Tommy Hanson Traded to Angels for Jordan Walden
November 30, 2012 at 12:59 pm by Ben Duronio under Atlanta Braves
There was a time when Tommy Hanson was one of the most valuable commodities in baseball. The shoulder issue he ran into two seasons ago along with his diminished velocity and weight gain made him an expendable asset, and now he returned only a reliever coming off of a troubled season. Even though that is all the Braves got in return, it is good that they cleared the roughly $4 million they owed Hanson and got a high potential arm along with the additional payroll flexibility.
Walden is essentially a poor man’s Craig Kimbrel, which should play well in the late innings. He has an incredible fastball and I like his mid 80′s slider as well. Having his arm in the back end of the bullpen will almost undoubtedly make the Braves bullpen the best in the league.
I will always be a fan of Tommy’s, and I wish him the best in Los Angeles.
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Clearing salary for a left fielder?
Hopefully we are clearling salary to apply towards LF.
Sure seems like it, Dave. This coupled with reports that BJ is talking to Justin could be setting us up for some big news over the next few weeks.
Geez. When I first heard he had been traded, I started looking at the Angels’ OF options. Have to say that seeing Hanson shipped off for a reliever is pretty disappointing. I realize Walden helps the team, but man has Hanson’s stock fallen in the last 2 years.
I always liked Tommy Hanson, at least for him he gets to go back to his home state in Southern California.
It seemed like the Braves still had a decent amount of salary space left after the Upton and Laird deal but maybe its clearing the way for a big acquisition.
My first thought (after ‘WOW’) was the Angels are a good match for Hanson. After all, Trout can steal some of those long balls for him.
If the $ saved is used to get a solid starter for LF, then I’m pleased with the deal.
Not ecstatic (I think Tommy has a bit more value than a RP, but I’m not the one talking to GMs and finding out what they’d offer for Hanson), but pleased.
Hopefully this is a prelude to landing BJs baby brother, or another strong bat to fill the last OF spot…
Hopefully this will end the rumored interest in Durbin returning to ATL!
my thoughts exactly
hard to believe Jurrjens and Hanson are both gone. I expected them both to be in the rotation for years to come. Sad to see but i am very excited for the possible acquisition of Justin (assuming the payroll being saved will be for a LF)
Getting Justin would be awesome, but payroll is not the only concern. The D-backs have supposedly said they want an everyday 3B or SS and the Braves already shot down the Simmons possibility. Arizona’s upper minor leagues are stacked with pitching prospects, too, so Delgado/Teheran likely have minimal value to them. It won’t be easy to make a deal. The Braves would likely have to get a third team involved – or they could offer pitching to KC for Wil Myers.
Also Kevin Towers is the GM in Arizona, and Wren had some pretty frustrating dealings with him a while back.
The NL just lost quite a bit of base stealing ability…
I’m sure McCann wasn’t exactly sad about that. Hanson made it nearly impossible to contain the running game.
Victorino!
I will miss Tommy. I hope he rebounds. The return seems a little undervalued but the extra year of control and the $4M savings may tip the scales closer to even.
WOW and WTF is all I can say.
Same thing I said after most of his starts over the last 2 seasons…
Ben,
Who would be your ideal (and realistic) pick for a LF or 3B option at this point?
I’m not sure how realistic it would be, but I would open dialog with the Rockies about Arenado and stick him at third with Prado in left. Barring that, I would look to the Twins for Willingham to take over in left.
I like this trade. Sheds salary, rids the team of a high risk starter that has shown more issues than good things the past two seasons and fills the need for a RHRP for high leverage situations. Frank Wren is pushing all the right buttons so far this off season in my opinion.
I’ll be curious to see what they do with that money. Extending Prado, putting it toward an OF. Are the Royals actively shopping Alex Gordon? If not him, then probably Swish and go with Prado in the leadoff spot with Swish, Heyward, Freeman, Upton, Uggla, Simmons, Laird as the rest of the lineup. Little RH heavy, but until Mac comes back, its the best we can do.
