Am I the only one who thinks this might have been a good signing for the Braves (courtesy Circling the Bases, great site btw):

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The Cubs did a little more work Tuesday evening toward filling their bench.  According to ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine, the team will announce on Wednesday the signing of infielder Chad Tracy to a minor league contract.

Tracy, 29, batted .237/.306/.389 last season with eight home runs and 39 RBI in 257 at-bats.  He's struggled with injuries for the past few years, but it seems like a fine deal considering the money exchanged.  Tracy will earn $900,000 if he lands on the big league roster and can gain another $525,000 if he reaches 450 plate appearances.

There's also a clause in Tracy's contract that will award him $100,000 for Comeback Player of the Year honors.  That would certainly be a welcome scenario for both sides.

Andy (CT)

Hey Rob, Over/Under .350 OBP for Jason Heyward in his rookie year?

Rob Neyer   (12:04 PM)

Under. I love Heyward, but they throw some pretty mean pitches in the majors.

Doug (Jacksonville, Fl)

Rob, thanks for the chat. As currently consituted, do you think the Braves can make the postseason this year and make a run in Bobby's final season? I keep hearing talk about people thinking that we might pick up Johnny Damon, any possibility of this?

Rob Neyer   (12:11 PM)

I want to like the Braves' chances, but they've lost Javier Vazquez and added Billy Wagner. They're a handy dark horse, but I can't actually make them Wild Card favorites unless they do add someone to that lineup.

 

Murph (NJ)

Where would you rank Arodys Vizcaino vs Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes two years ago when they were not traded for Johan Santana?

Jim Callis   (2:03 PM)

Vizcaino had proven less than both but has more pure stuff than either. Balancing both considerations, I'd rank them Hughes, Vizcaino, Kennedy.

Frank Wren (Atl)

Rank my pitching prospects. Teheran, Vizcaino, Delgado, Minor, Devill, Rohrbough.

Jim Callis   (2:16 PM)

Vizcaino, Teheran, Minor, Delgado, DeVall, Rohrbough.

Ryan (Indy)

I noticed that Cody Johnson made Atlanta's top 10 prospect list. Do you think he will become an effective major league player of some kind, or is it just a testimate to how weak their system is?

Jim Callis   (2:27 PM)

More the latter. There's not a lot of depth after the top few prospects.

Jason (Manhattan (NY))

I still don't understand why Atlanta took Minor at # 7 when the experts all seem to agree that there were better options on the board. Matzek was still there and you have him ranked 22 overall. The difference in signing bonus was only about $1 million. Do you have any insight to the Braves decision?

Jim Callis   (2:51 PM)

He was the top player on their board who would sign for what their ownership was willing to spend, plain and simple.

Bryce (Buffalo)

Freeman or Smoak

Jim Callis   (3:05 PM)

Smoak, easy. And I like Freeman.

 

Richie (SC)

Do you think that Craig Kimbrel will ever gain good enough control to be an effective major league pitcher?

Jim Callis

(2:29 PM)

Yes. With his mid-90s fastball and his slider, he just needs to get to "effectively wild" to get the job done in the majors. If he can do better than that, he has closer potential.

Tom (San Francisco, CA)

Should Freddie Freeman's performance thus far in the Arizona Fall League be a cause for concern?

Jim Callis

(2:30 PM)

I had a scout tell me he was disappointed in Freeman's bat speed and athleticism. But Freeman had wrist problems during the season, and it often takes a long time for a hitter to recover from that. I don't place a lot of stock in AFL performance and I'm not alarmed by Freeman's.

 

jim (virginia)

As a Braves fan I couldn't be more exicted about having one of the game's top prospects (if not the top prospect) in Jayson Heyward. But after him I worry about the depth of the farm system. How would you rate the overall strength of the farm as compared to other organizations?

Jim Callis

(2:38 PM)

I haven't lined up all the systems, but I was shocked at the Braves' lack of depth, considering they always seem to have a Top 10 system. But once you get past Heyward, Freeman, Teheran, Minor and Kimbrel, it falls off quickly. Particularly in terms of position players.

I hate Burrell as much as the next guy but at 2/$16M, why were we not in on this?  Seriously, he puts up 30 HRs & 100 RBIs every year.  ATL has proven it can handle a middle of the order bat putting up a .250 average.  His biggest deficiency is defense.  I don't like that either.  Again, for an $8 million commitment for only two years.   That seems like a no brainer. word