Frank Wren happy with Winter League performances by Minor League prospects-MLB Update
General Manager for Atlanta Braves, Frank Wren has acknowledged the progress made by some of the emerging stars in the Minor league during the on-going Winter League.
He is impressed by the way Juan Francisco, Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran performed consistently up until now.
The Braves confront a number of empty slots to fill on the roster at the moment.
Though B.J. Upton has been acquired, they require another outfielder. Similarly, following retirement of Chipper Jones, an almost unbridgeable offensive void has to be addressed by the team.
Either the Braves can search for cost effective free agents or they can look into their farm system and fetch some prospects from there.
Given the fact that players in the free agent market are disappearing after being hired by the teams, it is more likely the Braves call up their Minor Leaguers during the upcoming season.
The tour taken by the GM to Dominican to observe some of the club’s prospects playing there, along with the rest of the top officials, can be seen in light of this perspective.
It also gives a reason to believe that the Braves are seriously considering the use of internal options for their 2013 expedition.
Wren has shown complete faith in the ability of the young players in the farm system to become Major Leaguers and regular performers soon.
“From our standpoint, there’s not a bad option,” Wren said. “If we end up, going with our internal group, it’s not bad. We keep our money, we keep our prospects and we give opportunities to our young players. Then we adjust when we see where the real needs
are a little later.”
Simultaneously, Wren thinks if he finds a better trade partner, he may be willing to sacrifice some of the prospects to acquire an established player.
“We’re going to keep making calls, and staying engaged with teams that we feel like we might match up with and see if there’s a deal out there that makes sense,” Wren added.
The decisions taken after a couple of days from today can reveal the real intent of the management behind their visit to the Dominican.
It will be interesting to keep track of the events concerning the Braves’ moves from now onward.
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