Smarte Move

Atlanta's Andy Marte is Quite the Prospect
(But the Braves Third Baseman Started Out as "K-Marte")

More Marte: BP's Interview with John Schuerholz

May 2005 -- BP: How will the near-term future of Andy Marte be addressed? We rated him as our #1 prospect this year, he's producing at Triple-A, you've got question marks at the corner outfield spots, and you've got Chipper Jones, by our metrics one of the worst defenders in the majors, playing third base. At what point do you bring up Marte and move Jones back to the outfield?

Schuerholz: Chipper Jones was a perennial All-Star at third base. We moved him to left field to accommodate Vinny Castilla, who by everyone's admission was a better third baseman. Chipper did not take to it, he did not play his new position well. It was physically debilitating to him, hard on his legs. We brought him back to third base, not just for physical reasons, but with the idea that it would help his bat as well. If you have a player the caliber of Chipper Jones, a potential future Hall of Famer, you accommodate him.

Are we delighted to have Andy Marte? Absolutely. And it will likely happen for him at third base. On the other hand, could he be a Miguel Cabrera-type player, where he plays some left field, right field, some first base? Maybe. You can't really analyze the value of Chipper Jones if you just look at statistical defensive analysis. Because then you don't see what his impact is when he drives in the winning run in the ninth inning. It's important to feed some positivity to a player like that. If Marte does what we think he's going to do, he'll be in the big leagues very shortly.

BP: Another consideration with a player like Marte is the question of starting his service-time clock. How much of a concern is that for you, given the budget constraints the Braves and every other team must face?

Schuerholz: It's never an issue for us. Maybe that's just because of my attitude--we always seem to have quality talent in the pipeline behind the guy whose time clock starts, behind the guy who's going to get more expensive than his quality of play demands. So we'll just put another player in that role. We have great confidence in our scouting and development program, that we have a very full pipeline of talented players. If they're good enough, there's really no problem--they'll earn their way into a starting spot.

Gammons Chimes In on Marte

“In their (Atlanta) organization, he’s the best player they ever traded. (Atlanta Asst. GM Dayton) Moore makes the point that he would have been in college last year and the question would be who goes first, he or (No. 1 2005 draft pick) Upton… the thing that this administration tried to do is build for the future and contend at the same time. This deal gives them a chance to do both. They’ll probably go out and sign the Florida Alex Gonzalez who in my mind next to Cesar Izturis is one of the best defensive shortstop in the game. And he’s got a little pop. Sign him to a one-year deal and see what happens or maybe a two-year deal, but there’s no other market for him so… they’re just looking for defense at shortstop. They’re going to talk to other guys. I know they talked to Anaheim a little bit about Maicer Izturis, Caesar’s half-brother from Anaheim. …The Red Sox wouldn’t take three more years at $8 million for Orlando Cabrera… the Angels tried to dump him (Cabrera) all week.

“As Dayton Moore said to me today ‘This is one of those deals that people in Boston will say ‘oh’ and about ten years from now they’ll say ‘remember when they made that trade.’

“He had an .880 OPS in the international league as the youngest everyday player in the league. It’s remarkable. He’s a great kid but they had to get rid of him (because of Chipper Jones will be the Braves third baseman for the next five years). Absolutely (he stays with the Red Sox).”
–- 12.8.05, ESPN’s Peter Gammons on WEEI

Sox Pay $11 Million (Or a Year of Damon)
to Get Out of Theo's Edgar Rentererror

from the Winter Meetings
Edes: Adios, Edgar; Bienvenidos, Andy Marte
Marte is described as a throwback third baseman by Bill Lajoie, a big thick-bodied power hitter
who projects as a 25-30 home run guy when he establishes himself in the big leagues ...
Some candidates to fill Renteria's shoes include Alex Gonzalez, Royce Clayton, and Pokey Reese

MLB: Myers to Yankees; CBS4: Mueller to Dodgers
Wilbur: Docket Full of Change
Your Turn: This (Shortstop) Space for Rent
Wilbur: Sox Short on Options
Survey: Who Should Play Short?

Sox Make Rule 5 Draft Picks