In Search For An Outfielder – Atlanta Braves

So far, we have identified two outfielders on two teams ripe for picking:

                Baltimore – Nolan Reimold

                Boston – Jerry Sands

I spend no time here trying to figure out who to trade them or whether the Mets should just keep checking the waiver wire each day to see if my choice becomes available. All I do here is try to duplicate, for you, what I assume someone (with a VP on his business card) is doing in the Mets office this week.

We now move on to Atlanta

                There are currently six (6) outfielders on the 40-man:

                Jose Constanza – bats left – 2012 MLB: 76-AB, .250 – minimal salary

                Jason Heyward – bats left – 2012 MLB: 587-AB, .269 – ARB-1

                Reed Johnson – bats right -  2012 MLB: 100-AB, .270 - $1.6mil in 2013, $150K buyout in 2014

                Martin Prado – bats right – 2012 MLB: 617-AB, .301 – free agent in 2014

                Jordan Schafer – bats left – ARB-1 in 2014

                B.J. Upton – bats right -  5-yr, $75. 25mil through 2017   

Notable high-level prospects:

                Todd Cunningham – switch hitter – 2012 AA: .309

Upton has replaced Michael Bourn, and Heyward is going nowhere. Prado is also a second baseman but that’s where Dan Uggla lives. All Atlanta has to do is figure out which two out of three (Constanza, Johnson, Schafer) backups make the 25-man.

                Two are lefties, which leaves only Johnson as an option for the Mets. I think his $1.75mil total package for 2013 is a viable one-year option and I’m sure both teams could work out some secondary level prospect for this one. He would only offer the Mets a one year stop-gap.

Target player:  Reed Johnson… plays all three positions… no power here… lifetime .411 slugging percentage… played for years with Toronto (didn’t everyone?)… will play 2-13 at 36-years old…