Atlanta Braves

The Braves, sad to say, have not shown themselves to be true contenders for quite a few years now. Although, they did make a run at the post-season late last year, their efforts fell short with a week left and missed the glory once again.

The team doesn't have a payroll comparing to bigger markets like New York, Boston, or Philadelphia, but they're not broke either. Last year they were willing to infuse money into their starting rotation signing Derek Lowe and trading for Javier Vasquez. I loved the Lowe sign due to his dependability and durability, albeit paying slightly more than I thought he is worth. Lowe struggled a bit this year but did his job eating up innings and keeping the bullpen fresh. Vasquez on the other hand, dominated and was among leaders in strikeouts era and innings pitched. He quickly became the staff's ace over Lowe and never looked back.

Atlanta also has two young guns in that of Jair Jurrjens and rookie Tommy Hanson. Jurrjens was acquired from the Tigers two years ago and has been all that was advertised. Hanson dominated, although his stats won't completely show his effectiveness. He did place high in the Rookie of the Year voting though, deservingly. Tim Hudson is coming back from injury and will be around for another few years and import, Kenshin Kawakami, is also likely to stay in the startng rotation.

This off-season they seem to be doing the same with the bullpen. The Braves have already signed Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito and traded arbitration acceptor Rafael Soriano to the Tampa Bay Rays for Jesse Chavez. They now seem to have a very healthy, dominant late-inning corps. So with pitching up to par, and a little overloaded, the Braves are wanting to trade Derek Lowe after free agent John Lackey comes off the market. Earlier reports were that Atlanta wanted a big bat outfielder for Lowe but apparently are looking for a different type of return as of now.

The Braves could be using the Lowe salary saved for perhaps Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. Both are left fielders, and both have big power. This is the type of move that would benefit them the most, but money is an issue with smaller market teams and big free agents. Atlanta might look to some less attractive yet productive hitters such as Xavier Nady, who is coming off a injury-full 2009. They also might want to revisit a Brewers trade of Corey Hart plus prospects, but Hart is coming off quite a few disappointing seasons and will be a complete gamble that he will rebound. The team could also try trading for a first baseman and let top prospect Jayson Heyward start the season roaming Turner Field. I don't really see this happening though because of first base prospect Freddie Freeman being so close to emerging.

Atlanta has a hole at first base after Adam Laroche hit the market. The Braves have a few options for this void, one being resigning Laroche, but only if he'll accept a one-year deal. I have an idea for moving the aging-third baseman, Chipper Jones, to first base and signing a third baseman. Perhaps Mark DeRosa could fit that bill. The Red Sox tendered a contract to Casey Kotchman and I believe Atlanta could trade back for him. There are plenty of options, albeit some nicer than others, but only time will tell which path Atlanta takes to fill their voids and it would be nice to see the team shake things up a bit.

"The Fanatic"