Atlanta Braves' Strategic Moves: Iglesias & Dubon Deals

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00:00Wrapping up the Just Baseball show here, Jack McMullin, Aram Layton,

00:03by talking about the Atlanta Braves, who have started to be sneakily active.

00:07Now, one of them was an interesting deal for Rysell Iglesias.

00:11Rysell Iglesias is back in Atlanta.

00:15Iglesias got a one-year $16 million deal.

00:20That's a lot of money for a guy that is in the 10 to 15 range

00:24when you were to power rank closers in Major League Baseball.

00:27Now, Rysell is a very, very talented closer,

00:30and he has been a reliable closer for the Atlanta Braves here.

00:33But bringing him back on $16 million,

00:36I feel like there were other pieces you could have pursued for that price point.

00:42How important do you feel like loyalty was here for Atlanta in bringing him back?

00:46I think a little bit.

00:47I think a big part of it, too, is them betting on the Rysell Iglesias

00:51that you got kind of the rest of the way.

00:53Like, you look at the final, basically from when he gave up a run on July 26th,

00:59and then from that point forward, 27 appearances.

01:02Iglesias had a 0.34 ERA in 26 and two-thirds innings.

01:0727 strikeouts, one earned run.

01:09So, it really looked like it was kind of one bad little stretch for him.

01:14Even when you go over the final 45 appearances from him,

01:17which is 43 and a third's innings, he pitched to a 1.25 ERA,

01:2230% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate.

01:24So, I think the familiarity is important,

01:26but I think you blend that with the fact that he was kind of back to prime Rysell Iglesias

01:32in the second half plus of the season.

01:34I'd say more than the second half of the season.

01:36And I think that's the part that I think they're buying into here and saying,

01:39maybe some other teams are looking at the cumulative numbers,

01:41but based on what we saw from the rest of the season,

01:45he may have been worth more than that.

01:47And opponents in the final 45 appearances from him slashed 137, 196, 178.

01:54A triple one slash line for a 374 OPS is pretty crazy.

01:59Yeah, that is, it is pretty nuts.

02:01So, I mean, Rysell made a lot of sense to me.

02:04The other thing about Atlanta that made a lot of sense to me

02:07was swapping Nick Allen for utility help.

02:11That trade, I loved this trade for the Atlanta Braves.

02:15I haven't seen anything reported otherwise.

02:17Apparently, it's just a straight swap.

02:19Mauricio Dubon goes from Houston to Atlanta for Nick Allen.

02:23Nick Allen was the everyday shortstop for the Atlanta Braves,

02:26and he provided literally the worst offensive production

02:29from any shortstop in Major League Baseball.

02:32He was a black hole in the nine spot for Atlanta offensively.

02:36Now, he was one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball.

02:39They prioritized that.

02:40How far did that get him this year?

02:42They finished fourth in the division.

02:44I look at Mauricio Dubon, and I say,

02:47slam the upgrade button here for the Atlanta Braves.

02:50Houston gets a good backup shortstop to Jeremy Pena.

02:53If Pena has to miss time, that feels like an okay stopgap.

02:56But there are so many things that Dubon can do

02:58for a Major League Baseball team.

03:00And the Astros loved him.

03:02Their fan base loved him.

03:04Atlanta's going to love bringing Mauricio Dubon in.

03:07And you look at the OPS, like, it's not awesome.

03:09It's a mid-600s.

03:10This guy does so many other things outside of just, you know,

03:14slug and walk that make you feel good about what Dubon can bring to a baseball team.

03:19Well, and you maybe don't have to address shortstop,

03:22but you also can still address shortstop and then put him somewhere else.

03:25So he's a good insurance policy.

03:27If free agency doesn't go the way that you think,

03:29or the trade market doesn't go the way that you think,

03:31where, okay, we can plug Dubon in it short,

03:34where he's going to grade out still strong defensively.

03:36But Dubon's going to grade out well defensively at literally every single position.

03:39So kind of similar to the Bellinger thing we were talking about,

03:42where, you know, if he goes to the Mets, he can plug several different holes.

03:45Obviously, it's not as sexy.

03:47But with Dubon, like, you can plug him in at several different spots here

03:52and fill different gaps that you may have,

03:55depending on how the offseason goes for you, if you're the Braves.

03:58And, you know, I understand that they found some value in Nick Allen.

04:01And, you know, for what they got him for, it was worth it.

04:03But I think they realized they needed a little bit more offense.

04:06And I think they're probably going to still aim higher for their primary shortstop.

04:09But if it doesn't, you know, work out in terms of a bargain or a good opportunity,

04:13you know, then they can plug Dubon there and feel okay about that.

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