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Post by amfox1 on Dec 17, 2014 12:10:29 GMT -5
Ken Rosenthal ?@ken_Rosenthal 37s37 seconds ago Source: #RedSox acquiring RHP Anthony Varvaro from #Braves. Had been designated for assignment.
Brian MacPherson ?@brianmacp 41s42 seconds ago Just turned 30. 2.74 ERA, 2.45 K/BB in 128 IP last two seasons. MT @ken_Rosenthal #RedSox acquiring RHP Anthony Varvaro from #Braves.
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Post by amfox1 on Dec 17, 2014 12:17:53 GMT -5
Ken Rosenthal ?@ken_Rosenthal 52s53 seconds ago #RedSox announce acquisition of Varvaro for minor-league RHP Aaron Kurcz and cash considerations.
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Post by mattpicard on Dec 17, 2014 12:23:23 GMT -5
RHP, but he's allowed a .196/.275/.322/.597 line to LHB's in his career, including .149/.198/.284/.481 in 2014.
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Post by soxfan06 on Dec 17, 2014 12:27:50 GMT -5
I like it. Adding a pen arm for cheap.
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Post by kmann on Dec 17, 2014 12:31:15 GMT -5
Why did the Braves DFA him? Maybe he is Arb eligible and the Braves did not think he was worth his projected salary? He looks like a decent pick-up.
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Post by wskeleton76 on Dec 17, 2014 12:33:17 GMT -5
Smart move. And he is pre eligible by just a few days.
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Post by dmaineah on Dec 17, 2014 12:35:02 GMT -5
So Theo has been turned into Anthony Varvaro. Puts the roster back to 40?
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Post by wskeleton76 on Dec 17, 2014 12:43:58 GMT -5
Atlanta fans told me that he is not a set up guy but a pretty good middle reliever.
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Post by brockholtsuperstar on Dec 17, 2014 12:54:05 GMT -5
I like it, seems similar to the Badenhop trade last year, although Aaron Kurcz is probably a much higher price than Luis Ortega.
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Post by bigpupp on Dec 17, 2014 12:57:22 GMT -5
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Dec 17, 2014 13:24:17 GMT -5
Why did the Braves DFA him? Maybe he is Arb eligible and the Braves did not think he was worth his projected salary? He looks like a decent pick-up. Like I said in the other thread, it's entirely possible that they designated him knowing there was interest and they would be able to trade him.
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Post by sammo420 on Dec 17, 2014 13:42:08 GMT -5
Why did the Braves DFA him? Maybe he is Arb eligible and the Braves did not think he was worth his projected salary? He looks like a decent pick-up. Like I said in the other thread, it's entirely possible that they designated him knowing there was interest and they would be able to trade him. That's what I love about this board, my question was asked AND answered before I even got here.
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Post by Don Caballero on Dec 17, 2014 14:01:23 GMT -5
Varvaro is a nice name to say out loud. Not as good as Aardsma, but pretty solid. I'm okay with this.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Dec 17, 2014 14:32:52 GMT -5
Something that's been discussed a bit in the past is the volatility of relief pitchers. There's no aspect of MLB that has more performance variability. Relief pitchers usually work 1/4 to 1/3 the innings of a starter, albeit typically with higher leverage. It can be difficult to establish consistency with that sort of profile. There are a few relievers who can carry their performance over year to year, but it's not the majority or even a good sized minority. It's the biggest reason why you don't want to spend enormous piles of cash on longterm contracts for those guys. It's better to build a bullpen piece by piece, looking for value by rummaging through the options a team has given itself. This seems to fit into that framework nicely. I'd like to see them bring Badenhop back, but this guy looks quite serviceable. Looks as if it took him a few years, but he's figured it out.
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nomar
Veteran
Posts: 10,787
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Post by nomar on Dec 17, 2014 15:38:33 GMT -5
Varvaro is a nice name to say out loud. Not as good as Aardsma, but pretty solid. I'm okay with this. Reminds me of Barbaro
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Post by sibbysisti on Dec 17, 2014 15:48:37 GMT -5
I liked Kurcz and his potential. Strike-em-out pitcher with some upside after TJ in 2013. I had hoped he's at least make the Theo a plus for us as he developed into a late inning reliever. Looks like Vavaro will have to carry the torch. Smart move, though, prospect for established pitcher.
