The Braves said they got a “buy-low, high-upside” player in free-agent infielder Alberto Callaspo, a versatile switch-hitter who agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal Tuesday and will likely be their primary second baseman until prospect Jose Peraza arrives.
There is an additional $1 million in performance incentives possible in the deal, which was to be finalized once he passed a physical exam.
The Braves have had trade discussions this week involving their sluggers Justin Upton and Evan Gattis, although they are less likely to trade Gattis due to his four years of contractual control compared to Upton’s pending free agency after the 2015 season. Braves president of baseball operations John Hart said the second day of the Winter Meetings was slow and that “there’s nothing with any real legs on it right now for us” in terms of trades.
The Braves’ remaining priority is to find a starting pitcher to fill out their rotation, and the free-agent market seemed to be waiting for Jon Lester and others to make decisions and start a chain reaction to the next tier of pitchers. The Braves are focused on back-end-of-rotation starters now, but that could change if they were to clear up more money via a trade.
Meanwhile, they took care of their need at second base with the addition of Callaspo, 31, who spent the past seven seasons in the American League and struggled with Oakland in 2014, batting .223 with a .290 on-base percentage, four home runs and 30 RBIs in 451 plate appearances. The Venezuelan still produced one of the AL’s best line-drive rates and struck out 50 times, continuing a streak of fewer than 60 whiffs in every season.
“With this player there’s some bounce-back possibilities,” Hart said. “Because he’s talented, he’s versatile, he’s always been a good hitter, but I think the fact that this guy has made a commitment, that he’s going to take a one-year deal to try to re-establish some value. He can fill a variety of roles. Primarily you probably like him at second base, but he’s played a lot of third base in his career, he can play first, he can play the outfield, he can play short. It’s a good fit for us.”
With the Angels and Athletics in 2013, Callaspo hit .258 with a .333 OBP, 10 homers and only 47 strikeouts in 516 plate appearances.
“I’ve spoken to a couple of his former managers,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I just talked to (Royals manager) Ned (Yost) ten minutes ago about him, and he loved him as a person. I think that’s a big plus.”
The plan is for Callaspo to get most of the play time at second base until Peraza reaches the majors — which could be as soon as the 2014 season at some point, perhaps even early season. The Braves traded second baseman Tommy La Stella to the Cubs for reliever Arodys Vizcaino in mid-November, and wanted to sign an experienced second baseman to a one-year deal to fill the spot until Peraza arrives.
“This guy has versatility,” Hart said of Callaspo. “It was a little bit of a buy-low because he’s coming off of a down year. We like the switch-hit, we like the contact, we like the versatility, and this is a guy we liked because we had good reports on him coming into this past year. We though he got heavy, we didn’t think he was in great shape during the course of the year. And when we had our first meeting with him weeks ago, he had already hired a personal trainer, he had already lost 7 or 8 pounds, and his goal was to lose 20 pounds.”
The Braves want to be careful not to rush Peraza, but they will invite him to spring training and give him a chance to show if he’s possibly ready or might be soon. Because of that uncertainty, and their belief that Peraza will arrive sooner than later, the Braves weren’t about to commit big dollars or a long contract for a second baseman.
In nine seasons with four teams, Callaspo has a .267 average, .330 OBP, .700 OPS and 228 extra-base hits (51 homers) in 996 games (3,695 PAs). He played in 127 games last season and made 41 starts at second base, 17 at first base and 16 at third base. He also had 34 starts as a designated hitter.
Callaspo could get starts at third base against some right-handers in place of Chris Johnson, who feasted on lefties but struggled against right-handers in 2014. Second-year infielder Phil Gosselin is also a candidate for second-base duties until Peraza is ready, but the Braves prefer to have Gosselin in a utility role.
