would think that Diaz wouldn't be handed a job for the rest of the season, so something is going to happen to fill the hole in left field. Even if Diaz takes off and earns his playing time, the Braves are going to need to find a better defensive outfielder in the event that Andruw Jones needs a day off in center field.
The Braves have a few internal candidates to look at, the first being Brandon Jones. Jones is currently batting .303 with four homeruns at Double-A Mississippi. He has seventeen RBI in 22 games this season. Jones is a career .285 minor league hitter and has shown a nice combination of speed and developing power. Last season, Jones combined for 14 homeruns and 15 steals between Class A and AA. Given a little more time at Double-A, Jones could force his way to the big leagues with a solid month of May.
Another intriguing internal option is that of Gregor Blanco. Blanco would provide great defense in left field, along with an on-base threat in the lineup. Blanco is currently hitting .338 with a .427 on-base percentage in 19 games at Triple-A Richmond. Blanco's lone downfall is his lack of power to be a corner outfielder. He is a career .272 batter, but hit .294 and had a .408 on-base percentage in 73 games at Triple-A last season.
The farthest reach, and probably not an option at all but a personal favorite of mine, is the shortstop the team acquired in the Adam LaRoche trade this off-season. Lillibridge played center field for some time in college, so it wouldn't be entirely new to him, though he has played his entire professional career at shortstop. Last year, Lillibridge combined to hit .305 and stole 53 at Class-A Hickory and High-A Lynchburg last season. He is currently hitting .282 with six steals at Double-A Mississippi.
Another option may be to fill the spot through trade. A name that has popped up recently as being available is White Sox outfielder Brian Anderson. Anderson is a career .306 minor league hitter but hasn't gotten a fair shot to produce at the major league level. He brings excellent defense to the table, and may be an eventual replacement to Andruw Jones if he elects to leave to test free agency this winter. In 2005, Anderson hit .295 with 16 homeruns at Triple-A Charlotte. Anderson has recently been sent back down to Charlotte, so if he is producing while receiving consistent at bats, he may be a viable option to fill the hole in left field.
The added bonus of either Jones, Blanco or Anderson is that they are left handed hitters and would provide the option of keeping the platoon with Diaz in left field should it prove to be more productive.
By: Josh McCarroll (http://www.braves-nation.com/forums/member.php?u=1) | Braves-Nation.com
Following the Braves 9-7 loss to the Rockies on Sunday, the Braves traded outfielder Ryan Langerhans to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Langerhans collected only three hits in forty four at bats with the Braves in the early going, but was starting to show signs of slowly breaking out of his slump. Despite taking a 0-3 in Saturday night's game, he reached base and scored twice. Then on Sunday, Langerhans doubled to the opposite field and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. It was his first RBI and extra base hit of the season.
Langerhans was taken back when he received the news after Sunday's loss.
"It caught me off guard," Langerhans said. "I'm looking forward to going out there and playing. I'm not really sure about a lot of the details at this point. It's a little saddening [to be leaving]. I came up with a lot of these guys. They have been good to me here. It being the first time [to be traded] is what makes it shocking."
He is currently slated to be starting in center field for the A's on Tuesday, and will likely be there every day for the time being. The A's have been rotating players in center field so far this season after losing Mark Kotsay due to injury in Spring Training.
Kotsay has been placed on the 60-day disabled list as he recovers from back surgery. The A's also have been without Milton Bradley and Nick Swisher to injury for times during the season. Bradley is currently on the disabled list, while Swisher is nursing a sore hamstring that is keeping him out of the lineup.
To fill the roster spot, the Braves have called up utility player Willie Harris. The largest beneficiary of the deal seems to be Matt Diaz, who would seemingly get the start in left field for the time being.
Now on to how this will impact the Braves, other than losing the services of Langerhans.
First, will it be a player to be named later or cash that the team receives in exchange for Langerhans.
One obvious choice to be a player to be named is right handed pitcher Brad Halsey. He has been starting in Triple-A for the A's and has had a recent falling out with the A's management. Visibly upset about not being chosen to make a start last week in place of the injured Rich Harden, Halsey let loose on the organization.
His last start was skipped because he was told that he was going to possibly be called up for the A's and fill in for Harden, but then got passed over and was told the team was going to have him sent in for an MRI.
Halsey's MRI results have not come back yet and will go in for a second opinion on his shoulder at a later point this week. One would assume, that with the Braves need for help in the rotation, that Schuerholz would ask for him in return if his results come back to show a clean bill of health.
In three starts for Sacramento, Halsey is 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA. He has walked only three batters in 17 innings and hitters are only batting .238 off of him.
Other than completing the trade, the Braves have some other things to look at surrounding this deal. They need to find an answer for left field for this season, while also taking into account the possible departure of Andruw Jones after the season.
Until today, Langerhans was the front runner to replace Jones in center field next year because of his defensive abilities. That is obviously not the case anymore, so the Braves search goes on.
Obviously, at this point you put next year on the back burner and concentrate on improving the team for 2007, so the glaring question mark right now is left field.
Currently, Matt Diaz is set to receive at bats in left field on a nearly every day basis. One would think that Diaz wouldn't be handed a job for the rest of the season, so something is going to happen to fill the hole in left field. Even if Diaz takes off and earns his playing time, the Braves are going to need to find a better defensive outfielder in the event that Andruw Jones needs a day off in center field.
The Braves have a few internal candidates to look at, the first being Brandon Jones. Jones is currently batting .303 with four homeruns at Double-A Mississippi. He has seventeen RBI in 22 games this season. Jones is a career .285 minor league hitter and has shown a nice combination of speed and developing power. Last season, Jones combined for 14 homeruns and 15 steals between Class A and AA. Given a little more time at Double-A, Jones could force his way to the big leagues with a solid month of May.
Another intriguing internal option is that of Gregor Blanco. Blanco would provide great defense in left field, along with an on-base threat in the lineup. Blanco is currently hitting .338 with a .427 on-base percentage in 19 games at Triple-A Richmond. Blanco's lone downfall is his lack of power to be a corner outfielder. He is a career .272 batter, but hit .294 and had a .408 on-base percentage in 73 games at Triple-A last season.
The farthest reach, and probably not an option at all but a personal favorite of mine, is the shortstop the team acquired in the Adam LaRoche trade this off-season. Lillibridge played center field for some time in college, so it wouldn't be entirely new to him, though he has played his entire professional career at shortstop. Last year, Lillibridge combined to hit .305 and stole 53 at Class-A Hickory and High-A Lynchburg last season. He is currently hitting .282 with six steals at Double-A Mississippi.
Another option may be to fill the spot through trade. A name that has popped up recently as being available is White Sox outfielder Brian Anderson. Anderson is a career .306 minor league hitter but hasn't gotten a fair shot to produce at the major league level. He brings excellent defense to the table, and may be an eventual replacement to Andruw Jones if he elects to leave to test free agency this winter. In 2005, Anderson hit .295 with 16 homeruns at Triple-A Charlotte. Anderson has recently been sent back down to Charlotte, so if he is producing while receiving consistent at bats, he may be a viable option to fill the hole in left field.
The added bonus of either Jones, Blanco or Anderson is that they are left handed hitters and would provide the option of keeping the platoon with Diaz in left field should it prove to be more productive.