Gordon could be had for the right price, but the Royals need a major-league ready SP in exchange. If Wren was not willing to swing a Denard Span trade for a SP prospect, I doubt he’ll consider Gordon seriously.
Sorry – meant to say ML SP in exchange for Gordon – not ML ready. And a good one at that.
This must truly be a reflection of how low Tommy’s stock is in the eyes of other GMs. Don’t teams always need pitching? For all the pitching depth the Braves have allegedly had over the last couple years we were pulling Ben Sheets off the scrap heap in the middle of a pennant race. Does Jordan Walden help the Braves’ bullpen? Yes he does. But I find it hard to believe this was the best use of resources.
Yeah, unfortunately with an average fastball of 89.7 MPH last year (a full 3 MPH lower than two years earlier) and as straight as his fastball is, MLB hitters are going to kill it and they did. I doubt that he’ll ever get that velocity back, meaning he is what his 2012 self was.
Maybe Brian McCann’s defensive stats will improve because Tommy won’t be around to give a 0% chance to catch base stealers.
Hard to justify keeping Hanson around, especially since the price tag would be escalating in the coming years. Walden could be a great pickup!
Good luck to Tommy and thanks for your service to the Braves organization.
This is bothering me and I was hoping you guys could clear it up?
Hanson gets traded and only brings back a good, albeit hurt, RHRP. Denard Span gets traded and only brings back a single A ball prospect.
Questions – Were we overvauling Span or was the prospect they got that good? Finally, considering all it took to get Span, why wouldn’t Hanson (majors ready with high upside when healthy) and a B level prospect not work for us to get Span?
I thought the same as well. I dont want to act like I know anything about the prospect they sent over, but from what ive read, we have the same if not higher valued prospects. There must be a reason why Span didnt want to come here
Excellent question. I hope to hear the answer to this one as well.
The guy the Twins got was the #1 prospect in the Nationals system from what I understand. He’s that good.
I didn’t know he was rated that high in the Nationals farm. But, is saying he is the National’s #1 prospect actually saying that much about him considering a lot of their good prospects are on the big league team?
As I’m crusing the net today and reading up on all the trades, I think what is bothering me is that the Twins didn’t get enough for Span. Ken Rosenthall said on twitter that a few GMs feel the same way.
Fangraphs write up was less than stellar on Meyers. He’s a 22 year old who pitched well (but did not dominate) in A ball. Apparently he has some good stuff, but struggles with consistent mechanics leading to some consistency issues. Its hard to believe we couldn’t beat that without even losing one of our top pitching prospects (i.e. Teheran and Delgado if still considered a prospect).
Tommy was frustrating as all get out, but he seemed like a good guy and I wish him well, especially since he is on the other coast in the other league.
Keith Law had a much more positive take on the prospect:
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/law_keith/id/8692094/denard-span-alex-meyer-trade-win-minnesota-twins-mlb
I don’t think we could have beaten it without Delgado or Teheran, and I can understand why Wren didn’t want to do that.
Yeah, the Hanson trade came one year too late. Still though, with the shape that Tommy’s shoulder was in, getting salary relief and a very good RHRP seems like a pretty good return.
I believe that this trade meant three things
1) reduced the Braves salary obligations,
2) brought in a proven reliever with high velocity
3) indicates that Durbin has priced himself out of the Braves bullpen budget.
Hanson’s value diminshed over the past two seasons, especially last season.
Wren is at his best when configuring the bullpen
Did anyone else see the comment from the Angels fan on the ESPN report of this trade?
“So a guy cant close for the Angels, gets relegated to Middle Relief or just not used at all, and somehow they acquire an Ace 26 year old in return? This is a head scratcher and a STEAL for the Angels.”
lolololololololol
I love Tommy to death and mean no offense to him at all, but if an “ace” is what they are expecting, they are likely to be sorely disappointed.
Not saying Tommy won’t return to form, but it’s just highly unlikely. And it sounds as if they believe he is already there, or worse, never left.
