The Braves made a major trade that earned widespread praise, agreed to terms on deals with a backup catcher and utility player, and topped off the four-day Winter Meetings experience by selecting a left-handed reliever in Thursday’s Rule 5 draft.
“It was a really great Winter Meetings,” Braves general manager John Coppolella said after the Thursday morning Rule 5 draft, the conclusion of the four-day annual baseball gathering. “We said at the start of it, even if we didn’t do anything, it wouldn’t bother us. I think we’ve shown that when we have the opportunity to make a trade that’s going to help the Braves franchise, in the short or long term, we aren’t afraid, and we’ll obviously seek out those opportunities.”
The Braves traded All-Star pitcher Shelby Miller to the Diamondbacks for a bounty that was lauded by scouts and executives from other teams, many of them almost in disbelief that the Braves were able to get Arizona to include the No. 1 overall pick from the June draft, shortstop Dansby Swanson from Vanderbilt (and Marietta High School).
Swanson was part of a package that also included Gold Glove-caliber outfielder Ender Inciarte, who’ll likely play center field and hit leadoff for the Braves, and right-hander Aaron Blair, who joins the stable of high-level Braves pitching prospects accumulated mostly through trades in the past 12 months.
The Braves also agreed to terms on contracts with catcher Tyler Flowers (two years, $5.3 million with a third-year option) and infielder/outfielder Emilio Bonifacio (one year, $1.25 million), deals that will be announced after the players pass physicals.
The Braves took left-handed reliever Evan Rutckyj from the Yankees with the third pick of the draft and must either keep him on their 25-man major league roster for the entire 2016 season or offer him back to the Yankees for half of the original $50,000 claiming price.
Rutckyj, 23, posted a 2.63 ERA in 36 appearances for the Yankees’ high Single-A and Double-A affiliates in 2015, with an impressive 82 strikeouts and 21 walks in 61 2/3 innings. He allowed 57 hits and four homers.
“It was a good week,” said Coppolella, after his first Winter Meetings since being promoted to GM from assistant GM. “We have a great group; (Braves president) John Schuerholz and (president of baseball operations) John Hart were both awesome. And we aren’t done yet. There’s still more moves we’re trying to make, whether it’s trades or free-agent signings. We’re always working on that stuff.”
Coppolella said he doesn’t see any “glaring needs” to fill before spring training, but the Braves will continue trying to tweak the roster or add pieces to their minor league system. They could look to add another veteran starting pitcher or another hitter who can play corner positions.
“You always want to get better, and I feel like we got better here,” Coppolella said. “That being said, I made the joke that we’re kind of like 7-Eleven — we may not always be doing business, but we’re always open. And I think that’s true. Last year we signed Jason Grilli Dec. 23; we signed A.J. Pierzynski Dec. 24; we made the Manny Banuelos trade Jan. 1.
“I mean, it’s not like we’re off for the holidays and just shutting things down. We’re on the phones every day. I sent out stuff on holidays — it’s probably not sane or right or fun, but I just want us to get better every day.”
The Braves are debating whether to add another starting pitcher to a rotation that currently includes returning opening-day starter Julio Teheran, recently signed veteran Bud Norris, and a bevy of rookies or second-year pitchers including Matt Wisler, Mike Foltynewicz, Banuelos, Williams Perez and Ryan Weber.
Top prospects including Lucas Sims, Tyrell Jenkins and newcomers Sean Newcomb and Blair also could be ready to debut at some point in the season, which is why Braves officials aren’t sure if they want to add another veteran starter. If they do, it’ll almost certainly be one on a modest one-year contract.
“We’re really excited about the young arms that we have,” Coppolella said. “It’s tough losing Shelby Miller, but the arms that we have coming through — we want to give them opportunities. We want to help our young kids to get opportunities and see where they go, because that future, that’s what we’re in this for. We’re trying to build the Braves way where we can build good teams every year. The only way we can do that is with your own (players) through your own farm system. You can’t buy it every year. That’s going to set you up for failure.”
Along those same lines, Hart said, “We’re balancing — do we want to go out and try to find another starting pitcher, when … We provided a lot of opportunity last year, and when you look at some of the spots, you look at Wisler and Folty, and Manny Banuelos and Williams Perez. And we’d like to create some opportunity for them, along with a Blair. Provide some opportunity at the big-league level.
“We’re still about developing this big-league rotation, developing these kids and giving them an opportunity. You’re kind of caught — you want to protect it (with proven depth), but if you do you pretty much kill the opportunity for the young player, if you go get a veteran guy to maybe stabilize the club. We’ll see how that one plays. We’ve got a variety of ways we might go, but that’s one of the decisions that we may have to make, I think, going forward. Obviously we wouldn’t be looking at a long-term guy (if they sign a veteran starter).”
