Braves would like to sign Martin Prado to a long-term deal

According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Atlanta Braves would like to sign 28-year old infielder/outfielder Martin Prado to a long-term deal. As he points out, the Braves will have a vacant at third base next year and Prado could be their solution there.

Prado is hitting .318/.376/.451 with 5 HR’s, 39 RBI’s and a 122 OPS+ in 380 plate appearances with the Braves this season.

In my opinion, Prado could get a deal similar to the deal the Angels gave to Howie Kendrick (four-year, $33.5 million). In seven years in the Majors, Prado is a lifetime .297/.346/.437 hitter with 47 HR’s, 255 RBI’s and a 110 OPS+. Kendrick sports a .290/.327/.428 hitting line with 55 HR’s, 337 RBI’s and a 104 OPS+. Defensively, Prado has a career 2.0 UZR at third base, the position that he’d be playing once Chipper Jones retires. Kendrick has a 26.7 UZR at second base.

Looking at their numbers we can see that Prado provides a lot of value to the Braves and it’d be good for them to keep him long-term. I believe he could get a four, five-year deal for something in the $35-40 million range.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License Agreement.