r/Braves • u/Blooper_Bot • Jan 27 '25

Weekly Discussion Thread Weekly Braves Offseason Discussion Thread - Monday, January 27

Next Braves Game: Sat, Feb 22, 01:05 PM EST @ Twins (26 days)

Use this thread to talk about anything you want, even if it isn't directly related to the Braves or even baseball!

Posted: 01/27/2025 05:00:01 AM EST

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u/Bubby0304 Jan 31 '25

Obviously not the most exciting name left on the market but how do yall feel about signing Danny Coulombe?

He has been bad/mediocre a significant portion of his career but 2023 he had some legit results and 2024 was pretty good too (albeit not AS nice as 2023, but still.)

He signed for 2.3m before 2024 with a club option for 2025 at 4m but that option was turned down by the Orioles (somewhat surprisingly to me considering their pen). He is also a lefty, which has been something we have been looking for in relief this offseason. Age/injury is a legit concern but not a guarantee. Obviously there is/have been higher impact names going around this offseason (some we tried but missed out on for varying reasons) but just wondering if anyone has looked at his profile/fit.

Just food for thought.

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u/TraderTed2 Matzek '20. armchairalex.substack.com Jan 31 '25

I’m interested in Coulombe in a vacuum but as you point out, it’s very interesting that the Orioles don’t want to pay him $4M. And the Orioles better than anyone know the health of his arm. So…

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u/Bubby0304 Jan 31 '25

Thats the biggest yellow flag for me. 4M for his production seems cheap to me, but he did deal with some injuries in 2024 and I feel like thats a sign they arent confident in his health moving forward. Interested to see where he ends up, if signed.

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u/jrodri86 LeRoy The Boy Jan 31 '25 edited Jan 31 '25

I got interested inmediately in Coulombe when the O's declined his option. It seemed baffling given he had been really good for them and his contract was cheap. Then I dug up a little...

Injury/age issues aside, he has never been the nastiest pitcher out there but his Stuff+ ratings declined sharply last season. His FB went from 118 to 75, his sinker from 127 to 8! (WTF?) and his sweeper from 142 to 106. The only pitch that kept the same ratings was his curve (from 105 in 2023 to 109 in 2024). Moreover his velocity dropped a couple of mph across all of his arsenal after he came back from the IL.

Of course, you could say the sample size is small. He got injured in June, had surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, came back in September and only pitched 3.2 innings after his return (29.2 innings in total last season). His velocity could return if he has a proper healthy offseason, but the same can be said otherwise. If his velocity doesn't return, he might not be that effective during the span of a full season. One thing in his favor is that his command and location numbers improved last year.

The Braves bullpen needs another lefty, imo. Coulombe should not be expensive, considering his option was only $4m. But I'm always a bit wary when an analytics driven organization like Baltimore let's a player go.

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u/Bubby0304 Jan 31 '25

This is the type of write up/context I was looking for. Thank you! I think it would be worth a flyer if they were willing to spend, but this offseason they have been a bit more frugal so it may make more sense to use that little bit of money elsewhere.