Braves News World

Brian Jordan and Eddie Perez, who each endured injury-riddled seasons in 2005, rejected their respective arbitration offers from the Braves, as was expected. Jordan may sign a minor league contract with the team and compete for a backup outfield spot. There looks to be no room for Perez on the Braves’ major league roster given last year’s emergence of youngster Brian McCann and the offseason signing of veteran backstop Todd Pratt.

Meanwhile, the team offered contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible unsigned players except Jim Brower and Wes Obermueller. The team will likely look to recently-acquired relievers such as Oscar Villareal and Lance Cormier in addition to those in its deep farm system to give them better performance than Brower did last season (and at a cheaper price). Obermueller might also be signed to a minor league contract and provide added bullpen depth from the right side. Marcus Giles, Chris Reitsma, Horacio Ramirez, Jorge Sosa, and Oscar Villareal were tendered contracts by the Braves. Each of those players will either agree to a contract with the team or else have a salary assigned through arbitration hearings that will take place between February 1st and 20th.

Got $400 million under your mattress? If so, you could be the proud owner of one of the most successful baseball franchises in recent history! Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc. has announced it is shopping the team around. Parent company Time Warner has been facing increasing pressures, from the likes of shareholders such as activist Carl Icahn, to enhance shareholder value by selling different units of the company. The company is also seeking to sell its regional cable television network Turner South in the transaction. Turner Broadcasting purchased the Atlanta Braves in 1976 and maintained ownership of the team until the company’s sale to Time Warner in 1995.

Atlanta Falcons owner (and Home Depot co-founder) Arthur Blank has been widely rumored as the most likely buyer for the team. Methinks this could be a positive development as the new ownership should loosen up the purse strings a bit. They surely can’t be any worse than TW (whose initials also stand for “Tight Wads").

The Braves have signed 38-year-old catcher Todd Pratt to a one-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Early Friday afternoon, the Braves announced that they had signed Pratt to a one-year contract. He will serve as a backup to the 21-year-old Brian McCann. Pratt posted a .251 batting average with 7 home runs and 23 RBIs in 175 at-bats last season with the Phillies.

Julio Franco wants to play until he’s 50 years old and the Mets may make that possible. They signed him to a 2-year contract worth $2.2 million. He would turn 50 during the 2008 season. Franco hit .275 with 9 home runs and 42 RBIs last season. He compiled a .292 batting average, 29 home runs and 171 RBIs during his 4+ seasons with the Braves. With up-and-coming first basemen like James Jurries in the minors, the Braves declined to offer Franco arbitration in order to maximize their budget for offseason acquisitions.

GM John Schuerholz took swift action once former Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal signed with the Dodgers. The Braves snagged 4-time Edgar Renteria and $11 million in exchange for Andy Marte, one of their top prospects. Renteria was one of the top prizes in the the free agent market last year when he garnered a 4-year, $40 million contract with the Red Sox. After factoring in the money received in the trade, the Braves will essentially be paying the shortstop only about $7 million a year, not counting incentive bonuses, over the next 3 or 4 years depending on whether or not they exercise his option in 2009. Compare that to the $13 million yearly salary Furcal stole from the Dodgers!

Renteria quickly fell out of favor with Red Sox fans during a season in which he hit .276 with 8 homers and committed a career-high 30 errors. The Braves believe a return to an environment with warmer weather, less scrutiny, and the National League pitchers he faced during his previous 9 seasons will bring back the Renteria of old, a clutch hitter who won 2 Gold Glove & 3 Silver Slugger awards and hit .290 between 1999 and 2004.

The sacrifice of 22-year-old rising star Andy Marte was a necessary evil that enabled the Braves to corral one of the game’s finest shortstops. Marte hit .278 with 20 home runs at Triple-A Richmond last season. The 3rd baseman will likely be ready to start at the major league level at some point this season. However, due to the restructuring of Chipper Jones’ contract, Marte found his path to the majors in Atlanta obstructed for at least the next 3 seasons.

Ageless wonder Julio Franco was not offered arbitration by the Braves, effectively ending the 47-year-old backup first baseman’s 4+ year association with the organization. Outfielder Todd Hollandsworth and injured relief pitcher Jay Powell also did not received arbitration offers. Rafael Furcal and Kyle Farnsworth, who have already signed with other teams this offseason, were offered arbitration in order to secure compensatory draft picks for the club. Additionally, Eddie Perez and Brian Jordan were offered arbitration but it’s not likely that they will accept.

The Braves’ middle relief corps has become deeper as the Braves shipped catcher Johnny Estrada to the Diamondbacks for relievers Oscar Villarreal and Lance Cormier. Any question regarding Brian McCann’s status at the Braves’ starting catcher was erased when the team sent Estrada, a 2004 All-Star who struggled last season after a nasty collision with Darin Erstad at the plate in June, to Arizona. Oscar Villareal was sidelined during the greater part of the past 2 seasons with elbow and shoulder problems. However, the 24-year-old right-handed relief pitcher appeared in a rookie-record 86 games in 2003 while posting a sparkling 2.57 ERA. The other pitcher included in the package, 25-year-old right-handed reliever Lance Cormier, pitched in 67 games for the DB’s in 2005, compiling a 7-3 record and 5.11 ERA.

