Time to Move Brandon Phillips

Jeff Morris - Follow on Twitter

John Coppolella should trade Brandon Phillips.

Sure, we can talk into lengths (and have) about the limitations with trading Phillips. To sum up, the market is likely small for a second baseman who can't play anywhere else and has the ability to block trades to a dozen other teams. Such a small market makes Phillips a guy who won't bring much in a trade. Even though he's dirt cheap (less than a half-a-million for the rest of the year) and could be in line for a 2 fWAR season, without many teams in the hunt, Phillips just isn't going to attract the attention Coppolella would like. Coppy is not the type of general manager to pull the trigger on a trade just to trade someone. He's all about maximizing value and giving away Phillips for a C-grade prospect is not what he usually goes for.

But the Braves aren't acquiring a prospect for Phillips if they do trade the veteran. Sure, in the basic sense, they are getting a player or two for Phillips, but what they are truly acquiring is a roster spot and a spot in the lineup. What the Braves are trading for is time for Ozzie Albies, who many, myself included, feel is ready for a promotion to the major leagues. If it weren't for the presence of Albies, I wouldn't be promoting a trade of Phillips. While I wouldn't have minded one, considering that I don't think the market will develop for him in a significant way, I would also be okay with keeping him.

With Albies in the mix, though, I want Phillips traded. It has nothing to do with the veteran and everything to do with beginning the Albies era. Consider this: Albies is now hitting .292/.336/.451 over 80 games. He batted a measly .248/.307/.351 at Gwinnett during a 56-game run there last year so he's improved upon those numbers notably. Also, those full-season numbers don't tell you how Albies has played recently. From May 8 to July 9, Albies has slashed .318/.368/.495 with nine doubles, six triples, six home runs, and is successful in all but one of his 13 stolen base attempts. Feel free to troll, "is that good?"

Not only is he showing a lot of new power with a career-high of seven home runs, four of them have come against left-hand pitching and his overall marks against southpaws continue to improve - a product of working with a pretty good switch-hitter in his own right, Chipper Jones. Oh, and when I said he's already set a career-high in homers, it's worth remembering that he's also matched his career total entering the season. If you are looking for a word to describe Albies' season to this point, it's the same word my three-year-old's preschool teacher used to describe my Riley monster - "blossoming."

Remember that Albies is only 20 years-old. That is seven years younger than the average International League player. For the second consecutive year, he's the youngest player in the league and over the last two months, he's finding it. He's caught up - a lot quicker than everyone else.

You might contend that trading Brandon Phillips hurts the Braves' chances of possibly sneaking into a playoff spot. Of course, as of right now, there's about a 2.4% chance of the Braves making the playoffs, but you Lloyd Christmases out there only read "chance" out of that sentence, didn't you? Let me put it in a way that might rest your fears of missing out on the chance to get to the playoffs if Atlanta trades Phillips - they may not miss a beat. Again, as impressive as Phillips has been, he still ranks 16th in fWAR among 2B this year. While he's been a surprise of sorts, he's not irreplaceable.

Grant McAuley - Follow on Twitter - used with permission

Even if you ignore that Phillips hasn't established a hard-to-duplicate pace and that, at 36, a hot summer in Atlanta might get to him, there is another reason to believe trading Phillips won't hurt. Albies could be just as valuable during the second half of the season as Phillips would be. Let me start by saying Phillips is a slightly below-average defender right now. He once was elite, but over the last three years, time has caught with him. He carries a -0.1 UZR/150, -5 rPM, and -4 DRS into the break. Albies is carrying some negative defensive grades of his own according to Clay Davenport's defensive metrics but routinely has been above-average at both shortstop and second base over his career. Heading into this season, he made MLB.com Pipeline's All-Defensive Team at second base. I am confident he would outproduce Phillips defensively.

Base-running wise could be a bit of a wash. Albies, being young and inexperienced, would likely have a few TOOTBLANs here-and-there, but Phillips runs into some crazy-dumb mistakes as well. As far as base stealing, Albies is easily the bigger threat there. He's swiped 21-of-23 attempts this season while Phillips is 7-for-11. While Albies may struggle as he learns to read new pitchers and deal with the best catchers in the world, he's definitely the better bet to be a weapon on the basepaths than Phillips at this point.

At the plate, Phillips may have the edge, but don't be so sure about that. While you can expect Albies to struggle as he adjusts - at the age of 20 - to major league pitchers and advanced scouting, Phillips' modest offensive numbers could still be reached considering Albies' improving offensive game. Do I think Albies could post a 94 wRC+ in the majors this season as Phillips so far has done? Absolutely.

Let's also not ignore that the Braves will have backup options should Albies prove not to be ready for a full-time gig in the majors. Johan Camargo is currently a man without a position short of stealing playing time from Dansby Swanson. He could move over to second base and help out over there. In addition, the Braves have Sean Rodriguez on his way back. They could also give Micah Johnson some time at second base, a position he has a lot of experience playing. These options are not ideal. I would prefer Ozzie Albies succeeding and sticking in the lineup. However, the Braves have other players they can go to should Albies need to head back down. In addition, you could make a compelling argument that a Camargo/Rodriguez timeshare would be just as good as Phillips.

Further, to circle back to the whole idea of hurting the current squad, allow me to present the 1997 Chicago White Sox. On July 31 of that year, they were 53-53 and three games back in the AL Central. But they saw the writing on the wall. They knew they were not a good team and rather than keep the pieces together for one little run, they traded off pending free agents Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin, and Roberto Hernandez in a deal with the Giants. Combined, Alvarez and Darwin started 28 games and Hernandez saved 27 prior to the trade. The White Sox received a package of six players in the deal, including Keith Foulke and Bob Howry - players that would help shape the team's next five years. The trade also opened the door for youngsters like Scott Eyre and Mike Sirotka to get an extended look. After the trade, the White Sox went 27-28. They were effectively the same team before and after the trade.

I started this article with a simple statement. Brandon Phillips should be traded. As I said, it has precious little to do with Phillips and everything to do with Albies. The time is now for another step in the rebuild to be crossed. It's time for the Ozzie Albies era to begin.

