Diaz signed a 2 year deal with Pittsburg. At least he got to play on a playoff team once before retirng.

pittsburgh seems to like our sloppy seconds and castoffs

Frenchy signed with KC a.k.a Atlanta Braves West.

lol i was just coming back to repost that ^^

Joe Posnanski's always-interesting take

can you believe people are still talking themselves into frenchie

aside from his horrible production for us, I've always liked Frenchy.

PS: That CF from the Pirates that we are thinking about getting went to school in GA I believe.

The Royals got Melky too!

lolololol

Thats a good place for Melky

Braves signed George Sherrill, a 34 veteran lefty reliever. That gives us 3 legit lefties in the pullpen behind Venters and O'Flarety. I wonder if this move is to give Venters a chance to be the closer... also makes Atlanta 2.2% more likely to move Minor with an extra lefty in the pen.

Also on the rumor front, it looks like the Pirates and Orioles are both interested in KK, not sure how much salary we have to eat vs what kind of player return we'll get for him... could eat the whole salary for a Young CFer with a high ceiling.... or even a SS with the same potiential.

You mean KC isn't interested?

Yeah a good OF or SS prospect would be nice. Hope it happens.

I actually think KK is too good for KC

You have to admit he had a lot of bad luck with the Braves. I think where ever he goes they will be glad to have him.

ooh think possibly the orioles could put something together with us since they have OF to burn

not sure I'm really big on the upside of any individual they have in particular, so idk which one I'd even want

yeah I'm liking how our LH relief pitching is shaping up, and we'll need every bit of it with some of the bats in this division

I don't think we are trying to get much of anything back in return for KK aside from salary relief.

Where would we likely spend the money saved if KK gets dealt?

Are you guys comfortable with our current group of relievers? I like Venters, Kimbrel, O'flaherty, and Moylan but after that I'm not too excited.

I would love to upgrade CF, but that would probably be pretty expensive money wise or for prospects we probably shouldn't deal (I think having so many talented young pitchers is going to give us a ton of flexibility in a couple years).

@Jtown1010

yeah, I agree, our Bullpen was much better last year.... would feel a lot better if we were able to pull an experienced closer without having to give up too much

We could always use more relief pitching. Not sure what their plans are.

They still are expecting Jordan Schafer to take over CF eventually. His wrist has taken longer than expected to heal. So McOut has the job to lose mainly because of his big contract(I think around 7 mil this season).

O'Brien's blog on Schafer: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-...or-big-return/

woah good stuff about Schafer. I didn't know the hand injury was that bad. That would be HUGE if he comes back and tears things up.

Nice, I would love a defensive stud in CF, and IIRC Shafer was getting Anduw comparisons when he was a hot prospect.

If he can contribute offensively and we can move McLouth to LF we should be in really good shape imo.

I'm still shocked that we didn't have to give up a top 5 prospect to get Uggla, we could really be contenders for an impact bat at the trade deadline, because we are just loaded with young pitching.

We are likely a few million over budget right now in terms of 2011 payroll depending on how much Prado/JJ/Uggla get in arbitration raises, so that would go to cover that.

Word, I almost always agree with your thoughts on the Braves (not so much in the main MLB thread!). I think we are done other than maybe a cheap utility infielder. Probably give Schafer and Matt Young a chance to compete for the fourth OF spot out of spring training and give our OF time to shake out at least a couple of months into the season.

Also, for our bullpen we have Stephen Marek who had a 56/19 K:BB ratio in 50 innings last season in AAA and should be ready to contribute very solid innings next season from what I've read about him. He probably has a good chance to beat Proctor out of the job in spring training, and if not he will probably be up soon thereafter to come up due to either injury or ineffectiveness of one of our weaker links.

Never heard of the Stephen Marek guy, but good to hear about him. So whats our Rotation order looking like?

