Brandon Phillips - Braves

[Will James]

If they do this then Wren is a moron

[msstate7]

I think wren is trading Simmons for brandon and moving uggla to ss**

[BoomBoom]

If they do this then Wren is a moron

Agreed. If the contracts were equal then it would make sense, maybe a change of scenery helps them both. But Phillips and Uggla will probably be about equal going forward, edge to Phillips, but Phillips has twice as much owed.

[Will James]

Phillips is the most over rated player in the game.

[Todd4State]

Phillips is the most over rated player in the game.

Amen. He strikes out way too much.

[smootness]

I don't think it would be the worst move, though I don't think it would help us a ton.

It all depends on what you think they'll be going forward. Phillips is still a productive player. He may be overrated, but that doesn't matter; he is infinitely better defensively and will probably be the better offensive player going forward as well. Uggla has completely lost it and isn't getting it back.

So the question is, do you just ride Uggla out for 2 years, or do you try to get something more productive even though it ties you down for 2 more years?

Again, I'm not necessarily hoping it happens, but I don't think it would be a terrible move if it did.

[smootness]

Amen. He strikes out way too much.

His K-rate has been below 15 the last 5 years, though it is starting to climb. Uggla's was 31 last year.

[Todd4State]

Phillips is better than Uggla- there's no doubt about that. But Phillips struck out 3 more times than he walked and his WAR per Baseball-Reference was 1.5. He's an upgrade- but an expensive and old upgrade and won't be worth it in the long run.

[Will James]

His K-rate has been below 15 the last 5 years, though it is starting to climb. Uggla's was 31 last year.

Ugglas BB% is nearly 3x Phillips'

[smootness]

Oh no, I realize that. Obviously he doesn't walk much...but the difference in BA is more than making up for that right now; and like I said, Uggla is declining at an unbelievable pace. Uggla's isoOBP continues to be great, but that doesn't matter much when you can't hit .180.

And I don't see him bouncing back. I think Phillips still has a chance to get himself back to at least about a .280 hitter. I would be blown away if Uggla ever again hits above .210.

[Todd4State]

I don't think it would be the worst move, though I don't think it would help us a ton.

It all depends on what you think they'll be going forward. Phillips is still a productive player. He may be overrated, but that doesn't matter; he is infinitely better defensively and will probably be the better offensive player going forward as well. Uggla has completely lost it and isn't getting it back.

So the question is, do you just ride Uggla out for 2 years, or do you try to get something more productive even though it ties you down for 2 more years?

Again, I'm not necessarily hoping it happens, but I don't think it would be a terrible move if it did.

Why not release Uggla, go with Elliot Johnson for a year and then go with Tommy LaStella from the minor leagues? Heck, I'd give LaStella a long look in spring training even though I doubt he will be ready until September.

[Todd4State]

Oh no, I realize that. Obviously he doesn't walk much...but the difference in BA is more than making up for that right now; and like I said, Uggla is declining at an unbelievable pace. Uggla's isoOBP continues to be great, but that doesn't matter much when you can't hit .180.

And I don't see him bouncing back. I think Phillips still has a chance to get himself back to at least about a .280 hitter. I would be blown away if Uggla ever again hits above .210.

If I were you, I would be worried about Philips coming home to collect a check and end his career. He seems like the kind of player that would do that to me.

[smootness]

Because we would still have to pay Uggla, and Brandon Phillips is a far better option than Elliott Johnson...and I'm still not sure what La Stella will be at the major league level.

So the question is, do you want to pay $26 million for the next 2 years for Elliott Johnson/Tommy La Stella, or do you want to pay $50 million for 4 years of Brandon Phillips.

I'm not saying that's a no-brainer that you go with Phillips, just that I don't think it's a no-brainer that you don't.

[Todd4State]

Having to pay for Uggla sucks for you- whether you release him or not. There is no way around that contract other than to get someone to take it off of your hands- and good luck with that.

I'd still go the LaStella route- even if he doesn't pan out, second basemen are not that hard to find on the free agent market. I've seen LaStella play and I think he will be a solid MLB player- plus he hit .343 in AA baseball.

[msstate7]

Why not release Uggla, go with Elliot Johnson for a year and then go with Tommy LaStella from the minor leagues? Heck, I'd give LaStella a long look in spring training even though I doubt he will be ready until September.

Pastornicky and Pena are options also.

[Todd4State]

Pastornicky and Pena are options also.

Well shoot- that makes it even less of a no-brainer. Figure out which one of the four can do the job and move forward.

[smootness]

I know we have to pay Uggla either way; that's my point. Sure, we could release him and try one of the options we have. Or we could trade him for Phillips and have to pay basically the same amount for those 2 years. The difference is, Phillips is a much better option for the next 2 than guys like Pena/Pastornicky/Johnson, but you then have to pay for 2 more years.

So I realize they both are valid options, and neither one is great. But we are where we are, and I just don't think Wren would be a 'moron' for bringing in Phillips.

[War Machine Dawg]

Well shoot- that makes it even less of a no-brainer. Figure out which one of the four can do the job and move forward.

I'm big on Pastornicky. His D isn't a liability at 2B and he's insanely fast. He could potentially be the prototypical leadoff hitter the Braves don't have right now. And if he struggles, Ramiro Pena isn't a bad backup policy. Plus, as you mentioned, we have LaStella who isn't that far away from the big club. He's going to get a shot in the spring.

Regardless, I don't expect Uggla to be back. I was reading an article by the AJC's Braves beat writer and he said he fully expects Uggla to be moved this offseason. He thinks we'll have to eat $16-20M to make it happen, but that we're willing to do that. And Wren hinted at it in the end-of-season interview he did with the AJC. Of course, he also thinks BJ Upton will bounce back after the giant dump he took on the field last season. But that's an entirely different discussion. So long as we deal Uggla and offer Mac to get the compensatory pick, I'm good with whatever we do.

[Will James]

Phillips was a league average second baseman this past year. He's 32. Paying him that money over the next 4 would be moronic. You can spend that money much better elsewhere.

[smootness]

Phillips was a league average second baseman this past year. He's 32. Paying him that money over the next 4 would be moronic. You can spend that money much better elsewhere.

Again, though, we're already paying that money over the next two. So we can't 'spend that money elsewhere' for the next two years. Yes, the downside is that you add an extra 2 years on to the back end of it, but the trade-off is you get a much better option than Dan Uggla or any of our other 2B options for the next two years. I will take league-average at 2B right now.