Transaction Recap: Rehab Stints Continue and Lots of DSL Player Movement

The Atlanta Braves have hit the All-Star Break, but transactions need no games to be made. This week, we look at continued rehab assignments and a LOT of releases/assignments in regards to the DSL roster as this year's international signings quickly get into some action.

*The moves covered in this edition of Transaction Today follow July 4 to July 10. A number in parenthesis represents the player's ranking in the preseason WOW Top 50.

Atlanta
I previously mentioned Bartolo Colon being DFA'd. His release went official on July 4. Also mentioned the activation of Freddie Freeman on the same day in last week's Recap.

Promoted: Akeel Morris (#30)...With this promotion, the Braves have now used three players who were once acquired for Kelly Johnson. Thanks, KJ! Morris is a talented arm out of the U.S. Virgin Islands who was rolling this season over 26 games between Mississippi and Gwinnett. The walks were a bit high in 29.2 innings with Gwinnett, but the strikeouts were a bit high, too (that's a good thing). Morris combines a solid mid-90's fastball with a plus-changeup. He changes speed, keeps his mechanics in line, and fields his position well. There is a chance here Morris becomes a high-leverage reliever. At worst, he should be able to hold down a bullpen spot and be relatively effective when called upon.

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Optioned and Promoted: Jace Peterson...Up-and-down goes the Jace. He was sent down for Freeman and later brought back after a bacterial infection opened up a roster spot. That sounds more sinister than I may have meant. It has been a terrible season at the plate for Peterson, who lost his second base job after logging over 200 starts there the last two seasons. Expected to be a super utility player, he hasn't been able to hit well enough to stay in the majors. part of that is rotten luck. We aren't surprised that he can't hit lefthanders - he never has - but his woeful production against right-hand pitching has been surprising. It doesn't help that his BABIP against them is .247, but the problem runs much deeper than that. He's striking out nearly a quarter of the time, which doesn't bold well for him considering he hits grounders 63% of the time. Grounders often turn into outs and strikeouts almost always are. Again, we can talk about the bad luck factor with a 10% line-drive rate, but what really surprises me is how often he's pulling the ball. In 2015, Peterson sprayed the ball around and wasn't an extreme groundball guy. This season, he's the opposite. A number of things can explain this - difficult to hit your way out of a slump without consistent at-bats, transitioning away from a nearly everyday starter, bad luck (think I mentioned that), and so on. However, in a results-driven business, nobody cares about these excuses. Peterson is simply waiting for the next player to be activated before likely returning to the minors.

Promoted and Optioned: Matt Wisler...It was the fourth time Wisler has been promoted this season and the second consecutive time he spent just a day in the majors. The results just aren't there for Wisler. He continues to show a superb ability to throw strikes but lacks the stuff to get batters out when he absolutely has to. With his recent placement on prospect lists before 2015 and experience, Wisler might make for a decent throw-in should the Braves entertain trade offers for him. Short of that, a switch to the bullpen might be advisable.

Signed to a minor league contract & assigned to Florida: Junior Rincon...Coming off the best season of his career, Rincon was released at some point by the Brewers. A righty who has had control problems in the past, Rincon originally debuted in the Marlins organization back in 2011. He was awful there and would miss the next season with an injury. He returned but didn't impress enough in 2013 before getting his walking papers. He spent the next two seasons in The Pioneer League for the Brewers. It wasn't until last year that he got out of rookie ball for good and split the season between the Florida State League and Southern League. He gets good K numbers, but the walks are hard to deal with - especially since when batters put the ball in play, they too often reach base.

DL: Danny Santana (bacterial infection in his leg)...Santana seems to get his hits in bunches and then disappear for a few weeks. Overall, he's hitting .230/.287/.402 since his trade from the Twins - marks that, while bad, are an improvement over his time in Minnesota to begin the year. Hopefully, the infection is dealt with soon.

DL: Arodys Vizcaino (right index finger strain)...Vizcaino has not thrown over 50 innings in any season since 2011 but was on his way with 34 already tossed this season before his DL trip. I've been a little surprised by his results this season. He's been inducing fewer ground balls and subsequently being hit harder. Only 30% of the balls put in play last year resulted in a fly ball. This year, it's 43%. The biggest reason is a 20% decrease in groundballs coming from his curveball. This might be due to a lower release point, something that started last year and continues this season. In that regard, he's lost nearly 0.7 inches in vertical movement and a little horizontal movement. All that means is his curveball is just not moving as much. None of that is a result of a finger and Vizcaino's FIP, which is 1.50 runs higher than it was in 2015, could be due to an unusual amount of home runs surrendered. Either way, I really want to see him get the ball down more and find some more movement on his curve. Maybe some mechanical adjustments over the break will help.

Gwinnett
Promoted from Mississippi: A.J. Minter (#19)...Over a dozen games spent at four different levels, Minter has allowed two runs (included the first homer of his career), walked four, and struck out 16 over 12 innings. He has yet to appear in back-to-back games which might be the only hurdle standing in his way from a promotion to the major leagues.

Activated and Optioned: Micah Johnson...Johnson was off to a 5-for-14 start with five steals while playing five games combined with the GCL and Rome squads. He played only in the outfield during his rehab assignment and now will continue with Gwinnett. A bit of a confusing move in that the Braves optioned him well before they needed to and had to put him on the 40-man roster to do so. If he plays 20 days in the minors, he'll exhaust his last option.

Mississippi

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Rehab: Sean Rodriguez...Rodriguez's rehab had already taken him to Gwinnett, but with the team headed into the All-Star Break, S-Rod went to Mississippi to continue his rehab. He hasn't shown much with the bat just yet during six games (2-for-18, 3 walks, a K) while playing second base and shortstop. That might influence the Braves to keep him on a rehab assignment after the All-Star Break concludes, but a couple of good games will likely get Rodriguez activated and promoted to the majors.

Promoted from GCL and DL'd: Guillermo Zuniga...Credit to the Outfield Fly Rule guys for some info related to Zuniga here. Zuniga was part of the monster international class last July and an intriguing one at that. Nevertheless, his placement with the Mississippi Braves after just 13.1 innings in rookie ball - including three innings this year - was met with some confusion. The OFR guys, specifically Chris Jervis, got to the bottom of it. The Mississippi Braves roster had room for Zuniga to go to the DL. Double-A rosters have two more total roster spots than rookie league rosters do. Both have a 25-man roster, but the Mississippi roster includes room for 12 extra players while the GCL roster only has room for ten. The more you know.

