On Monday, the Atlanta Braves set Twitter abuzz by trading Gold Glove right fielder Jason Heyward to the Cardinals. And while the move makes sense from an objective perspective (heading into his walk year, in line for a massive payday, Braves needed young pitching), it hurts from an emotional perspective. This is a guy who grew up in Georgia and seemed destined to take the crown of “Mr. Brave” from the now-retired Chipper Jones. He was one of the final players to suit up for Hall of Famer Bobby Cox. Now, he’s gone.
But while the Heyward trade won’t cease being controversial any time soon, it does tell us one thing about the rest of Atlanta’s winter – they need to keep burning down the farm instead of simply blowing up the garage and hoping the dilapidated barn can still stand on its own.
The Braves, as currently constructed, aren’t a contender. They don’t have a second baseman. They don’t have a fifth starter. Of the seven on-field regulars we can safely pencil in after the Heyward trade, only three of them (Evan Gattis, Justin Upton, Freddie Freeman) could be described as “at least average” hitters, and two of those players could also be moved in the next three months. The only above average defenders among those starters are Andrelton Simmons, maybe Christian Bethancourt, and maybe B.J. Upton, depending what you think about his defensive metrics in center.
As for the pitching staff, Atlanta has essentially lost 400 innings of Ervin Santana and Aaron Harang. They’ll currently replace that duo with newly-acquired Shelby Miller and David Hale, who bounced between spot starter and long reliever last season. It’ll be a shock if that duo can match the production of even one of their departed pairing. The bullpen is also in shambles – after including Jordan Walden in the Heyward/Miller trade, the best reliever on the team right now not named Craig Kimbrel is David Carpenter, a 29-year old whose ERA nearly doubled from 2013 to 2014 (although his peripherals stayed largely the same). The third-best reliever is probably Anthony Varvaro, who has totaled half a win above replacement in nearly 130 innings over the past two seasons. Oh the humanity.
So what’s next for the Braves? Simply put, there’s too much that the team needs to do in order to become a contender in 2015, and it’s looking more and more like they’re going to be even worse in 2016 thanks to Justin Upton’s impending free agency. Given the status of the organization’s farm system, should there even be any doubt that the team needs to completely raze their farm and built a new one on the land? Everyone not named Freeman or Teheran should be up for grabs – and yes, that includes Kimbrel, Simmons, and Alex Wood. There’s a right way to rebuild, and a wrong way to rebuild. Half-assing it is definitely the wrong way – could you imagine if the Braves traded Heyward, and rolled out the rest of the team has currently constructed? if everything broke right, they’re a .500 team. That’s not good enough.
The Heyward trade signifies that the Braves are ready to rebuild. It’s time for them to actually embark on that path instead of putting one foot in, keeping one foot out, and dancing around the world “rebuild” like idiots.
