Old Buddies Become Trade Partners

BRAVES GET:
CF Rick Ankiel (101 PA, .261/.317/.467, 4 HR, 14 R, 15 RBI, 103 OPS+)
RRP Kyle Farnsworth (44 2/3 IP, 40 H, 13-12 R-ER (2.42 ERA), 12 BB, 36 K, 1.164 WHIP)

ROYALS GET:
RRP Jesse Chavez (36 2/3 IP, 40 H, 24 R-ER (5.89 ERA), 12 BB, 29 K, 1.418 WHIP)
CF Gregor Blanco (66 PA, .310/.394/.362, 0 HR, 9 R, 3 RBI, 107 OPS+)
LRP Tim Collins (AA Mississippi - 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER (1.12 ERA), 3 BB, 14 K, 0.875 WHIP)

The Braves have traded outfielder Gregor Blanco, reliever Jesse Chavez and pitching prospect Tim Collins to the Royals for veteran outfielder Rick Ankiel and reliever Kyle Farnsworth.

I can only imagine the amount of venom some Braves fans have placed into their posted words this afternoon and evening when learning about the trade. Frank Wren traded for the very same Kyle Farnsworth that single-handedly lost the NLDS for the Braves five years ago?! Has he lost his mind?!

Not quite. In fact, on this trading deadline day, Wren has kept his mind quite sane by not giving up any of Atlanta's prized prospects. In the days leading up to the deadline, worries abounded that Wren would trade any of Freddie Freeman (Baseball America's #32 pre-2010 prospect), Arodys Vizcaino (#69), Mike Minor or Randall Delgado to beef up the Braves' outfield production. That is one way to look at the day's work.

Another way is to compare Rick Ankiel directly to the Braves' previous center field producers before this afternoon's game in Cincinnati:

Nate McLouth - 216 PA, .160/.275/.254, 3 HR, 20 R, 14 RBI
Melky Cabrera - 135 PA, .305/.381/.432, 0 HR, 14 R, 11 RBI
Gregor Blanco - 62 PA, .291/.371/.327, 0 HR, 8 R, 3 RBI

Cabrera's line looks strong because he has been the Braves' latest center fielder. But, the rest of his lines, including .242/.289/.325 (128 PA) as a left fielder and .222/.286/.317 (72 PA) as a right fielder, drag his stats down to .265/.328/.366 before today's game.

That doesn't fully prove my case, but the anecdotal evidence of Cabrera committing a bizarre throwing error in today's game might help the idea that the Braves could do better in center field.

Rick Ankiel, who may be the Braves' starting center fielder for the remainder of the season, spent more than a month on the disabled list with a right quad strain. Once again, the Braves have acquired a player with more home runs than the previous player(s) at the position (Ankiel 4, Braves CFs 3). He is better in the small sample size (11 XBH in 101 PAs to Cabrera's 23 in 346 PAs), so he could improve the Braves in that department if he keeps the same rate.

While some Braves fans still haven't forgiven Farnsworth for surrendering a game-tying home run to Brad Ausmus, the likelihood is that he's not going to get the opportunity to screw something like that up. In 37 games with the Royals, Farnsworth was relied upon heavily, pitching 44 2/3 innings. His ERA (2.42) was mostly helped by pitching more than one inning in eleven appearances (1.29 ERA in 21 innings).

However, out of the 99 relievers that have 200 or more appearances since 2006, Farnsworth has the 19th-worst ERA (4.19) and has given up 37 home runs over that span. Fortunately, he has only allowed two this year. and hasn't given up a home run in nearly two months.

In my opinion, I think Ankiel and Farnsworth can improve the Braves in center field and middle relief at the minimal cost to the club's plans (Tim Collins).

BRAVES PROSPECT BUSTS: The Closer Of The Future?

1999: RHP Kevin McGlinchy

(#47 in Baseball America's Top 100, #4 Atlanta Braves Prospect)

Kevin McGlinchy was a hard-throwing right-hander drafted out of Malden (Mass.) High School in 1995.

He spent his first three seasons as a starter, spending most of 1996 with Rookie level Danville (13 G, 3-2, 1.12 ERA, 77/11 K/BB) and two games with the Eugene Emeralds. The next season was rather bizzare, he started 26 games and his record was only 3-7. His ERA was 4.89 and he had a 149/44 K/BB ratio in 140 innings.

He was promoted to the high Class A Danville 97s for 1998 and finished with a 9-8 record in 22 games for them (142 IP, 129/29 K/BB, 2.92 ERA, 1.063 WHIP). He ended the year with the Greenville Braves, starting six games for them (1-1, 5.18 ERA, 20/15 K/BB).

From the 1999 edition of Baseball Prospectus:

McGlinchy is nine days younger than [Bruce] Chen and about that far behind him as a pitcher. A clssic power pitcher, [McGlinchy] made big strides from 1997 and could emerge this year. The Braves are asking him to work as a reliever in winter ball, a move they're hinting could be for good. Given that the one thing the major league staff is missing is a couple of hard-throwing right-handed relievers (Who can throw strikes, Mr. Wohlers), it's a good idea for both McGlinchy and the organization.

That's exactly what the Braves did with him in 1999; they called him up to the big club, moved him to the bullpen and McGlinchy had an immediate impact. He won seven games in relief, pitching in 64 games. He logged 70 1/3 innings and turned in a 2.82 ERA with a 67/30 K/BB ratio and 1.365 WHIP.