Activated: Joey Meneses...After missing two weeks, Meneses returned for the July 4th game in Mobile. The 2017 Southern League All-Star can be a solid hitter at the plate but typically needs prolonged stays at a level to show much offense. That's going to limit him moving forward. In addition, while he does have pop, it's not going to be enough to keep him in the mix as a potential first baseman in reserve should the big league club need him. Still, he helps his minor league teams win and isn't blocking anyone.

DL: Omar Obregon...Recently promoted from Florida, where he was repeating a level, Obregon had a hot stick to begin his Double-A run before hitting the DL. In eight games, he hit .320/.393/.400. A middle infielder out of Nicaragua, Obregon has - at times - flashed a decent hit tool from both sides of the plate. He has no power, though.

DL: Joseph Odom...Four games. That's all Odom got after returning off the DL, which had sidelined him all season. He looked good with a three-hit game shortly before hitting the DL and will hopefully not be out of action as long this time as he was to open the season.

Demoted from Gwinnett: Stephen Gaylor...A non-drafted free agent back in 2014, Gaylor wasn't embarrassing himself in Gwinnett, but the Braves needed his spot and demoted him to make room for Johnson. It came a month after his promotion to Gwinnett. Gaylor can lead off in a pinch, but is more properly utilized as a fourth outfielder who does a lot of the little things, including steal a few bags, for the team.

Demoted from Gwinnett: Emerson Landoni...My Name is Landoni and I just play when asked. Guys like Landoni typically land coaching or other jobs with the organization once they decide to give up on the dream. He's been with the Braves since 2012 and he keeps returning to the organization every time he comes up for free agency. His demotion to Mississippi makes it five consecutive seasons he's played for the Braves' Southern League squad. He won't ever hit for much, but when you need a fill-in player, he'll do it. When you need him to magically appear on the DL because of roster constraints, he'll do that, too.

Florida
DL: Drew Harrington...Am I the only one who has to constantly erase "Joey" and type "Drew?" Probably. Picked with the 80th overall selection last June, Harrington has had an uneven season with Florida after skipping Rome. The control is there and he doesn't give up homers, but he also doesn't miss too many bats in the process. A lefty who was dominant with Louisville in 2016, Harrington is one of the high floor guys with a limited ceiling who the Braves are trying to turn into a major league caliber pitcher. He'll take his lumps, but still could be a bottom-of-the-rotation guy or a decent swingman if he reaches what potential he does have.

Rome
Some rehab stints were continued with Rome for Johnson and Rodriguez, but neither player is still with the team now.

Danville
Assigned: Bruce Zimmerman...Atlanta's fifth-round pick, Zimmerman played for both Towson and Mount Olive College. He displayed tremendous control and struck out a lot of batters last season (albeit against a weaker slate than the CAA-affiliated Towson would have faced). Another lefty - the Braves drafted about six thousand of them in June - Zimmerman started a pair of games for the D-Braves last week and struck out six in three innings. He also allowed a run.

GCL
Assigned: Tanner Allison...A 19th round pick out of Western Michigan, Allison signed a few weeks ago. Assigned on the fourth, he's yet to appear for the GCL squad. The lefty was a Third-Team All-American this year while spending less time on the mound than he did his first two years on campus. Despite the .356/.432/.576 split in the MAC as the Broncos star outfielder, the Braves like him better as a pitcher. His numbers...were miserable as a pitcher, though he did strikeout a lot of batters. Trouble is he walked one more batter than he K'd during his career.

Demoted from Danville: Jose Bermudez...He spent just over a week in Danville and never got into a game. A switch-hitting outfielder who the Braves signed all the way back in July of 2015, Bermudez was listed as a pitcher in a recent transaction, but that might have been MILB.com confusing him with a player in the Twins' organization with the same name. Since his return to the GCL, he's appeared twice - both in the outfield. Darn it. That was an interesting move in last week's update.

DSL
Assigned: Eudi Asencio...Okay, there were a lot of moves with the Dominican Summer League squad last week and pretty much all of them are associated with the July 2nd signings. While the Braves were limited in terms of how large of a bonus they could throw out, they weren't limited in the number of players they could acquire. This seems like a lot of players to immediately get into action - and it is. Most J2 guys spend a year training and scrimmaging with the Braves rather than immediately get an assignment with the DSL squad, but Atlanta and their development team are aggressive and felt many of these players needed to get an immediate look. If I find much information related to these guys, I'll mention it. There isn't much, though. In regards to Asencio, he's a Dominican 18-year-old righthander who might have some room to grow into his 6'3" frame. He tossed two scoreless innings in his professional debut while hitting a batter, walking a batter, striking out a batter, and also allowing a hit.

Assigned: Kimberling Encarnacion...A 17-year-old catcher out of the Dominican, Encarnacion will battle Wiston Cerrato and Enmanuel Guitian for playing time behind the plate.

Assigned: Edwin Jimenez...The Braves must like this lefty. Just 16 (he turns 17 in eleven days), Jimenez was quickly assigned to the DSL roster and threw a perfect inning over the weekend with a strikeout. He's 6'1" and 170 pounds out of the Dominican.

Assigned: Eric Jimenez...Undersized, but already 20 years old, the Braves need to see what they have in Jimenez while they can. In his first two games, Jimenez has three hits, a walk, and two steals in 8 PA.

Assigned: Oscar Nunez...One of the few guys whose bonus we do know, Nunez got a $185K sum to join the Braves. I pulled a picture of what he may look like. Of all of the players the Braves signed this July, Nunez is the guy I want badly to succeed. First, Ryan Howard and now the guy who played Oscar on The Office? Un-be-lievable.

Assigned: Henry Quintero...A Cuban-born outfielder, Quintero needs to progress quickly because he's very old for the DSL at 23. He's off to a 4-for-8 start with three doubles and a triple. If there are no VISA problems, Quintero could be a guy we see in the GCL before the end of the season just to get him moving. He played briefly in the Cuban National Series in the '13-'14 and '14-'15 seasons, hitting .223/.274/.325 over 181 PA.

