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Question to Braves fans...
Would you all have proffered Joba Chamberlain from the Yankees instead of Walden for Hanson?
If only he didn't choke in the post season...he may have gotten his Jason Werth contract. Oh well.
Nah.Originally Posted by TrueYankee
Lol.. Id take Joba celebrations though
Joba![]()
3x WWEWHC / 2015 Royal Rumble Match Winner / 1X WWE Tag Team Champion / 2014 WWE Superstar of The Year
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leave martinez out of it please? gearo'ventbrelden works fine and there are 0 sucky pitchers in that name.
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This is a straight-up, old-fashioned challenge trade, plain and simple. Two pitchers, both talented, both with question marks, traded for each other. My evaluation of this deal ultimately depends on what comes next. Walden is a solid return; he's got four years of control left, and his 2012 season (when he was demoted to low-leverage mop-up work) really wasn't all that different from his All-Star 2011 campaign. He's got great stuff, with two plus pitches plus a workable changeup, but he's always probably going to be a little wild.
The salary saved by dealing Hanson could make the difference in what left fielder the Braves are able to acquire, and they didn't really need another relief arm. So in that sense, this trade is pretty much inextricable from whatever deal they make to get an outfielder. If, in a month's time, we're saying, "basically we traded Tommy Hanson for Cody Ross and Jordan Walden," I'll be disappointed. Hanson can still turn into an ace, and it's really hard to read the tea leaves based on his confusing performance in 2012. He still missed plenty of bats, but he also got hit harder when he made mistakes, so if he can bring those results on balls in play back to normal (part of which will happen from simple luck regression), he can be a useful and perhaps excellent starting pitcher.
But if we're saying, "we traded Tommy Hanson and a four-player package for Justin Upton and Jordan Walden," then it will have been well worth the move to free up the necessary money AND to have gotten a worthwhile relief arm who may very well be the extra piece that allows the Braves to include Jonny Venters or Eric O'Flaherty in a trade package (since the Diamondbacks certainly aren't the only team in need of left-handed relief help).
Just looking at the players involved, I'm not sure I would have traded Hanson's higher ceiling for Walden's higher floor. So the money saved will have to justify the deal, and that will depend on how Frank Wren & Co. spend their shiny new $3 million.
Finally
Seattle Seahawks- New Orleans Pelicans- Atlanta Braves- Anaheim Ducks