RADIO
The Atlanta Braves are continuing their offseason fire sale, today trading slugger Evan Gattis to the Houston Astros for three minor league prospects. The deal is pending a physical. Gattis now becomes the third key Braves player traded this offseason after Justin Upton and Jason Heyward were both sent packing.
Gattis, 28, came out of nowhere in 2013, posting a .243/.291/.480 slash line with 21 home runs. He improved those numbers this past season, hitting .263/.317/.493 and 22 dingers. The deal is also financially beneficial for Houston, as Gattis will be making the league minimum in 2015 before he is eligible for arbitration. Houston now has plenty of power, as Gattis will join a lineup where this season Chris Carter hit 37 homers, and youngster George Springer hit 20 in only 78 games. A negative to the deal is that Gattis will be bringing along his 24.2 K% to a team that had the second most strikeouts last year.
Defensively, where Gattis will be playing is a bit of a mystery. He primarily played catcher during his two years in Atlanta, but the Jason Castro / Hank Conger duo seems to take that idea off the table. He could also DH, but that will likely only happen on a day where Jon Singleton is off and Carter takes over at first base. That leaves left field, where he would have ended up in Atlanta and played 48 games in 2013. As a result, Robbie Grossman will be shifted to a fourth outfielder role.
As for Atlanta’s return, they received right handed starters Mike Foltynewicz and Andrew Thurman along with third baseman Rio Ruiz. Foltynewicz, Houston’s number four prospect according to MLB.com, went 7-7 with a 5.08 ERA in 2014 with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Rio, ranked ninth, is only 20 years old and his .293/.387/.436 line in high-A ball last season make him a nice prospect for the future. Thurman is also in high-A and went 7-9 with a 5.38 ERA.
The Braves are clearly not concerned with losing now, and are rebuilding their team around the 2017 opening of a new stadium. Along with a lack of major moves by the rest of the AL West, the Astros are not only concerned with the future, but winning in 2015.