Assigned: Joel Reyes...An outfielder out of the DR, Reyes has good measurements at 6'0" and 200 pounds at the age of 17.

Assigned: Estarlin Rodriguez...A Dominican right-hander, Rodriguez is another Age-17 guy who has already played for DSL since signing. In his first outing, he gave up an unearned run with a walk and strikeout over one frame.

Assigned: Gerardo Santana...17 years old and an outfielder, Santana has a big frame and could potentially flash some power.

Released: Andres Adrianza...All of these new additions to the DSL roster required a number of cuts. Adrianza was one of two players who signed as part of last year's J2 class. The first baseman/sometimes catcher was quickly assigned to the DSL roster last year and hit .219/.300/.271 as a 17-year-old. He remained a regular player in the lineup this year but looked a bit worse than he did in 2016 and will be moving on.

Released: Carlos Centeno...A defense-first catcher, Centeno was a regular fixture in the lineup last season for the DSL squad after playing in 14 games with them in 2015. He only hit .225 with 6 extra-base knocks, though. He was off to a .152 start this season with a higher OBP than SLG. That's pretty impressive (?) considering his OBP was a miserable .200. As he was part of the three-men platoon behind the plate, his release could help Encarnacion get into the lineup.

Released: Franger Carrillo...He got nearly a year in the system before getting kicked to the curb. The Venezuelan hit .178 over 45 professional at-bats - most of which came this year. He was hitting notably better this year, but that's easy to do when you go 0-for-14 in your first taste of organized ball.

Released: Emmanuel Isea...Signed at the tail end of the 2015-16 signing period, Isea hit just .205/.271/.244 over 24 games nearly split between this year and last. The outfielder didn't flash much speed either.

Released: Danyer Salazar...Salazar's fate was likely sealed when he didn't come state-side for the 2017 GCL season. Last year, his second season in the DSL, he improved his OPS by about 120 points to .731, but that wasn't enough for a corner infielder who turned 19 back in February. He was off to a 3-for-21 start before being cut.

First Half Timeline for the Braves

By EricEnfermero [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The Braves enter the All-Star Break at 42-45, 9.5 games out of the Eastern Division and nine games behind the Rockies for the second Wild Card spot. Two other teams, the Cardinals and Cubs, are a half-game in front of them. Their expected win-loss record is actually worse at 39-48, a product of a bad pitching staff.

How did we get here? Here's a timeline of the first half of the season.

April 3: Opening day and the Braves fall 6-0 to the Mets. Their opening day roster included Emilio Bonifacio and Eric O'Flaherty, two guys the Braves brought back after they both struggled in 2016 for Atlanta. Not on the roster is Sean Rodriguez, who some believe will miss the season after he was involved in a car accident with a drunk driver.

April 17: After losing six of their first seven ballgames, the Braves won five consecutive games to pull to .500. This streak was capped off by a four-game sweep to open SunTrust Park, including a walk-off 5-4 win against the Padres after Dansby Swanson singled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to finish the series. The Braves were 6-6 on the year. They would lose their next six straight and have yet to get back to .500.

April 19: In a sign of things to come, Julio Teheran is hammered for seven runs over four innings against the Nationals in his second start at SunTrust. In nine home starts during the first half of the season, Teheran allowed four or more runs six times. He only allowed that many runs in nine road starts once. The Braves have won only two of Teheran's home starts and have lost just two of his road starts.

April 29: The Braves score double digit runs in back-to-back games for the only time this season as they beat the Brewers 10-8 and 11-3. The first victory came after Bartolo Colon and Jason Motte combined to put the Braves in an 8-4 hole entering the seventh. Freddie Freeman finished the comeback with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.

May 10: Atlanta concludes a low point in the season as they follow up the two wins against the Brewers mentioned above by losing eight-of-nine games to drop to a season-worst nine games under .500. This included a 16-5 bloodbath at the hands of the Mets on May 3 in which Colon gave up five runs in four innings. Of his 13 starts with the Braves, Colon surrendered five or more runs eight times - including his final four starts.

May 17: The Braves have righted the ship, winning five-of-six, but the fifth win was a costly one as Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Loup nails Freddie Freeman on the wrist during his fifth-inning at-bat. Freeman is immediately removed and further tests reveal a fracture. He's originally expected to miss at least two months.

May 20: John Coppolella decisively acts to fill the hole created by Freeman's injury as he acquires Matt Adams from the Cardinals. Adams, who had lost essentially all of his playing time after the Cardinals moved Matt Carpenter to first, makes an immediate impact with the Braves. In his second game, he blasts a two-run homer in a 5-2 win over the Pirates. The next night, after Jim Johnson blows a save, Adams finishes a two-run rally with an RBI walk-off single. He had also homered in the game.

June 7: Three days after scoring 13 runs, the Braves set a season-high with 14 runsagainst the Phillies. Nick Markakis picks up five RBI with three doubles while Matt Adams and Dansby Swanson each homer. Mike Foltynewicz throws seven shutout frames - though the Braves offense didn't need such excellent pitching.

June 10: Atlanta plays their only double-header of the first half and drops both games to the Mets. They scored just two runs and waste Sean Newcomb's debut. The lefty was masterful over 6.1 innings. Only an error, charged to Newcomb, led to a run. He walked two and struck out seven, but takes the loss. With a Game Score of 68, it is tied for the eighth-best major league debut in Braves history.

June 12: The Braves make Kyle Wright the fifth overall draft choice of the 2017 Draft. Wright, the ace of the Vanderbilt staff, was lauded for his pitchability, stuff, and potential for a quartet of plus pitches. They would later add Drew Waters, a player with potential five-tool skills. The Braves showed with this draft that they were willing to play the hand that was dealt to them. A year after championing the quantity of prospects from a deep draft, they aimed at hitting on a few quality picks in this year's shallow draft.

