Atlanta Braves Clippings Wednesday, December 2, 2015 Braves.Com
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Atlanta Braves Clippings Wednesday, December 2, 2015 Braves.com Miller's value rises as free-agent aces cash in By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | December 1st, 2015 ATLANTA -- Now that the recent signings of David Price, Jordan Zimmermann and J.A. Happ have provided us the annual reminder that free-agent pitchers are quite expensive, teams looking to significantly impact their rotation have been given further reason to ask the Braves about potential trades for 25-year-old ace Shelby Miller. When Price, 30, agreed to a record-setting seven-year, $217 million contract with the Red Sox on Tuesday evening, Miller certainly became more attractive to those teams that would like to gain quality value without breaking the bank. But the same could have been said when Zimmermann gained his five-year, $110 million deal with the Tigers, or when the Blue Jays were willing to give Happ $36 million over the next three seasons. Miller, under club control until after the 2018 season, will make somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million in 2016 and somewhere between $22-30 million over the next three seasons. Even at the optimistic high end of that projection, his $10 million average annual value would look much more attractive than those gained by Price ($31 million), Zimmermann ($22 million) and Happ ($12 million). Happ likely gained his unexpected payday based on the 1.85 ERA he posted in 11 starts for the Pirates after the Mariners dealt him at the Trade Deadline. The 33-year-old southpaw had produced a 4.68 ERA in 20 starts with the Mariners and has a 4.12 career ERA over 171 starts. While Happ has certainly never been mentioned in the same category as Miller, Price and 29-year-old Zimmermann have gained their lofty salaries based on what they have done during these formative/prime years that Miller is about to enter. Miller has produced a 3.24 ERA through the first 96 starts of his career. At the same stage of their respective careers, Price had a 3.37 ERA and Zimmermann had a 3.25 mark. While all ERAs might not be created equal, these numbers at least provide the Braves reason to once again question what kind of potential value they could be parting with at a time when it remains rather affordable. There are two ways for the Braves to look at Miller, who earned his first All-Star selection and legitimized himself as a front-line starting pitcher while producing a 3.02 ERA over 33 starts this year. The Braves could recognize the value of keeping a proven asset who is a bargain in today's market if he builds upon what he did this year. Miller and Julio Teheran provide Atlanta a pair of rotation anchors who have already experienced some of those growing pains that will be felt by the highly regarded pitching prospects the Braves plan to place in their rotation over the next few years. Or, while recognizing the significant demand for Miller, who has already drawn interest from at least 15 teams, the Braves could attempt to cash in with a significant return that could address their glaring offensive needs and also potentially fill the resulting void in their rotation. Jorge Soler (Cubs), Corey Seager (Dodgers) and A.J. Pollock (D-backs) are among the players the Braves have requested in return when approached about potential deals for Miller. This indicates they are only placing themselves in this market in the event that they end up with a significant offer they can't refuse. Initially, the Braves talked to the D-backs about a straight swap of Pollock and Miller. But after recognizing that they needed to get a Major League- ready pitcher back, they discussed placing their potential closer, Arodys Vizcaino, in the deal in attempt to land Arizona's third-best prospect, Aaron Blair, a right-hander multiple scouts feel is ready to pitch in the big leagues. Braves face tender deadline with Minor, others Club expected to allow left-hander to become free agent, offer contracts to four By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | December 1st, 2015 ATLANTA -- The Braves certainly do not want to spend a second straight year lamenting a hefty gamble placed on Mike Minor's left shoulder. But that does not mean they have completely ruled out the possibility that Minor could remain in Atlanta for at least one more season. While there might be some uncertainty surrounding Minor's future, it's seemingly certain he will be non-tendered before the Braves are required to offer a contract to each of their arbitration-eligible candidates before Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET. The Braves are expected to tender a contract to each of their other four arbitration-eligible players -- Shelby Miller, Chris Withrow, Pedro Ciriaco and Arodys Vizcaino. Miller will likely gain a contract worth approximately $5 million as he experiences the arbitration process for the first time. The other three players will likely get salaries that are valued at $1 million or slightly below. If the Braves were to tender a contract to Minor, they would be required to pay him at least 80 percent of the $5.6 million salary he was awarded when he won his arbitration case in February. So instead of making this $4.48 million guarantee, they will likely allow the 27-year-old southpaw to become a free agent. Minor has not been able to throw off a mound on a regular basis since undergoing surgery in May to repair a slightly torn labrum. He was shut down in early November to allow him to regain some flexibility in his left shoulder. Whatever transpires over the next few weeks, Minor will likely end up with a one-year, incentive-laden deal or a two-year deal that provides what would essentially be a rehab salary for the 2016 season. Minor battled shoulder discomfort as he compiled a 4.77 ERA during a frustrating 2014 season. Still, the success he had in 2013 put him in position to win the arbitration case, which was staged just two weeks before he experienced the shoulder discomfort that led to the season-ending surgery that was performed two months later. Minor has been a member of the Braves' organization since being selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2009 Draft. After enduring some growing pains, he started to live up to expectations midway through the 2012 season. Cliff Lee and Clayton Kershaw were the only qualified left-handed starting pitchers to post a better ERA than Minor (2.90) from July 1, 2012, through the end of the 2013 season. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Lucas Sims excited about his and Braves’ future By David O’Brien Had a couple of notes from the recently completely Arizona Fall League that I meant to post in a blog a week or two ago, but trades and things happen when you cover the Braves. Stuff can fall through the cracks, man. Anyway, here’s some of that material that’s relevant going forward, from up-and-coming starting pitcher Lucas Sims and reliever Daniel Winkler. First up, Sims. Sims, a 21-year-old right-hander from Brookwood High in Atlanta’s northern ‘burbs, ended the 2014 season as Baseball America’s top-rated prospect, but saw that status slip after the team acquired multiple pitching prospects in a rash of trades and draft picks and after Sims struggled early in the 2015 season. But the Braves’ former first-round draft pick (2012) came back strong after a DL stint for a hip injury sustained in the Class-A Carolina Mudcats’ bus crash in May. Sims built on his second-half success at Double-A Mississippi (3.21 ERA in nine starts, 56 strikeouts and one homer allowed in 47 2/3 innings) by taking his performance up another notch in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League. Pitching for the Peoria Javelinas, Sims posted a 2.12 ERA in six games (five starts), fifth-lowest in the AFL among pitchers who made at least four starts. He had 17 strikeouts in 17 innings and issued only three walks, the latter stat particularly encouraging after he walked 54 in 92 2/3 innings during the minor league season. Sims was selected to start the AFL all-star game, and in his last four games for Peoria he allowed six hits, one run and one walk with 13 strikeouts in 12 innings. I was out there to see his best outing of the fall on Nov. 2, when Sims created a bit of a buzz among many radar-gun-wielding scouts in the stands during a three-inning stint in which he struck out four, allowed no walks or hits, and threw 26 strikes in 36 pitches while sitting at 94-96 mph with his fastball and topping out at 97-98 (at least one scout said he clocked a 98). That fastball velo was a couple of ticks above Sims’ velocity in the past, and it came in a game in which he he had pinpoint control and also displayed a curveball that’s all but unhittable when he’s throwing it as well as he did that day. Two days before that outing, I talked to Sims about his season and fall-league experience to that point. I used a lot of that in this story about Sims that I wrote after returning, and some more of it in this story about the harrowing bus crash and how it affected him and others from the Carolina team who also played for Peoria in the AFL.