Braves shopping Jonny Venters?

jonnyventers

The Braves have arguably the best bullpen in the major leagues but they could be open to trading some of that depth. Jonny Venters, 27, could be available on the trade block.

There is “talk among scouts” that the Braves will listen to all trade offers for the left handed reliever, at-least according to Ken Rosenthal.

Venters had a 3.22 ERA and 69/28 K/BB ratio in 58 2/3 innings last season.

While the Braves may be willing to listen to offer that hardly means they plan to trade a key piece such as Venters. And why would they?

Venters in front of Craig Kimball has been and is expected to be one of the best end of game punches in baseball. Another problem with trading Venters is getting fair-market value.

While Venters certainly has the stuff to close, he has not done so in Atlanta. Despite having all the other numbers there has been a reluctance among teams to trade away too much for players without saves.

Compounding this is the health of teams that expect to be contenders. Mainly their closers; there have been no notable injuries this spring.

The Braves could probably get more for Venters in mid season when someone would take a gamble that he could function as their closer, of course if the Braves are playoff bound they will not exactly be in a position to deal.

John Boarman
John Boarmanhttp://www.tireball.com
Founder and Owner of Tireball Sports.

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