June 17: Jaime Garcia gives up six runs, but the Braves win 8-7. It was the beginning of a bad streak of games for Garcia to finish the half. Including this game against the Marlins, Garcia surrendered five or more runs in four consecutive starts with an ERA of 9.41 during those starts. The Braves offense bails him out enough to win two of those games, though. Before the streak, Garcia looked like this year's Shelby Miller with a record of 2-5 and an ERA of 3.16.

June 21: Braves walk-off for the third time in six days and for the sixth time during the first half. After Arodys Vizcaino and Jim Johnson blow a two-run lead - again robbing Newcomb of a win - Matt Kemp hits the third homerun of the game for the Braves, a two-run bomb to lead to a 5-3 win. The previous weekend, Brandon Phillips had smoked hits through the Marlins infield to win in walk-off fashion in consecutive days. The Braves would follow up the Giants walk-off win by winning their next three to get to 36-38.

June 30: Mike Foltynewicz comes oh, so close to history. He tosses eight no-hit innings before a homerun to open the ninth breaks the hearts of many Braves fans who had stayed up late to watch and listen to the game in Oakland. What made the result even worse was that it looked like Foltynewicz had gotten a strikeout earlier in the at-bat, but the umpire disagreed. Foltynewicz throws 119 pitches during the game and in addition to the one hit allowed, he walked four and struck out eight.

July 4: Originally expected to miss at least two months, Freddie Freeman returns after just 44 games  to face the Astros on Independence Day. To help the team, Freeman volunteers to move to third base to keep Matt Adams in the lineup. Atlanta goes 24-20 without their best player. Unfortunately, the Braves will get demolished 16-4. The next night is nearly just as demoralizing as the Braves get beat by possibly the best team in baseball, 10-4. Also on the fourth, the Braves officially released Bartolo Colon. He lasted 13 games with the team.

July 7: With Braves fans excited about their team's prospects for hunting down the Nationals, Jim Johnson falls apart in a 5-4 walkoff loss to the NL East leaders. Atlanta had a chance to once again get to one-game under .500, but Johnson, who has struggled this year when used on back-to-back days, blows a three run lead. Ian Krol finishes the sad effort by giving up a walk-off hit in the tenth.

July 9: A day after smashing the Nationals 13-0, the Braves finish with a disappointing split of their final series against of the first half after losing 10-5.

Atlanta will be back in action on Friday as they welcome the Diamondbacks to Atlanta for the beginning of a six-game homestand that will also include the Cubs.

Transaction Tuesday: S-Rod, Minter, Winkler, Freeman

Not a huge week in quantity of transactions this week, but plenty of interesting ones as three players begin rehab assignments and three others continue theirs. In addition, a draft pick from 2016 gets released while a former football player decides baseball is tough.

Prospect Rankings reflect the preseason WOW list.

Atlanta
This does not include the July 2nd international class. I hope to do some legwork on that class in the following days. In addition, I already went over the Bartolo Colon/Rex Brothers transaction.

Signed: Andrew Daniel...An 11th rounder in 2014, Daniel opened some eyes in the Pioneer League (Rookie) shortly after being drafted with a .340/.408/.510 run with six homers and 13 steals. The seasons that have followed have not been nearly as noteworthy. In his second season at Double-A, he was hitting .225 with a .659 OPS before being released by the Angels. Being that he was in the Southern League, the Braves saw plenty of him and less than two weeks later, inked Daniel to a deal. He plays second and third base and seems like a decent enough defender with good athleticism, but he's more of a guy at this point than someone to keep a watchful eye on with Mississippi.

Signed: Kevin Matthews...This one is a bit more interesting. Selected with the 33rd pick of the 2011 draft, Matthews went to the Rangers' organization. A bit undersized at 5'11," Matthews never shined with Texas. He often posted decent strikeout numbers with little-to-no control. Shoulder injuries also led to a lost 2013 season. In 2015, the Rangers switched Matthews to the bullpen hoping to jumpstart his career in the South Atlantic League, but he continued to struggle to find the strikezone. A DUI in early May convinced the Rangers to give up on him. He kept the baseball dream alive this season in the United Shore Professional Baseball League with the Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers. In five starts (25 ING), Matthews cruised through this opponents while striking out 43. Matthews, who calls Richmond Hill, GA home, heads to Rome to begin his Braves' career and already logged a two-inning, two-K scoreless outing with no walks.

Gwinnett
Optioned from Atlanta: Jason Hursh...The 2013 first-rounder has been up with the team three times and I'm becoming more-and-more convinced that he's worth a longer look. He's throwing harder out of the bullpen than ever and getting improved movement on his slider. We know that he has pretty good control and the ability to induce a lot of weak contact that his infielders gobble up. But he's been flashing some better swing-and-miss skills of late and that is what I'm getting excited about. He may never be a high-leverage reliever, but could he fill Cristhian Martinez's old role with the team? Quite possibly.

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Rehab: Freddie Freeman...I write these things to cover the week that was in Braves' transactions, but this rehab assignment is already finished by the time you read this as the Braves announced Freeman's return to the majors for their game on July 4th. He logged one attempt at third base during the rehab assignment.

Rehab: Dan Winkler...After an appearance in Rome and three with Florida, Winkler landed in Gwinnett to begin the week. His first three outings there have been steadily worse. He worked around a pair of hits against Toledo before Charlotte roughed him up for six runs over two outings. The good news is that those two outings came in back-to-back appearances, a hurdle the Braves would like to see Winkler cross before considering him for a promotion back to the majors where he still needs to finish off his Rule 5 requirements. The former University of Central Florida standout still has about a week-and-a-half remaining that the Braves can use during this rehab assignment to evaluate him.

Mississippi
Promoted from Florida: A.J. Minter (#19)...It's been a frustrating run for Minter, who looked, with a strong spring, like he might jump from Mississippi to the majors less than two years after being drafted in the '15 draft. Injuries - that's plural - have limited him along the way. He's finally amping up for a possible promotion to the majors and it included a return to Mississippi last week. He pitched three times and allowed a hit, two walks, and K'd three. There are reports he's headed up to Gwinnett, though they are unconfirmed for now. He's yet to pitch in back-to-back games, but his last three appearances came over a six-day period.

