Braves Acquire Dan Uggla

[Elite]

The Braves landed one of baseball's most powerful second basemen today, acquiring Dan Uggla from the division rival Marlins for utility man Omar Infante and lefty reliever Mike Dunn.

Uggla, 31 in March, had another fine season in 2010 with a .287/.369/.508 line in 674 plate appearances. Uggla is one season away from free agency, and extension talks with the Marlins broke off after he rejected a four-year, $48MM offer. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports feels that the Braves will attempt to sign him long-term. Martin Prado will step in at third base as Chipper Jones recovers from knee surgery or log innings in left field if necessary, tweets Rosenthal. Uggla should be happy to remain at second base.

Infante, a super-utility type, hit .321/.359/.416 in 506 plate appearances for the Braves this year. He's under contract through 2011 at $2.5MM with another possible $1MM in plate appearance incentives. The loss may put the Braves in the market for a utility player, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Dunn, 26 in May, is a hard-throwing left-handed reliever who came to Atlanta from the Yankees a year ago in the Javier Vazquez deal. Dunn racked up big-time strikeout and walk numbers this year between Triple-A and the Majors. The intra-division asking price for Uggla was expected to be large, but this is a disappointing return for the Marlins. They have succeeded in revamping their bullpen for the long-term, adding Ryan Webb, Edward Mujica, Dustin Richardson, and Dunn in recent trades.

The Cardinals, Blue Jays, Nationals, and Tigers were other reported suitors for Uggla.

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick broke news of the agreement on Twitter, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Mark Bowman of MLB.com provided updates as the story developed.

MLBTR

Wow, didn't see this coming at all. There were no rumors flying or anything, must have gotten done quickly.

Anywho, great move for the Braves, but the Marlins return was lackluster. Infante probably won't repeat those numbers and Mike Dunn is just a reliever with little control.

 

[snipezo]

Wow. Marlins could have gotten so much more.

 

[Phil The Thrill]

Wow. Marlins could have gotten so much more.

 

[cruzg24]

Horrible move, Uggla is just good for power and last year was an aberration not a trend. Dude doesnt hit for contact and doesnt play solid defense. He doesnt even steal bases like a prototypical second baseman. The guy isnt that special in my eyes.

 

[Mexi]

yeah but Atlanta needs some righty pop

 

[cruzg24]

yeah but Atlanta needs some righty pop

You want some pop go after Adam Dunn. The guy has an amazing OBP and you just stick him in LF and he wont be that counter-productive. He also has better power numbers than Uggla, he has also been very consistent throughout his career.

 

[DJT]

I like this move for the Braves, it could really help them out, especially if Chipper goes out again.

 

[Mexi]

You want some pop go after Adam Dunn. The guy has an amazing OBP and you just stick him in LF and he wont be that counter-productive. He also has better power numbers than Uggla, he has also been very consistent throughout his career.

Righty pop