Speculation is a tough thing when there’s little or nothing to go on, but the level of intrigue involving the Braves off-season may have ramped up a notch with an admission from John Coppolella on Wednesday.
Ken Rosenthal posted a follow-up column on the Mallex Smith trade Thursday morning. If the sentiments expressed there turn out to be correct, then it’s possible this might become the “Luiz Gohara” trade at some point in the future.
But that aside, there is more in his column that ought to make Atlanta Braves‘ fans sit up and draw up a breath with thoughts of “what?”.
Another Trade Coup?
If you were curious about the return that the Braves got on Wednesday – primarily Luiz Gohara – then quotes that Rosenthal collected from scouts who texted him without prompting.
One of them said “Giving up Gohara, worst move EVER!!”
I gotta tell you, the more Coppy does trades, the more I like him. Wonder if he and Jerry Dipoto shared lunch this week.
The Buried Lede
But amid discussion on whether the Mariners might have had some medical concerns – present or future – about Gohara, there’s something more about the Braves that was buried in the midst of this column.
According to Rosenthal, Gohara was slated to have been in a different trade – with the Reds – at the last trade deadline. However, Cincinnati opted out over concerns about Gohara’s shoulder.
Asked about this on Wednesday, Coppy was quoted as follows:
“Our medical group puts a lot of time, effort and thought into evaluating every potential acquisition. We have had to walk away from two trades this off-season because of failed medicals. We feel good about the health of both players we acquired in the trade.”
That’s good that Atlanta is going through their due diligence processes properly. And… wait, what?
The Braves “walked away from two trades”??
Please, Kenny – find out what teams and players might have been involved! We want to know what was in the works!
The Braves are obviously doing a nice job of keeping things under wraps, but darn it, that’s just too … too juicy to let go without a follow-up. It would be very interesting to know what directions he was heading in during this Fall and Winter.
Of course it’s also good to know that he isn’t making trades just for the sake of “making trades.” There are limitations… and the Braves aren’t going to be caught buying bad goods.
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