I’ll say it: Tommy ain’t returning to form.
Just like everyone else… I’ve also liked Tommy. Seemed to handle himself and go about his business in all the right ways. Just a shame he’s had all the health issues. I honestly wish him the best in L.A. and hope we have the chance to hit against him in the WS.
With that said, I’m not sure how this move can be taken in any other way than trying to create more money for another FA splash. I like what FW & Co. have done so far.
In regard to “will almost undoubtedly make the Braves bullpen the best in the league,” I was pretty sure we already had that title?
Walden is a stud in the bullpen when healthy. He is the equivalent of a rh Venters. Add O’Flaherty and ended with Kimbrel. Our bullpen of Gearrin, Avilan, Martinez, O’Flaherty, Walden, Venters, and Kimbrel may be one of the most dominant in history if they stay healthy. Which is a big if. But I am still a fan of Hanson, if he can get his shoulder in shape and lose some weight he could still turn into the ace we all hoped for. If he does the Angels win this trade. However, if we use the money wisely and Delgado and/or Teheran take the next step we could win a title and then it’s definetly worth giving up Hanson no matter what.
My brother called this a “My project for your project deal”. I couldn’t agree more. I wish Hanson well. This could also be seen as one more step towards FW’s master plan to mimic Baltimore’s and Oakland’s success by hitting lots of HRs and having a shut down bullpen.
I would also like to point out that this trade shows just how good Wren is at hiding, or at least disguising, his moves.
We’ve all had an inclination that Hanson might be traded this off-season, but I don’t think anyone, even MLBTR, heard any whispering of this kind of deal happening.
Happy with this move – if he didn’t improve his velocity this year, he was a non-tender waiting to happen next year.
I’d like to see the other Upton in a Braves uniform.
Ross, Victorino, Swisher, Pagan are the names everybody is throwing out (although Pagan wants too much, imo, and Swisher will likely cost too much, as well).
Two names I haven’t heard much are Ryan Ludwick and Scott Hairston. Hairston had a very good year last year and can play anywhere in the OF, plus I believe 2B.
Interesting deal because both clubs must like what they see from their return when healthy – so in a way, both teams are gambling that their guy can get healthy and stay healthy. The Braves feel like Hanson’s best days are behind him, plus it was cost-efficient, and that Walden is pretty shut-down when 100%. Don’t really think this was a big risky deal for either side.
One thing a lot of people are forgetting about Tommy Hanson is, his agent Scott Boras. The Braves do not like dealing with the devil(Boras). Hopefully the Braves will use this salary releif and find a quality OF. Love to have J Upton or J. Ellsbury
Or how about the simple fact that Tommy has been pretty shitty recently in Atlanta and you would have to look extremely hard to find evidence that he’ll get better. Or at least $4 million better than Delgado.
His agent could’ve been the goddamn Cookie Monster for all Wren could’ve cared.
I think the “$4 million better than…” comment is fair but we’ll all be able to evaluate this move differently once the other dominoes fall. But I don’t see an outfielder out there worth given a big contract to. If we throw money at Swisher or Victorshithead I’ll be so pissed.
Am I the only person who is wondering why we aren’t offering the D-backs Nick Ahmed? They’re not going to pry Simmons away from ATL, but surely we’d be willing to send them Nick, and I’d think that would be a reasonably attractive substitute, especially since it’s pretty clear they actually do want to trade JUp.
Is there an obvious reason that wouldn’t be a legitimate offer? (probably with other pieces involved, obviously)
Chris Denorfia. Switch hitter, better from the right side. Good pinch hitter, could platoon with Juan Francisco. As far as LF leadoff men, not sure there are any out there. And J Upton doesn;t happen without Simba, no matter how much money the Bravos clear.
And no way Bravos give up Simba right now. I think J-Up is a pipedream. But I am pretty happy with our offseason so far.
Nck Ahmed? Hello? What is he, chopped liver? Did he kill Bob Brenly’s brother or something?