WOW -- Shelby Miller & Tyrell Jenkins to Braves for Jason Heyward & Jordan Walden

[Hornsby]

So he's not as good as Ryan Howard or Josh Hamilton or Justin Verlander then, eh? Because all those guys make $25M or more. The list of players making more than $20M/year is littered with players worse than Heyward.


I think he will get paid and get paid huge. It's not often that elite free agents are only 25/26 years old.

All of those guys you mention had previous seasons that were great in one way or another...Cy Young, 20 game winner, huge HR and RBI numbers, things that in 5 seasons Hayward hasn't even come close to sniffing. Now, is he going to get paid? Maybe, but I simply can't see him crossing over into the salary stratosphere that you're projecting.

As far as being a great defender...OK. But nobody's paying for the glove out there, that's a nice bonus.

[joncarlos]

As far as being a great defender...OK. But nobody's paying for the glove out there, that's a nice bonus.

Outstanding OBP, outstanding glove, not much power relative to his position. Nobody pays for that.

Oh, hi Russell Martin, how are you?

[chancellor]

He'll only get big money if he replicates 2012 this year - or better. Otherwise, his four year history just isn't very good. Two years with a SLG under .400. Only once had he hit 15 HR or more. Two of those years with less than 10 SBs. Three years with OPS under .800. Two years of bad health.

So in essence he's Lorenzo Cain with some more power.

[james33]

4 years of cost-controlled Shelby Miller is a good gamble for the Braves. He had a lousy 2014 after a good 2013. A change of scenery might help him. And Shelby was Baseball America's #6 prospect in 2013.

This might be a good trade for both teams. With the death of Taveras, the Cardinals could use another outfielder this year. They'll probably hope to give Heyward security by signing him to a long term deal, or, worst case, let him go after this year.

[Gregg]

4 years of cost-controlled Shelby Miller is a good gamble for the Braves. He had a lousy 2014 after a good 2013. A change of scenery might help him. And Shelby was Baseball America's #6 prospect in 2013.

This might be a good trade for both teams. With the death of Taveras, the Cardinals could use another outfielder this year. They'll probably hope to give Heyward security by signing him to a long term deal, or, worst case, let him go after this year.

As a Cardinals fan you probably love this deal. No matter how we spin it they got Heyward cheap.

I am hoping that he hits free agency after next year and the Cubs sign him in their second round of FA signings.

[The Dane]

Heyward seems like a Cardinals sort of player to me. A guy who plays better than his overall stats seem to imply, good defense and OBP. Not that he was wasted or unappreciated in Atlanta, but he feels like a good fit for a Cardinal team that makes champions out of guys like Matt Carpenter.

[chancellor]

Heyward already has a 5 win and a 6 win season to his credit and he's only 25 years old. He'll get big money regardless. The only question is how big the money will be. Steamer projects Heyward to have the 16th highest WAR in all of baseball next year, despite oddly projecting him to regress big time on defense.

Dave Cameron pegs his starting bidding at 10 years and $200M plus. If Cano can get $240M at age 31....yeah, Heyward is looking at a massive, massive payday.

Fair point - it'll still be a lot of money. I don't think he'll come close to Cano numbers, tho. But 8/170 is still huge bucks and I think he'll get that.

[Gregg]

Really a lot depends on how he performs this year in St. Louis (and also what the FA crop of outfielders will be when he's on the market).


I'd guess 10/$220, just short of Cano, right now with room for more. If he puts up a big year in St. Louis I think both the years and the money will skyrocket.

Yep, I agree with all of this. Big year, big money.

[Hornsby]

Outstanding OBP, outstanding glove, not much power relative to his position. Nobody pays for that.

Oh, hi Russell Martin, how are you?

Catcher vs. outfielder defensively. Comparing apples to anvils...one has an impact on every defensive play his team has, the other MIGHT have a half a dozen chances in a busy game.

[james33]

As a Cardinals fan you probably love this deal. No matter how we spin it they got Heyward cheap.

I am hoping that he hits free agency after next year and the Cubs sign him in their second round of FA signings.

I like the deal. And I'm hoping either the Cardinals lock him in long-run at a discount while he is hitting .250 in May or the Cubs overpay for Heyward after the season while the Cardinals get a compensation pick to use wisely. (Though I don't think the Cubs will need to buy an outfielder).

But I'm a big Shelby Miller fan and am still absolutely nervous about this deal. Are we to believe that Miller forgot how to pitch in 2014 and won't relearn? 2014 could prove to be the outlier among his 2011 (170 K in 139.2 IP in A/AA), 2012 (160 K/136.2 IP in AAA), and 2013 (169 K in 173 Major League IP) campaigns.

Rotation-wise, as Carlos Martinez over-shared on facebook, https://www.facebook.com/TsunamyMartinez?ref=br_tf (Carlos Martinez shares any national articles that mention him on his facebook fan page. Also some sad photos there of him with his best friend Taveras.), the Cardinals have options. But offense-wise, the Cardinals also had options in house in Grichuk (the starting RF at end of the year/playoffs over Taveras) and Stephen Piscotty (rhd #54, who spent last year in AAA).