BRAVES NEWS
Gwinnett’s new nickname may have been leaked
The baseball team formerly known as the G-Braves will have a new nickname for the 2018 season and beyond. I’ll give the Braves credit for trying to give their minor league teams unique identities that aren’t just carbon copies of what the major league team looks like, but some of the nicknames that the Braves are considering are, um, well, they’re interesting. One of the nicknames under consideration is “Buttons,” and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution may have jumped the gun when it comes to announcing the new name change.
So, yeah, that deleted AJC story did report that Gwinnett had chosen the Buttons: https://t.co/E3lDEtMfp9 h/t: @silverlining63
— gondeee (@gondeee) October 31, 2017
What should the Braves worry about when it comes to Rule 5?
The bad news about Game 7 being today is that there won’t be any more baseball until next Spring, which means that we’ll be entering the long and cold offseason as soon as the final pitch is thrown at Chavez Ravine. As such, that means that the Rule 5 Draft in December is right around the corner, and our friends over at Walk-Off Walk tried to give us an idea of what to expect when it comes to that event.
It seems odd to say this, but the Braves don’t have a Rule 5 problem. Oh, there are plenty of players that can be protected, but only one is a for-sure Top 20 organizational prospect. Pike and Peterson are probably somewhere between #20 and #30 while the others are further down the list. This isn’t quite as star-studded of a list like those that will need to be added before the 2018 Rule 5 draft like Alex Jackson, Touki Toussaint, and Patrick Weigel. While many like Dirks and Kinman – like me – losing either or both won’t hurt the Braves too much.
Who should the Braves consider for GM?
Meanwhile, the crew over at Tomahawk Take has decided to do a bit of speculation when it comes to who they feel the Braves should add to their front office for 2018 and beyond. If you haven’t really been keeping an eye on the potential list of candidates, then this is definitely an article that you should check out.
WORLD SERIES NEWS
Los Angeles edges past Houston to force Game 7
Most of the staff here at Talking Chop predicted that this series would go seven games. Yasiel Puig all but guaranteed that the Dodgers would force a seventh game after that wacky Game 5. Lance McCullers admitted that he figured the series was going to go seven games. So of course, after Joc Pederson hit a solo home run in the seventh inning that put the Dodgers ahead by two runs and Kenley Jansen locked down a six-out save, Los Angeles had themselves a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros and now we’re all going to get a World Series Game 7 for the second year in a row. Are you all excited?
MLB NEWS
Miami plans to shed payroll in a big way
The lingering rumor for the Marlins ever since Derek Jeter and friends bought the team is that they’ve been planning to shed payroll. Now it appears that the Marlins have made it very clear as to how they plan on accomplishing that — they’re actively shopping Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon, and Martin Prado.
Stanton, who is still set to make an eye-popping $295 million over the next 10 seasons, has drawn early interest from the Giants, but teams such as the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox and Angels have also been mentioned as potential landing spots. Stanton has a full no-trade clause and would reportedly prefer to play on one of the two coasts. Stanton, 27, hit a league-best 59 home runs while slashing .281/.376/.631 in his first fully-healthy season since 2011.
Gordon could be the easiest of the three to be traded. The 29-year-old Gordon is due $37 million over the next three seasons and has a $14 million team option in 2021.