Florida
Rehab: Chaz Roe...Sidelined with a right lat strain, which has already stopped one rehab stint in its tracks, Roe is back in action for Florida. Quietly a solid arm over the last two seasons (25% K-rate, 3.52 FIP, 3.67 xFIP), Roe hit the DL very early on for the Braves, but there is no promise that this rehab stint will end with a return to the majors. With Winkler and Minter also moving up the ladder, Roe might have a tough time getting back on the roster even if some trades open up things. That said, he's better than many people think and the Braves might not be anxious to lose him.

Promoted from Rome: Joe Rogers...Somebody must like Rogers. After flaming out of the Tigers' system and getting cut late in camp, the Braves pounced and Rogers has logged a total of 14 games between Rome, Florida, and Mississippi. The results are abysmal, but the 26 year-old keeps getting assignments. In his defense, he's riding the best K/9 of his career at 11.3, but his walks are also a career-high. Like I said, somebody must like him. He's probably going to have to get going, though.

Rome
Promoted from Danville: Alan Crowley...The release of one 2016 draftee opens up a spot for Crowley, who was 0-for-7 with Danville prior to the promotion. A catcher from Reedley College (California, obviously), Crowley did have a hot stick in the GCL last year (.327/.375/.385). Most catchers drafted that late in the draft are projects - catchers with a good glove, but no bat or vice versa. With two of their most-used catchers now in Florida (Brett Cumberland and Tanner Murphy), Rome needs someone to pair with Lucas Herbert and why not Crowley?

Released: Ramon Osuna...A 14th rounder out of Walters State Community College last year, Osuna had some nice numbers with Danville (.276/.342/.423, 16 EBH in 184 PA), but struggled greatly after his late May placement in Rome. With no room down in Danville and Osuna limited to first base, the Braves moved on from their recent draftee. He hit just .164 over 72 PA with three doubles and 35 K's before being cut.

Danville
Promoted from GCL: Jose Bermudez...This is interesting. The last we saw of Bermudez, he was playing outfield in the Dominican Republic. He hit .258 with eleven steals. However, the switch-hitting soon-to-be 20 year old is listed as a pitcher now.

Promoted from GCL: Shaen Michel...With a full name like Raysheandall Juliandru Vernon Michel, it's nice of him to shorten it to Shaen. The outfield from Curacao has some good speed and a little bit of pop in his bat, but the results are fairly meh to this point. He spent 2015 in the Dominican started there again in 2016 before a midseason promotion to the GCL to finish the year, where he struggled badly. A little surprised to see him promoted to Danville, but the problem with having so many good players is that it can be tough to find time for the guys who aren't highly-rated prospects.

Released: Sanders Commings...Well, that didn't last long. The former Kansas City Chief and Georgia Bulldog gridiron standout had a much quieter switch to baseball than Tim Tebow, but it was a little surprising to see him give up on the dream so quickly. Commings appeared in just six games with the D-Braves and K'd in 9-of-15 PA. When I saw him last week, his swing did look wonky, but the Braves seemed content to give him time in the D-Braves outfield with Isranel Wilson, Bradley Keller, Justin Smith, and company.

GCL
Promoted from DSL: Juan Contreras...One of their top pitching targets last July, Contreras is one of many of that J2 class to skip an assignment in the Dominican and jump to GCL instead. Signed for $1.2M and ranked #41 in Baseball America's Top 50 international prospects, Contreras has a mid-90's fastball and a really nasty slider. He might end up as a reliever if he can't develop something offspeed, but that's what the Braves' development team is for. He doesn't turn 18 until September, by the way. In his first professional start, he set down all three batters he faced and struck out one.

Rehab: Micah Johnson...Part of the reason Emilio Bonifacio was on the roster when the season opened was an injury Johnson suffered on a defensive play near the end of spring training. He fractured his left wrist on the play and finally got back into action over the weekend with some time in CF. I've written about Johnson before and like his swing when he's not so focused on slapping the ball. Things have changed in Atlanta since the release of Bonifacio and with the guy below Johnson also ramping up to return, it could be tough for Johnson to find a place in the majors, but a big rehab run could help.

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Rehab: Sean Rodriguez...The initial fear after Rodriguez underwent shoulder surgery following his scary car accident before spring training was that he would miss the entire season. However, as the calendar switched to July, there he was getting some time with the GCL club. Rodriguez was coming off a career-year in 2016 with 18 homers and a .859 OPS. He's best used in platoon situations where he can bash left-hand pitching, but his other value - especially in the NL - is that of a super utility player who played all but catcher and pitcher last season. So far, he's already played both 2B and SS during his rehab.

Released: Bredio Vega...Vega had not impressed many people after two years of rookie ball coming out of Panama. Last year, his only year stateside, Vega had a 6.35 ERA over 22.2 innings with the GCL club - an improvement of 0.35 from his 2015 ERA in the Dominican. He was a project pitcher who was a bit too old at 21 to be taking time from other project pitchers who can't legally drink yet.

DSL
Demoted from GCL: Luidemid Rojas...A day after being assigned to the GCL roster in last week's update, Rojas was demoted back to the DSL roster and that's where he'll begin his career. This is either a mistake or the Braves found themselves pushed to the roster limit in the DSL and needing to make a move. Rojas was signed in last year's J2 class our of Venezuela. Another switch-hitting infielder (the Braves have scores of them), Rojas was a depth guy coming out of that group.

Comparing 2017 to 1991? Pump the Breaks

Julio Teheran | Jeff Morris (Follow on Twitter)

During yesterday's broadcast, Braves "analyst" and resident curmudgeon Joe Simpson took time from telling everyone what music was appropriate to play during a loss to compare-and-contrast the 2017 Braves with the 1991 Braves. That team, after 80 games, was 40-40 and in third place in the NL West, 8.5 games back. The current squad, who would win their 81st game later that day, was 39-41 with a hold on second place in the NL East this season. They trail the Nats by 7.5 games, who also won Sunday.

The comparison is a best-case scenario. The 1991 team would win 54 of their remaining 82 games that season with a young club aided by some smart veteran pickups like Sid Bream and Terry Pendleton. The 2017 team also made some veteran pickups before the year to help lead the squad to higher ground. Why couldn't the same thing happen? Could the 2017 Braves follow in the 1991 team's footsteps?

