MLB Atlanta Braves

Why Atlanta Braves Had To Trade Jason Heyward

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Jason Heyward

Jason Getz – USA Today

The last of the “Born and Bred Braves” is gone.

The Atlanta Braves‘ two-time Gold Glove right fielder was sent to St. Louis Monday along with reliever Jordan Walden in exchange for St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller and minor leaguer Tyrell Jenkins.

Some may say Heyward never lived to the hype after his stellar rookie year in 2010, but it can be argued that Atlanta just dealt away the face of a franchise.

The Braves’ new general manager, John Hart, stated, “It was very difficult to trade Jason, but the deal was made to help us short term and long term… this was our best deal.”

So why did Atlanta get rid of such a fan favorite, someone that they drafted and developed?

They had to.

Entering his final season before free agency, Heyward was due to make $8.3 million in 2015. The Braves had no plans to work out an extension for the All-Star outfielder, because there were no funds to work out an extension.

One of Atlanta’s most consistent problems in 2014 was the poor play of second baseman Dan Uggla and outfielder B.J. Upton. Although Uggla was released in July, his original contract has haunted the Braves in salary cap space.

When brought in 2010, Uggla was signed to a five-year, $62 million contract before he was eligible for free agency. After batting a mere mediocre .209 in four seasons with the Braves, Atlanta will still owe him $13 million in 2015.

The same goes for the sub-par efforts of Upton, who with three more years remaining on his initial five-year, $75.25 million contract, is still due $46.3 million from the organization.

So Atlanta picks up two new promising pitchers to add to an already talented rotation, which had the fifth best ERA in MLB in 2014 of 3.38. But what happens to the batting?

Heyward hit 11 home runs, 20 stolen bases and had a batting average of .271 in 2014. Even though his batting numbers were career lows for the outfielder, they were still the second best on the team.

It’s only November, and the Braves’ defense has taken a considerably large blow. Chances were highly unlikely that Atlanta would have been able to retain Heyward after 2015, but without the hometown hero and talks of a Justin Upton trade, the Braves may have sealed their fate as “non-title contenders” next spring.

James I. Pressley is an Atlanta Braves contributor for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesIPressley or add him to your network on Google

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