It appears as if Evan Gattis‘ time as a member of the Atlanta Braves has come to an end as he’s reportedly been traded to the Houston Astros for a collection of prospects.
Gattis has long been rumored to be on the block for the Braves though for whatever reason, wasn’t moved. Perhaps the Braves were holding out for a better return, but whatever the case it appears they finally decided to cut ties with the powerful catcher.
#Braves have traded Evan Gattis to the #Astros for trio of prospects, I’m told by source.
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienAJC) January 14, 2015
Coming the Braves way will be multiple players including Michael Foltynewicz, Andrew Thurman and Rio Ruiz. Ruiz, 20, hit an impressive .293/.387/.436 slash last season with 37 doubles, 11 HR and 77 RBI at Lancaster in the California League while Foltynewicz and Thurman had respectable seasons on the mound. It’s a pretty rich return given the circumstances.
As for Gattis, he’ll likely thrive for the Houston Astros considering his routine right field pop ups at Turner Field will likely find themselves resting in the seats of the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park.
More importantly for the Astros, they’ll be able to keep Evan Gattis off the field defensively (where he was sub par) and hide him in the designated hitter role moving forward.
