This morning (8am EST), Atlanta Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez was interviewed on the Sirius/XM’s MLB Network Radio channel by Jim Memolo and Todd Hollandsworth. There were discussions about the trade sending Andrelton Simmons to the Angels, about related rumors on Freddie Freeman, and on Hector Olivera‘s transition to the outfield.
Some of these answers are good… some of them were odd.
First off, here is the link for the audio of the interview:
Key snippets and paraphrased quotes:
ON FREEMAN:
- Fredi talks to Coppolella 2, 3 times a day
- Coppolella would not be doing his job if he weren’t listening to people
- Just talked to Coppy last night, 7:30, and he said those rumors aren’t true – he never even entertained the idea (of trading Freeman)
- Freeman will ‘absolutely’ be a Brave in 2016
ON SIMMONS:
- I think we were 30th (if I’m not mistaken) in offense, in runs scored last year
- I think we’ll try to add some offense to get better for this upcoming season and also add a couple of pitchers that are… gonna be close to the major leagues for next year
- (Not on the recording) Fredi believes that Simmons’ hitting is something between his 2015 output and his 2014 homer-burst numbers.