Derek Lowe's Future in Atlanta
mcadams
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in Sports Talk
The text below is from an AJC article on 9/30/11 from Braves GM Frank Wren, discussing the future of Derek Lowe:
Two days after the Braves were eliminated from the postseason, Braves general manager Frank Wren shared his thoughts about where the Braves go from here. In a candid interview Friday with selected members of the media, Wren said he didn’t envision Derek Lowe with a spot in the starting rotation next season as of now. He said the Braves have no plans to trade Jason Heyward but he will have to fight for a job in right field. And he stood behind the job manager Fredi Gonzalez did despite the Braves’ September collapse.
Here are excerpts from that hour-long interview.
Q. What about Derek Lowe?
A. He had a very tough finish to the year, and going into next season there’s, it’s hard to project him as one of our starters at this point, based on the young talent we have. But that’s something we’ll figure out when we get closer to spring training.
Q. So the bullpen is an option, if he’s not traded?
A. It’s an option we have to evaluate at that time.
Q. Has it become redundant to hear him say he needs to make mechanical changes?
A. No, I just think it’s a situation where you want to put the best five starters out there, and right now the way we project, I’m not sure Derek would be one of our best five starters. I’ll just leave it at that.
Two days after the Braves were eliminated from the postseason, Braves general manager Frank Wren shared his thoughts about where the Braves go from here. In a candid interview Friday with selected members of the media, Wren said he didn’t envision Derek Lowe with a spot in the starting rotation next season as of now. He said the Braves have no plans to trade Jason Heyward but he will have to fight for a job in right field. And he stood behind the job manager Fredi Gonzalez did despite the Braves’ September collapse.
Here are excerpts from that hour-long interview.
Q. What about Derek Lowe?
A. He had a very tough finish to the year, and going into next season there’s, it’s hard to project him as one of our starters at this point, based on the young talent we have. But that’s something we’ll figure out when we get closer to spring training.
Q. So the bullpen is an option, if he’s not traded?
A. It’s an option we have to evaluate at that time.
Q. Has it become redundant to hear him say he needs to make mechanical changes?
A. No, I just think it’s a situation where you want to put the best five starters out there, and right now the way we project, I’m not sure Derek would be one of our best five starters. I’ll just leave it at that.
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Comments
I can't wait to hear Lowe's reaction to GM Wren not ruling out the idea of Lowe pitching in the bullpen.... Lowe is entering the final season of a 4 yr contract and will paid $15m in '12. Feels like a trade situation to me. Someone will want him and I'm SURE Atlanta would be willing to pay for half of that '12 salary to get him out of town.
Good or bad, Lowe has become the scapegoat for the 2011 season.
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<< <i>I was shocked when he landed his 2nd to last deal, never mind the one the Braves gave him. >>
Keep in mind that 3 years ago, there was a huge lack of pitching available before the '09 season and many experienced pitchers were getting great deals. The Braves were in a bad spot at that time because the franchise thought (correctly) that they had a good pipeline of future top of the rotation starters, but none were ready for the majors yet. The team was thought to be good enough going into '09 that they could make a playoff run, but needed 1 more experienced pitcher. They were buying in a sellers market and gave him a 4yr $60m deal. If I remember correctly- he had multiple offers. Now they are at a point where the cream of crop SPs have risen through the minor leagues and are now ready to start for the big league club... Teheran, Minor, Beachy, and Hanson are all from the Braves farm.
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<< <i>I was shocked when he landed his 2nd to last deal, never mind the one the Braves gave him. >>
you mean the 4 year/$36M contract the Dodgers gave him where he promptly piled $61.5M worth of value? Terrible deal for the Dodgers.
IMO the fundamental question that should be asked when looking a "performance value" should be "would I pay XXX dollars for that performance?". So 4 years of 3.59 ERA, 1.23 WHIP with a 54-48 record (I realize that W/L are arbitrary) in the pathetic NL West is worth $61M? I get that he was a horse that didn't miss a start in 4 years, and 200+ IP is a lot in this day and age.
But if you told me that Derek Lowe was going to be my #1 or #2 starter (which is what he was expected to be when they signed him) and that I'd have to pay him $61M, I'd have to pass. Clearly he pitched better than $36M, but I don't think that kind of production in that division warrants $15M per season.
Ron
<< <i>I was shocked when he landed his 2nd to last deal, never mind the one the Braves gave him. >>
Barry Zito, is that you?
<< <i>you mean the 4 year/$36M contract the Dodgers gave him where he promptly piled $61.5M worth of value? Terrible deal for the Dodgers. >>
Yeah, the Dodgers don't have a history of expensive, bad signings.......