But this comparison is lacking. What Simpson did not mention is that the 1991 team had a run differential of +28 in the first 80 games. They would improve that over the second half to +77, but the '91 Braves squad was already a pretty decent team after 80 games regardless of what their record said. After 80 games, they were simply elite in large part because their rotation was both great and gave Bobby Cox a lot of innings.

To be fair, there is something in this comparison that could prove quite interesting. 1991 was a year of mediocrity for the National League. Only five teams finished over .500 and of those five, only three reached the 85-win plateau. This year's NL has just six teams at .500 or better with the Cubs winning yesterday to rejoin the club. That could aid the Braves moving forward except for the fact that their schedule includes many of the league's best teams moving forward. They deal with the Nats ten more times, the Dodgers and Cubs seven more times, and Arizona and Colorado six more times each. Also included are two games with the Astros and three each with St. Louis, Texas, and Seattle - clubs that are, like the Braves, teetering around .500. Of their remaining 81 games, nearly half come against current playoff contenders.

But ultimately, at the end of the day, if we circle back to run differential, that may be why this comparison has its biggest problems. The Braves have a run differential of -36. Even with their winningest month of the season so far in June (16-12), they managed a +4 run differential. The Braves in 1991 had pitching. While the 2017 club is improving in this regard, they still are miles behind the '91 squad.

A better comparison might be the 2014 Braves. After 80 games, they were four games over .500 but had a negative run differential of -5. They would go 37-45 down the stretch, costing Frank Wren his job.

Or perhaps the best comparison is the 2007 Atlanta Braves. After 80 games, they were 42-38 and just four games back in the NL East. They had a run differential of +2. But they, like this version of the Braves, had a big problem. Despite a solid offense pumping out 4.5 runs per game after at the 80-game mark, their pitching staff was giving out nearly as many. That didn't change for the rest of the year and despite one of the league's best offenses in the second half with the addition of Mark Teixeira, the Braves finished in third place in the NL East. They wouldn't have made the NL Wild Card Game had their been one, finishing five games behind the second Wild Card spot.

Optimism never killed anyone. I do understand that and don't really take joy in being a "wet blanket." If you want to believe the '91 worst-to-first can happen again in '17, there is enough reason to hope. Regardless if you believe if my point is worth making, we can all agree that this current squad is a hell of a lot more fun to watch than the ones we've seen the last few years. Yet, it's difficult for me to see a comparison between this one and the 1991 NL Champs. Now, the 2007 roster...that seems like a quite appropriate comparison - even down to the superstar first baseman coming to the team in July. Fortunately, the Braves won't give up a treasure chest of prospects to get Freddie Freeman like they did with Teixeira.

But that '07 roster was burned by the same things hurting this team - a bad rotation and an iffy bullpen. You can't outslug everyone, after all. But if the Braves can get more of this weekend's pitching (albeit, it came against maybe the worst offense in baseball), maybe the 1991 comparison will become more and more valid moving forward.

How are the guys the Braves got rid of are doing?

Since the end of the 2016 season, the Braves have finalized nine trades while losing a few players via waivers. With roughly half of the season already finished, I wanted to look back at the players the team gave up and how they are doing in their new surroundings. Do the Braves miss them or do they miss the Braves more?

November 2, 2016
Ryan Weber selected by the Seattle Mariners off waivers.

-Before the 2016 World Series ended later that night, the Braves lost a right-hander who had made 21 appearances and seven starts with them over the previous two seasons. Weber was always a non-prospect - a guy with AAAA stuff and more guts than talent. He opened this year with 31.2 dominant frames in Triple-A for Tacoma before earning a callup. He was doing alright (3 H, 1 ER) through 3.2 innings, but left the game with a biceps injury. Actually, to be more specific, a "stretch of the musculocutaneous nerve." That sounds painful. He's been sidelined for a month-and-a-half and I have yet to see word on a return.

A. Jackson | Jeff Morris - Follow on Twitter

November 28, 2016
Traded Max Povse and Robert Whalen to the Seattle Mariners. Received a player to be named later and Alex Jackson (minors). The Seattle Mariners sent Tyler Pike (minors) (December 9, 2016) to the Atlanta Braves to complete the trade.

-The Mariners are a common theme in this little update. Povse returned to Double-A to begin this season after eleven solid starts in the Southern League. He was less impressive in the Texas League, though, and his walks were "sky-high" relative to his usual pinpoint location. After 39 innings (he missed nearly a month on the DL), Povse was brought to the majors two weeks ago. His first outing out of the pen was horrid, but he threw two scoreless innings his last time out against the Angels. Meanwhile, Whalen, who made five starts with the big league club last year, has been a bag of awful this season. In 48.1 innings in the hard-hitting PCL, he has a 6.33 ERA. In five of his nine starts, he's given up at least four earned runs. Mixed in there are two spot appearances in the majors, including a start. He was dinged up for five runs in a late May loss to the Red Sox and went two scoreless innings in mid-June out of the pen against the Rangers. He's back in Triple-A and will look to end a streak of five consecutive starts with allowing at least one homerun the next time out.

December 1, 2016
Traded Luke Dykstra (minors), Chris Ellis (minors) and John Gant to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received Jaime Garcia.

-Some bemoaned the loss of Dykstra despite the fact that Dykstra found a way to hit over .300 last year in more than 340 PA with a sub-.700 OPS and less than ten steals. I mention all of that because since 1901, only five people were able to do that in the majors and the last time it happened was 1943 with Doc Cramer. This season, Dykstra has been terrible for Palm Beach in the Florida State League, playing against many of his former teammates on the Fire Frogs. Ellis, who spent only one year in the organization after coming over with Sean Newcomb in the Andrelton Simmons trade, has been woeful as well while splitting time between Memphis and Springfield. His ERA is only under 7.00 because his work at Springfield is less-awful. John Gant opened the year on the DL and has only made eight appearances on the year. In seven starts in Memphis, he's been pretty decent. Not great, but compared to the other guys the Cardinals got for Garcia, Gant's been amazing. He's also appeared once out of the bullpen for the Cardinals. he gave up two solo homers in 3.1 ING.

December 8, 2016
Traded Brady Feigl (minors) and Tyrell Jenkins to the Texas Rangers. Received Luke Jackson.

