DEL.ICIO.USMLB: ATLANTA BRAVES
Braves trade outfielder Josh Anderson to Tigers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, March 30, 2009
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — Jordan Schafer’s path to possibly becoming the Braves’ opening-day center fielder got clearer Monday when the Braves traded Josh Anderson to Detroit for minor league pitching prospect Rudy Darrow.
Braves general manager Frank Wren said the trade was made after team officials determined that Schafer or Gregor Blanco would get the center-field job over Anderson, 26, who was out of minor-league options and was outplayed in spring training.
AP
Josh Anderson hit .271 with two home runs this spring. He also had two stolen bases.
“Josh didn’t fall on his face at all,” Wren said of Anderson, who hit .271 with two home runs, two stolen bases and one walk in 59 at-bats for a .283 on-base percentage. “At the end of the day, we just felt stronger about the other two [Schafer and Blanco].”
There are indications the job will go to Schafer, 22, a superior defensive player who has hit .373 with a team-high five stolen bases this spring. He’s continued to get most of the playing time since Blanco returned from the World Baseball Classic.
Blanco is 2-for-18 for the Braves this spring, and hit .400 with two triples in 15 at-bats in the WBC.
“No one’s said anything to me,” Schafer said. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m still competing for a job until someone says otherwise.”
Manager Bobby Cox is expected to announce a decision by Friday, and no later than Saturday. The Braves open the regular season Sunday night at Philadelphia.
The Braves plan to keep only one, Schafer or Blanco, on their opening-day roster and carry an extra reliever until fifth starter Tom Glavine is activated before his projected April 18 season debut.
Blanco, 25, had a solid .366 on-base perentage as a rookie in 2008, though he hit .251 with minimal power. His .309 slugging percentage was third-lowest among outfielders with at least 300 at-bats.
Rather than risk losing Anderson on waivers for nothing in return, the Braves traded him for Darrow, 25, a right-handed sidearmer who was 5-3 with a 2.02 ERA in 47 relief appearances last season in Class A and Class AA. He had 57 strikeouts with 23 walks in 62-1/3 innings. Right-handers hit .168 against the 5-foot-10 Oklahoma native.
Darrow, a former low-round draft pick who had ligament-transplant elbow surgery in college in 2004, was rated one of the Tigers’ top pitching prospects. The Braves will assign to Class AA Mississippi.
“Being able to get an arm we like, who can fit in our organization as a prospect, we felt good about that,” said Wren, comparing his delivery and 90-94 mph sinking fastballs to the Braves’ Peter Moylan.
Schafer has seven extra-base hits (one homer) in 59 at-bats this spring. He’s tied for the team-lead with five doubles, and his five stolen bases is more than one-third of the Braves’ total (13).
Cox has praised his hitting, defense and baserunning. Hitting coach Terry Pendleton praised Schafer’s work ethic and said, “He has what I call a Chipper Jones cocky confidence. And that’s not a bad thing — make sure you write that’s not a bad thing. I think you’ve got to have some of that to do this.”
The Tigers have Curtis Granderson in center field, but plan to keep Anderson as a backup for speed and defense. He stole more than 40 bases in five consecutive seasons in the minors with Houston and Braves, and hit .315 in 203 at-bats in callups with Houston and Atlanta during the past two seasons.
“Baseball is obviously a business,” said Anderson, who was traded from Houston to Atlanta for reliever Oscar Villarreal on Nov. 16, 2007. “Change is hard, but it’s part of the game. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to play than [Atlanta], around all these guys and this staff.
“But I’m a big believer that when one door is closed, another opens.”
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