Update: Deal Confirmed
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman confirmed the trade, with one notable addition–along with Evan Gattis, the Braves will be shipping James Hoyt to the Astros for the original three prospects named in Bowman’s tweet:
The Braves will send Evan Gattis and James Hoyt to the Astros for 3B Rio Ruiz and RHPs Mike Foltynewicz and Andrew Thurman.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 15, 2015
Bowman also outlines a few more details on his twitter account. Apparently the Braves had no calls from National League teams on Gattis, and were (rightfully) concerned about how long the big man could hold up in the outfield. As far as the players coming back, Bowman says that Foltynewicz will compete for a spot in the rotation but will likely start in Triple-A, while Rios is probably headed to Double-A.
We’ll have more analysis of the trade and its ramifications in the coming hours. Stay tuned.
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Original Story
John Hart continues his rebuild of the Atlanta Braves this offseason, with news (maybe?) breaking today that Evan Gattis has been traded to the Houston Astros for a trio of prospects:
#Braves have traded Evan Gattis to the #Astros for trio of prospects, I'm told by source.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) January 14, 2015
However, MLB.com beat reporter Mark Bowman said that the deal still hasn’t been finalized:
The #Braves have exchanged names w/ the Astros but the deal is not complete.Still a chance Gattis could go elsewhere.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 14, 2015
Throughout the day, many fans were waiting for the trade to happen after Gondeee tweeted that a deal might be happening hours before DOB confirmed the trade:
Gattis might be going to the Astros... stay tuned.
— gondeee (@gondeee) January 14, 2015
Just a few moments ago, Joel Sherman with the New York Post had details on two of the players that would potentially be coming back to Atlanta for El Oso Blanco:
Sorry Mike Foltynewicz, Rio Ruiz and 3d prospect going from #astros to #Braves
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) January 14, 2015
Foltynewicz and Ruiz were the No. 3 and 8 prospects in the Astros system before this trade according to Baseball America. Obviously we’ll need to learn the third prospect to analyze this deal in full, but this return seems like a good one for Atlanta–if it actually does end up happening.
We’ll be updating this story as the news breaks. In the meantime, follow us on twitter (@ATLBeatBlog, @BTRowland, @CarlosACollazo) for our thoughts on the ongoing situation.