-A Spring Training arm that nearly made the team in 2015 before needing Tommy John surgery, Feigl made six appearances last year in the rookie leagues as part of his rehab. This season, he has pitched 22 times - mostly in the Carolina League - with mixed success. The strikeout numbers are solid and the control is magnificent, but when he's not missing bats, players are finding holes. He's also been miserable once promoted to Frisco to begin June. Jenkins didn't last long in the Rangers' system. A few weeks later, they lost him on waivers to the Reds and he spent about as much time in their system before the Padres got him off waivers. One of last year's fan favorites has been just bad with El Paso in the PCL. He gave up 14 homers last year between Triple-A and the majors. He's surrendered 16 already this year in just as many starts. His strikeout-to-walk rate is nearly 1.

January 11, 2017
Traded Shae Simmons and Mallex Smith to the Seattle Mariners. Received Thomas Burrows (minors) and Luiz Gohara (minors).

-Losing Simmons made me sad as I had been a quick fan of his in 2014. He made it back to the majors for seven games last year and was a potential x-factor for this year's bullpen before the trade. However, the prospect of acquiring Gohara was too great. Unfortunately, Simmons has been DL'd the whole season with a right flexor strain. The last I heard, he was throwing again, but has yet to start a rehab assignment and likely won't be in the mix until late July at the earliest. Smith spent a few hours in the Mariners' system before being packaged in a deal for Tampa's Drew Smyly. He's spent much of the year in the minors or on the DL, but when he's been in the majors, Smith has been pretty successful. With Kevin Kiermaier out for much of the foreseeable future, center field belongs to Smith, who's OBP is roughly 70 points higher than it was last year with the Braves. His stolen base percentage continues to need work (9-of-13), but he's been a nice fit in Tampa and one of the few ex-Braves on this list to look better than he did with the Braves.

January 13, 2017
Traded player to be named or cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Micah Johnson.

-The real winner of this deal was the Braves' fans who now know who Johnson is and follow him on Twitter.

January 26, 2017
Tuffy Gosewisch selected by the Seattle Mariners off waivers.

-Jesus, the Mariners love ex-Braves - even those that never suit up for Atlanta. Earlier in the offseason, Gosewisch had been picked up off waivers from the D'Backs to compete with Anthony Recker. That didn't happen as the Braves signed Kurt Suzuki and DFA'd Gosewisch. He's been around his career norms in 41 games in Triple-A for the Mariners. He also spent a few weeks in the majors where he went just 2-for-28 with 14 K's. Ouchie.

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February 12, 2017
Traded Carlos Portuondo (minors) and Andrew McKirahan to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Brandon Phillips.

-Not included here was the $13M the Reds sent to pay for Phillips contract, leaving the Braves on the hook for just a million bucks. McKirahan was a former Rule 5 pick who spent too much of his rookie season on the inactive list after being suspended for PED. He then spent 2016 on the mend after a second Tommy John surgery. He has yet to pitch this season and has spent some of his time on Twitter railing against vaccines. As for Portuondo, a Cuban-born right-hander, he pitched once and was released. Man, the Reds really wanted to get rid of Brandon Phillips.

March 6, 2017
Christian Walker selected by the Cincinnati Reds off waivers.

-The Braves were the second-of-four teams to get a look at Walker this spring. He started with the Orioles, the team that drafted him and originally promoted him to the majors in both 2014 and 2015. In late February, the Braves claimed him only to lose him two weeks later to the Reds. In late March, he was again on the move - this time to the Diamondbacks. He's bashed the PCL since with a slugging percentage well over .550. He's played mostly first, though he made a cameo at third and also logged a bit of time in left field. Because of how bad the Braves' bench has been - especially early - this one kind of hurts.

April 24, 2017
Traded David Hernandez to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Received player to be named or cash.

-You don't want to read about this. David Hernandez has been excellent for the Angels. Absolutely filthy. He's picked up over a K an inning, walked nearly nobody, and his FIP is absurdly in the 1.50-range. He's not this good, but he's definitely pitching like he is and the Braves are wondering why they just didn't bring him to the majors after all.

April 27, 2017
Chase d'Arnaud selected by the Boston Red Sox off waivers.

-There were people who were upset about this. I like to call these people the ones who are easily convinced by a month of success. D'Arnaud looked good briefly last year, but ended with a .245/.317/.335 split. His biggest value came from being able to play multiple positions and swipe a few bases. The Braves already had Emilio Bonifacio for that! (Too soon?) Cutting d'Arnaud, in late April, the utility player landed in Boston. After a month in their organization, he was waived and went to the Padres. He's been straight up awful with the bat and has played a little too often at shortstop, but when you're the Padres and you have Erick Aybar, that's to be expected.

May 8, 2017
Traded Kevin Chapman and cash to the Minnesota Twins. Received Danny Santana.

-Santana has had a few hits here-and-there but he's basically been the same guy who disappointed with the Twins last year. Meanwhile, Chapman, who the Braves added on waivers near the end of spring training, spent about a month in the Twins' organization for their International League club in Rochester. He gave up seven earned runs in 11.1 ING, which was actually an improvement over his time with Gwinnett. He was released a little more than a month after the trade.

May 20, 2017
Purchased Enrique Burgos from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Traded Juan Yepez (minors) to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received Matt Adams and cash.

-Burgos has been lights-out with Gwinnett and Adams hasn't been so bad either, but this article is about the players who the Braves gave up. Yepez hit .275/.309/.387 with a homer over 36 games with Rome before the trade. He left the SALLY League and landed in the Midwest League with Peoria. The two leagues are nearly identical in offensive production and while Dozer Park is a bit more homer-friendly than State Mutual Stadium, it's not exactly a big homerun park. Still, Yepez has bashed five homers since the trade, one fewer than he hit during 121 games in the Braves' organization. That said, he's still struggled to the tune of a .298 OBP.

Overall, outside of Mallex Smith - who doesn't have a place in Atlanta - and David Hernandez (sniff), the Braves haven't seen much success this season by the players they traded or waived. Some of that is luck, but a good deal of it is talent evaluation and coaching - something the Braves excel with at the minor league level.