McGlinchy may be remembered fondly by Mets fans, however; In Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS, after blowing the save in the bottom of the 15th with a bases-loaded walk to Todd Pratt, he gave up Robin Ventura's game-winning grand-slam. Ventura was only credited with a single because after the winning run scored, the whole Mets team mobbed him at first base.

McGlinchy also worked two scoreless innings in the World Series against the Yankees.

In 2000, McGlinchy pitched in ten major league games and 17 games in the minors. He missed most of the season with shoulder tendinitis. It turns out those ten games are the last games that he'd ever pitch in the major leagues.

The last games that McGlinchy pitched in the Braves organization were two rehab games with the Gulf Coast Braves in 2001.

HE WAS LAST SEEN: pitching in the Cubs organization in 2004. He pitched nine games with the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (0-1, 8 1/3 IP, 4.32 ERA, 1.93 WHIP) and 18 with the Iowa Cubs (0-1, 29 1/3 IP, 5.52 ERA, 1.47 WHIP).

BRAVES PROSPECT BUSTS: THE LAST TEN YEARS

It's an unfortunate thing when prospects don't show the promise that they display in the minor leagues or don't capitalize on promotions to the majors, for whatever reason. The Atlanta Braves have had their share of failed prospects. The list from the last ten years, I think, is particularly interesting.

This post is the start of a ten-part series where I list ten Braves prospects from 1998-2007 that did not make the grade in the major leagues. It may be a little depressing sometimes, but I think it's an interesting idea. We'll start with the 1998 season and a name that may be familiar to long-time Braves fans:

1998: LHP Bruce Chen












(#27 in Baseball America's Top 100, #1 Atlanta Braves prospect)
(#4 in Baseball America's Top 100, #1 Atlanta Braves prospect)

Chen signed with the Atlanta Braves in 1993 as an amateur free agent when he was 16 years old. He started with the Gulf Coast Braves in 1994 (1-4, 3.80 ERA, 26/3 K/BB) and steadily climbed the minor league ladder. Chen made stops with the Advanced Rookie Danville Braves in 1995 (4-4, 3.97 ERA, 56/19 K/BB), and the short-season Class A Eugene Emeralds in 1996 (4-1, 2.27 ERA, 55/14 K/BB). Chen's first full season came with the Class A Macon Braves the next year. He continued to impress, putting up a 12-7 record with a 3.51 ERA, walking 44 and striking out 182 batters in 146 1/3 innings.

The 1998 campaign seemed to be Chen's breakout year. In 28 games between Class AA Greenville (24) and Class AAA Richmond (4), Chen complied a 15-8 record and a 3.09 ERA. He pitched 163 1/3 innings and racked up a 193/67 K/BB ratio. With a sparkling 1.163 WHIP for the year, his future seemed bright. The Braves called him up in September and he started four games, winning two of them. In his two wins, he pitched 6 1/3 innings (2 runs) and seven shutout innings.

Baseball Prospectus had this to say about Chen in 1999:

The Braves' other prospects, great as they are, are just pretenders to the throne. Chen is the Prince. When those around him discuss his success, one aspect towers over all: mound presence. He throws hard, has excellent command of four pitches, but what distinguishes him is that he sets up hitters with uncanny ease for a 21-year old. The Neagle trade [which involved Rob Bell and Michael Tucker in exchange for Bret Boone and Mike Remlinger] was made with him in mind. Chen certainly looks ready, he has an opportunity waiting for him, and he has the best crew in baseball to help him develop. He may be the best pitching prospect in the game.

Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. Chen rejoined the Braves in 1999, but only won two games that season. He was demoted to Richmond after a July 28 start where he allowed six runs on 4 1/3 innings to Milwaukee. Chen returned to the team in August, but he was put in the bullpen. He only had four scoreless stints out of nine. He made a start in the next-to-last game of the season, tossing six shutout innings against the Marlins.

Chen started the 2000 season in Atlanta's bullpen and was pretty decent, posting a 2.80 ERA in 39 2/3 innings. However, the Braves seemed to give up on Chen ever becoming the #1-#2 starter that he showed he could be in the minors. On July 12, 2000, Chen was traded with fellow pitcher Jimmy Osting to the Phillies for veteran hurler Andy Ashby.

The Phillies converted Chen back to a starter and he produced; he just didn't get any support. Chen went 3-4 in 15 starts and he had a 3.63 ERA and his lowest WHIP in the majors: 1.145.

The next several years were hardly stable ones for Chen. A litany of teams vied for his services:

2001: Phillies, Mets
2002: Mets, Expos, Reds
2003: Astros, Red Sox

Chen didn't win more than five games in any of those years.

Chen received a break after he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent. The Blue Jays sent Chen to the Baltimore Orioles as part of a conditional deal. With them, he enjoyed his best year in baseball in 2005, going 13-10 in 34 games for the Orioles. He pitched a career-high 197 1/3 innings and struck out a career-high 133 batters. He crashed once more in 2006; he suffered five losses and five no-decisions in ten starts. His bullpen work wasn't any better, so the Orioles released him after the season. The Rangers took a chance on him in 2007, but he didn't produce out of the pen in five games for them.

HE WAS LAST SEEN...: pitching for Panama in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He pitched four innings against Puerto Rico, giving up solo home runs to Carlos Delgado and Ivan Rodriguez.

The Royals signed Chen to a minor league deal before the Classic began, which is more than likely a continuing project of Royals GM Dayton Moore to bring in every single player who was a Brave once upon a time.

EDIT: Added the specific year where Chen went 13-10.