The Braves have returned the defective merchandise they received from the Brewers a year ago. The only problem is that this time they are getting pitcher Wes Obermueller in return, instead of top prospect Jose Capellan who they sent to Milwaukee for Dan Kolb originally. The 28-year-old Obermueller was 1-4 with a 5.26 ERA in 23 games for the Brewers last season. He did however post a 3-1 record with a 2.55 ERA in 9 games at Triple-A Nashville. He went 3-8 with a 5.93 ERA in 65 games with Atlanta in 2005. It’s a wonder the Braves got anything in return for Kolb who struggled with a 3-8 record and 5.93 ERA in 65 games for the Braves last season. It was likely only a matter of days before the Braves declined to tender a contract offer to Kolb making him a free agent.

Rafael Furcal bid the Braves goodbye as he signed a hefty 3-year, $39.5 million contract with the Dodgers. The Braves could not match the the Dodgers’ salary offer, which was apparently the most important factor in Furcal’s decision. Furcal’s departure means a new shortstop and/or leadoff hitter hitter will be at the top of John Schuerholz’s shopping list this holiday season. However, the Braves are by no means bereft of shortstop talent in the organization. Wilson Betemit is excelling in the Dominican Winter League this offseason, hitting .296 with 6 homers and 20 RBIs in 142 at-bats. 23-year-old phenom Yunel Escobar is expected to be ready for the major leagues sometime next season and 17-year-old Elvis Andrus may have the brightest future of them all.

As was rumored for weeks, Chipper Jones renegotiated his current contract with the Braves. The added flexibility it will give the team financially should allow it to fill the glaring holes it has at shortstop and closer. After the restructuring, Chipper is guaranteed to stay in Atlanta through the 2008 season (his previous contract included options for the 2007 and 2008 seasons) and is now likely to spend his entire career with the Braves organization, a rarity in this day and age. The new deal with Jones could save the Braves as much as $15 million over the next 3 seasons, better enabling them to compete for the top talent via trades and the free agent market as they seek to extend their streak of 14 straight division titles.

Chipper first offered to renegotiate his contract back in February to give the Braves more flexibility to sign Tim Hudson to a long-term contract. The restructuring was not necessary at the time, as Hudson inked an extension with the club, but with the notoriously tight purse strings of corporate parent Time Warner weighing heavily on the Braves as they compete in the free agent market this offseason, John Schuerholz knew it was time to take Chipper Jones up on his unselfish offer. Jones’ previous contract would have paid him $35 million over the last 2 option years (2007 and 2008) of the contract if he reached just 450 plate appearances in each season (or alternatively was selected as an All-Star the prior year). His new contract will award him a $4 million signing bonus in January and pay him $11 million during each of the 2007 and 2008 seasons. It also cut his 2006 salary to $11 million, a reduction of $6 million. The new contract also has an option, this time for the 2009 season, worth between $8 million and $11 million. However, unlike the options in his previous contract that were based on plate appearances, they will be based on his performance on the field the previous season.

Bottom line: The Braves will be paying Jones either $37 million over the next 3 years or $45 - $48 million over the next 4 years. The previous deal likely would have cost them $52 million over the next 3 years.

The Braves will have yet another new face in the cloer’s role next season. Kyle Farnsworth has signed a 3-year, $17 million contract with the Yankees to be a setup man. The Braves had offered Farnsworth a 3-year deal to be their closer when they heard that he had signed with the Yankees. Braves fans can look forward to one consolation: since Farnsworth signed with the Yankees before December 7th (the deadline for offering a player arbitration) the Yankees will owe the Braves a compensatory first-round draft pick once Atlanta offers him arbitration (a formality since he has already signed). Now that Trevor Hoffman, Billy Wagner, Tom Gordon, and Todd Jones have signed, the Braves will likely look to find a closer via a trade or within their system.

Braves season tickets went on sale in late November and, fortunately for Braves fans, most season ticket prices will remain the same in 2006. Tickets are available in full season, half-season, and weekend ticket plans. They will also be sold in various 20-game packages. New for the 2006 season, Braves fans will be able to participate in the “Atlanta Braves Team Exchange.” The program will allow full season ticket holders resell their individual game tickets to other fans.

The Braves have purchased the contracts of 4 minor leaguers, bringing the number of players on their 40-man roster to 38. Pitcher Jose Ascanio, infielders James Jurries and Martin Prado, and outfielder Josh Burrus are now one step closer to the big leagues. Ascanio was 3-1 with a 6.10 ERA in limited play at the A level. Jurries hit .284 at Triple-A Richmond with 21 homers and 72 RBI’s. Prado ended the year with a .298 average, 5 home runs and 45 runs batted in between the A and AA levels. Burrus hit .263 with 16 homers, 74 RBI’s, and 36 stolen bases while progressing from Single-A to the Triple-A level.

As crazy as it sounds, the Braves’ bullpen gained a little more experience by signing a minor league free agent. With the team’s relief corps in disarray, Brad Baker will likely play an important role in the Braves’ bullpen plans next year. The 25-year-old relief pitcher registered 27 saves, tops in the Pacific Coast League, in 37 chances while compiling a 4.75 ERA last season for Portland, the Triple-A affiliate of the Padres. In 2004, he saved 30 games (most in the Southern League that season) and sported an ERA of 1.57. Baker has an overall record of 42-33 and a 3.61 ERA with 73 saves in 6 minor league seasons. Oft-injured outfielder Billy McCarthy was outrighted to Triple-A Richmond, opening up a spot on the 40-man roster.