You talkin’ to me?
Even Bronson Arroyo is surprised the Braves traded for Bronson Arroyo.
That’s what Arroyo told Fox Sports Arizona after Saturday night’s announcement that the Braves had acquired him and pitching prospect Touki Toussaint from the Diamondbacks in exchange for infielder Phil Gosselin.
“If I had pitched a couple times and I was healthy, I would’ve thought it probably would’ve made sense because I’m making more money ($14 million through 2016) than they (the Diamondbacks) probably want to pay, given the circumstance of having a lot of young arms around here,” Arroyo said. “Who knows? Maybe they just really wanted Touki.”
Other reactions:
Nick Piecoro, azcentral.com: “Rival scouts and executives throughout the industry were stunned by the deal, believing Toussaint’s market value to be far more than the amount the Diamondbacks saved. Many were left to assume the Diamondbacks’ baseball operations department was under a clear mandate to shed salary. (GM Dave) Stewart said that wasn’t the case.”
Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports: “With spending restricted everywhere but free agency, eating cash for a great talent like Atlanta did for Touki Toussaint is a no-brainer.”
Bill Baer of HardballTalk: “The Diamondbacks appear to be concerned with clearing Arroyo’s $14 million remaining salary, but they signed a TV deal believed to be worth more than $1 billion back in February. That they gave up one of their best prospects to save $14 million seems rather curious.”
Mad Max
The Braves have Monday off before going to Washington to face one of the hottest pitchers in the majors.
Big-ticket right-hander Max Scherzer, who is the scheduled starter for the series finale on Thursday afternoon, has two consecutive shutouts with only one hit allowed — he walked one batter and hit another — and 26 strikeouts. He came within a HBP with two outs in the ninth Saturday of throwing a perfect game.
He is only the fifth pitcher since 1900 to allow one hit or fewer in back-to-back complete games.
2015: Max Scherzer, Nationals
1944: Jim Tobin, Braves
1938: Johnny Vander Meer, Reds
1925: Dazzy Vance, Robins
1923: Howard Ehmke, Red Sox
The final word
“Well, (Andrelton) Simmons has been swinging the bat pretty good. Maybe the whole year, under the radar, swinging the bat well and getting on base. Nice to have Eury Perez do some stuff there. Maybe there’s a reason why (Jace) Peterson and (Cameron) Maybin are second and third on the team in RBIs. Those guys at the bottom of the order are getting on and those guys at the top are driving them in. Whatever the formula is, the bottom line is getting those guys in when we have to.” — Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez after Saturday’s 6-4 victory.