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Dec 17, 2014 16:19:04 GMT -5
Why did the Braves DFA him? Maybe he is Arb eligible and the Braves did not think he was worth his projected salary? He looks like a decent pick-up. Like I said in the other thread, it's entirely possible that they designated him knowing there was interest and they would be able to trade him. That maybe the case. I just think that is crazy. The minute you DFA him everyone knows you have a short amount of time to trade him or he goes on waivers. The Braves would lose leverage. This trade seems to make little sense. Varvaro numbers really improved last year average against went down, WHIP went down and strikeouts came back up and he had 13 holds. I wonder how much money Boston sent to the Braves. Do the Braves need money that Bad? I just don't get it, Kurcz will be lucky to ever have a season like Varvaro just had. Nice pick up!
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Post by soxfanatic on Dec 17, 2014 16:29:23 GMT -5
Nice little deal. Had to understand why he was DFA in the first place.
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Post by kmann on Dec 17, 2014 16:30:19 GMT -5
Like I said in the other thread, it's entirely possible that they designated him knowing there was interest and they would be able to trade him. That maybe the case. I just think that is crazy. The minute you DFA him everyone knows you have a short amount of time to trade him or he goes on waivers. The Braves would lose leverage. This trade seems to make little sense. Varvaro numbers really improved last year average against went down, WHIP went down and strikeouts came back up and he had 13 holds. I wonder how much money Boston sent to the Braves. Do the Braves need money that Bad? I just don't get it, Kurcz will be lucky to ever have a season like Varvaro just had. Nice pick up! My intial thought was the Braves would lose leverage as well. But I just reviewed the DFA rules again and see that the Braves could have returned him to the 40-man roster within 10 days from date of designation, so maybe Chris is correct that it was simply to increase interest in the Varvaro.
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Post by jmei on Dec 17, 2014 16:35:46 GMT -5
Like I said in the other thread, it's entirely possible that they designated him knowing there was interest and they would be able to trade him. That maybe the case. I just think that is crazy. The minute you DFA him everyone knows you have a short amount of time to trade him or he goes on waivers. The Braves would lose leverage. This trade seems to make little sense. It's not necessarily the case that DFAing him hurts their negotiating position. Doing so is essentially the equivalent of auctioning him off with no reserve price. You're committing yourself to moving him, sure, but it might be to your advantage since you're effectively telling the other 29 teams that (a) he's available and (b) other teams have to submit their best offers within a few days. If the player is good enough that you're confident that you're going to get multiple offers for him once you DFA him, you can still get back a solid return by pitting potential acquirers against each other. For a low-profile player like Varvaro (or Spruill before him), that might be the best way to drum up some interest for a guy that you want to move.
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Post by greenmonstah on Dec 17, 2014 17:12:37 GMT -5
Yep, this probably indicates that they won't re-sign Badenhop, and Varvaro takes his middle relief role.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Dec 17, 2014 19:26:32 GMT -5
That maybe the case. I just think that is crazy. The minute you DFA him everyone knows you have a short amount of time to trade him or he goes on waivers. The Braves would lose leverage. This trade seems to make little sense. It's not necessarily the case that DFAing him hurts their negotiating position. Doing so is essentially the equivalent of auctioning him off with no reserve price. You're committing yourself to moving him, sure, but it might be to your advantage since you're effectively telling the other 29 teams that (a) he's available and (b) other teams have to submit their best offers within a few days. If the player is good enough that you're confident that you're going to get multiple offers for him once you DFA him, you can still get back a solid return by pitting potential acquirers against each other. For a low-profile player like Varvaro (or Spruill before him), that might be the best way to drum up some interest for a guy that you want to move. This. It's dangerous if there's maybe only one team who might want him, because they know he'll go on waivers, but if there are teams that want him, and they know he won't make it to them on waivers, they'll want to deal for him and now. Like jmei alludes to, it's a way to make something happen now for a guy who teams might otherwise say "let us see if a couple other things happen first," which becomes "oh crap, they're moving him now either way, let's see what we can do."
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Dec 18, 2014 1:02:12 GMT -5
There's also the possibility that the Braves and Sox had something worked out before the DFA even happened. We know that they've talked previously. This appears to be a win for the Sox but Kurcz might have been the best non 40 man offer the Braves had and might be a win for them as well.
As I stated elsewhere, I was watching the first game for Kurcz after his Tommy John. He was sitting 98 with command. It wasn't until the second game and the rest of the season that he toned it down to 93-94.
I think this effectively kills any likelihood of Badenhop returning. We only have 2 pen lefties, Britton who is out of options and Layne.
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Post by elguapo on Dec 18, 2014 10:37:18 GMT -5
Considering this apparent valuation of Kurcz, I'm surprised he made it through Rule V. Probably just a good match between Sox & Braves and a reflection of the value of roster spots.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Dec 18, 2014 13:31:59 GMT -5
Nice deal for Varvaro. As long as his velocity rebounds he could be a quiet astute pickup. I would think that this means that Badenhop might not be coming back, though.
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