Braves Trade Blaine Boyer; Acquire Brian Barton

by gondeee on Apr 20, 2009 4:58 PM EDT in Braves Trade News

It was a day of the double-B's being traded. Here is the official release:

The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals announced a two-player trade today, as the Braves acquired outfielder Brian Barton in exchange for right-handed pitcher Blaine Boyer. Barton will be assigned to Atlanta's Triple-A Gwinnett affiliate.

Barton, who turns 27 on Saturday (April 25), is in his fifth professional season. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder made his Major League debut in 2008 after he was selected by the Cardinals in the Rule 5 Draft in December 2007.

Last season, Barton played 82 games for the Cardinals and batted .268 (41-for-153), with 13 extra-base hits, including two home runs. He hit .289 (11-for-38) with one home run as a pinch hitter, while the Cardinals went 17-13 in games that he was in the starting lineup. Barton had two stints on the disabled list, with a fractured right wrist (July 6-August 14) and a right oblique strain (August 25-Sept. 9).

Originally signed by the Cleveland Indians as a non-drafted free agent in 2004, Barton attended the University of Miami, where he tied for the team lead in batting average and was named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team as a junior. Barton resides in Los Angeles, Calif., and needs one more semester to complete his degree in aerospace engineering. He has completed internships with Boeing and NASA.

Smart kid, and I suppose this was a smart move. There was little chance that Boyer was going to sneak through waivers, and we get a capeable outfielder in return.

0 recs | 20 comments

Comments

Smart kid or not, this seems strange to pick up another AAAA OF which we have clones of in Gwinnett but I guess if this what we could get than so be it.

Hanson-Ace - April 20, 2009 reply

I’ve always liked Barton. Saw him with Lake County, Kinston, and Akron when he was with the Indians. Very good OF, a solid hitter. He doesn’t have a lot of power, but he has a good approach.

cbwilk - April 20, 2009 reply

no analysis of his skills whatsoever right here

I can’t say I know him but I had a class with him at Miami. I don’t know how smart he is but he was always around the engineering labs working on stuff. The whole “smart” thing gets thrown around too much with engineers. I got an electrical engineering degree but I consider myself quite the doofus.

I tried talking with him a few times but he often shrugged me off. He is kinda tall, and somewhat scrawny. He was in crutches recovering from knee surgery so maybe the inability to work out made him lose weight. He came off as kind of a jerk but that’s what “fame” does to ya I guess. I probably would be a prick too if I were good enough to play in the bigs. I’d blow off all of you TC’ers!

RehabReject - April 20, 2009 reply

.413 career OBP in the minors.

Lennox - April 20, 2009 reply

Oh Thank God

Boyer was never going to pan out here, best of luck in STL

Hobnail_Boot - April 20, 2009 reply

I think Barton may be reaching the point in his life where he should persue his engineering endeavors.

We have numerous options that could perform at an equal level to his. This isn’t meant to say we did poorly with this, because we actually got a player for Boyer so it’s a mild success regardless; but the Cards did well to get Boyer, I think.

Blaine gives them a potentially productive player; while Barton was nothing more than organizational filler with all their OF depth. Boyer needed a change of scenery and now he gets to work with one of the best in the business with Duncan, I hope he can turn things around.

timmy3 - April 20, 2009 reply

I guess you can never have too many OFers…

jug - April 20, 2009 reply

rhinoskin - April 20, 2009 reply

AWESOME

Smoltz's Beard - April 20, 2009 reply

So they all look alike to you, i suppose?

10-4 - April 20, 2009 reply

Wait, that's not the same dude>?

LOL. I really thought it was somehow.

Chief Noc-A-Homa - April 20, 2009 reply

Oh, Crabman.

If anyone would like to buy his BRef page from me let me know.

Alxfritz - April 20, 2009 reply

Don't let the door hit your ass, yada yada yada.......

(can sleep easy now)

Chief Noc-A-Homa - April 20, 2009 reply

Cards fan here

I enjoyed watching Barton play, and I wish him the best in ATL. He’s got the chance to be an above average everyday player, or a very good RH platoon guy.

I had the opportunity to interview him this off season, and you can listen to the interview here.

salukihoops - April 20, 2009 reply

"I enjoyed watching Barton play"

I didn’t enjoy watching Boyer play. He has good stuff though, hope he works out for you. I’ve seen one too many BBs from him.

TradeAndruw - April 20, 2009 reply

I appreciate you posting the interview, it was interesting to listen to his take on the rule 5 draft situation. I think Barton can definitely help the team this year. I’m excited to see what he can do for us.

garriscp - April 21, 2009 reply