Report: Braves and Astros discussed Freddie Freeman trade
According to a report, the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros discussed a giant deal that would send Atlanta star first-baseman Freddie Freeman to Houston.
The Atlanta Braves have been spending the last two seasons tearing down their roster as the team hopes to rebuild with a massive amount of fresh young talent in their farm system. That includes trading away the likes of Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel, Andrelton Simmons and others.
Well, the Braves may not be done tearing down the house in hopes of overhauling their rebuild just yet. According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros discussed a huge trade that would have sent star first-baseman Freddie Freeman to the Houston Astros.
"Here are the facts: Ken Rosenthal’s report that the Braves talked about dealing Freeman was 100 percent true. Three sources told Yahoo Sports that Freeman’s name came up in conversations with the Houston Astros as part of a mega-trade that would’ve included more than five players. It went nowhere. Neither did light chatter with other teams. Discussions about franchise-type players owed more than $100 million rarely do, and that context is vital in understanding what Atlanta is trying to do."
While the Braves are open to moving Freeman for the right price, which would certainly be a massive haul in return, as they continue to stockpile young assets, Passan points out that these types of deals involving giant stars on giant contracts are hard to work out.
The deal with Houston might have gone nowhere, but it shows that the Braves are fully committed to the rebuild of their roster. That doesn’t just mean trading off several pieces to them, it means tearing down the whole thing, while being patient with their young talent and collecting enough young assets that can make the team a viable contender in the future.
With the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series this year, a lot of teams are seeing what the rewards of being patient with young talent produces. The Atlanta Braves are hoping that if they get enough young players in all of these trades that they are making, that enough of them will end up turning into young talented players.
As Passan notes, it’s a risky process, but if it works out, it can turn right into the Braves favor.
"Nonetheless, that’s where the Braves find themselves. They say they won’t listen on Freeman even though limiting their options goes against their best interests. They’ll bank on the huge infusion of young talent they received in the big-name trades to grow into productive major leaguers, particularly the stockpile of young, power arms on which they’re banking. Plenty will fizzle, as arms do. If enough hit, the Braves will have a surplus from which they can trade and acquire the bats they desperately need."
If the Braves really want to look at an example of the importance of young arms, then they need to look no further than the team that is in their division, the New York Mets. Patience with their young pitching and acquiring enough young arms helped propel the Mets to a World Series run this season.
That’s what the Braves are doing with the young talent they are adding. If they trade Freeman, it’s going to be so that they get even more young prospects in return. The talent will be there for the Braves, but will the players they acquire in return for their stars produce?