Long story short: Braves trade All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel and Melvin “Stop calling me B.J.” Upton to the Padres.
Opening Day wasn’t even a full 24 hours away when this trade became official, and in one final fell swoop before the first game of the season, the Braves effectively trade the best relief pitcher in the game away, as well as one of the worst players in the game.
In return, the Braves get an old outfielder who can’t really play the outfield anymore in Carlos Quentin, as well as a guy that will always have the what-if ball and chain attached to his name and potential in Cameron Maybin. Additionally, the Braves receive two supposed minor league studs, and an additional pick going into the 2015 draft.
Ultimately, there’s no denying that the Braves “won” this trade, and hard, because they accomplished everything they wanted to accomplish and then some; the Braves, knowing they’re not competing at all this season as well as next managed to shed a massive chunk of salary obligations, which in itself is a win, but in the process also snare some promising minor league prospects and a bonus draft pick, which helps bolster the future they’re so fervently building for.
Sure, it came at the costly cost of letting go of Craig Kimbrel, a pitcher I really, really enjoyed watching for the better part of the last six years (including the minor leagues, because I’m a hipster), but the reality is that with the expected team going into 2015, there simply weren’t going to be a ton of games for him to actually save. But getting rid of a financial albatross like Melvin Upton is an opportunity that so few teams actually get the chance to do, and even if it cost Kimbrel, I think the Braves were smart to pull the trigger on getting rid of Upton’s contract.
Bottom line is that I’m sad to see Kimbrel go, but very happy to see Upton go, and it’s actually really funny to me, not only just how much the Braves won this transaction, but just how bad the Padres lost it. The Padres pick up an outfielder they don’t need (or ostensibly want), a pitcher that will pitch maybe 65 innings all season, and around $80M in contractual obligations over the next three years.
Regardless, with Craig Kimbrel now out of the equation to solidify what wins the Braves may actually have this season, it goes without saying that I am now absolutely expecting 100 losses this year. Sure, the Braves have automatically improved offensively by simply not being capable of fielding Melvin Upton any further, but relief pitching is going to be absolutely abysmal now, with Kimbrel gone, and there will be some back-breaking late-game losses this season. I’m talking about 2006 proportions, where the Braves literally blew over 20 games and cost John Smoltz a second Cy Young Award.
But I’m not even mad about the level of suckiness the Braves are expected to perform to this year. Contrarily, I’m looking forward to this season being a complete wash, and probably next year too. As fucked up as it sounds, I like when my team sucks, because it’s just that much more relaxing to watch as a fan. No expectations for wins, no disappointment in losses.
If you’re going to suck, be the absolute best at it.
And baseball being what it is, even if the Braves do lose 100 games, there are so many games in total that they’re still going to win 60. And among those 60 wins, there will be some wins against my friends’ teams, and/or some good teams with great pitchers, that a team like the 2015 Braves have no business in defeating will defeat. And every single one of those sparse wins, will feel like monumental victories, and legitimate reason to celebrate; except when it encroaches on my desire to see 100 losses.