1.) Hudson
2.) Lowe
3.) JJ
4.) Hanson
5.) Minor

6.) Beachy

MLB thread is FUN! Yeah I think what Wren has decided to do is just make it a big competition for the 4th OF spot, the UTIL IF spot, and one of the bullpen spots. I like the idea as it's really the most cost effective way to fill those needs assuming someone will stick.

Marek is going to be solid. Really hope he gets up sometime before the All Star Break.

That will be the rotation to start the season barring injury. I guess the 5th spot could end up being Beacy with Minor in Gwinnett, but I think they will go with 1) the lefty and 2) the guy with the higher ceiling (Minor in both cases).

I bet it's:
1.)Hudson
2.)Hanson
3.)Jurrgens
4.)Lowe
5.)Medlen

6.)Minor/Beachy

Closer-Venters

Hanson and Jurrgens struggled a little last season, I don't see either one of them being ahead of the veteran Lowe who is also capable of eating up a lot more innings.

Medlen is on the DL, he won't be back until the end of the season if he is ready. Minor would definitely be in that 5th role. While there has been talk of Beachy moving to the bullpen, its more likely he'll stay fresh in AAA and be ready in case anyone in the rotation goes down.

Kimbrel had 26 saves last year at AAA and has been groomed to be a closer, I believe its his job to lose. George Sherril combined for 56 saves in 2008/2009 and come into play for the role.

I do like our bullpen.

Venters (great rookie year)
Kimbrel (right handed Billy Wagner)
Moylan (ground ball specialist)
Linebrink (solid veteran reliever)
Sherril (experienced lefty with saves)
Proctor (could be back to form and be a big asset)
Stephen Marek (could make a big splash)

Here is a break down someone wrote on the top 10 prospects for 2011 in the Braves system, thought I'd share if with you guys.

Atlanta Braves: Top 10 Prospects

1. Julio Teheran / SP / In 2010 Teheran arrived as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. He had monstrous success over three stops up the minor league ladder, and perhaps most important of all, he stayed healthy and displayed promising endurance.
2. Mike Minor / SP / Minor's strikeout rate has been unreal, but will ultimately slow down. His extensive repertoire, craftiness, and confidence will carry him far.
3. Freddie Freeman / 1B / There is little doubt that Freeman will be a successful major league hitter, but to this point he hasn't displayed the skills necessary to be an exceptional one. Some are labeling him a star, but that's far from a universal assessment.
4. Randall Delgado / SP / Delgado posted a breakthrough season in many respects, but met resistance upon his Southern League promotion. His fastball alone couldn't get it done at Double-A. His secondary stuff needs to hit a new level.
5. Arodys Vizcaino / SP/RP / Injuries are a concern, but Vizcaino is a 20 year old with a mid-90s fastball fastball and sometimes-dominating curveball. His upside is immense and firmly plants him at the top of the second tier of Brave prospects.
6. Craig Kimbrel / RP / Kimbrel has a live arm and cutthroat mentality. He had an often-dominating year between Triple-A and the majors. He is perhaps the most sure-thing closer minor league baseball has to offer.
7. J.J. Hoover / SP / There isn't a lot of upside in Hoover, but he continues to put up numbers that make you take notice - even in the strikeout column. The numbers should taper off as he moves up, but his extensive arsenal could take him places.
8. Matt Lipka / SS / Lipka carried the label "ultra raw" into the 2010 draft. Yet Atlanta selected him, plugged him into the Gulf Coast League, and, considering he is 18 years old, he excelled. His upside appears better than first thought.
9. Christian Bethancourt / C / Bethancourt showed some skills defensively in his first full season, but he fell flat at the plate. Yet all the tools are there for his offense to improve. His stock could boom or bust over the next season or two.
10. Andrelton Simmons / SS / Atlanta's system runs deep, and there were plenty of contenders for No. 10. The knock on Simmons heading into the draft was that he couldn't make it as a pitcher yet didn't have the bat to make it as a position player. Still, he is another Atlanta draftee who stepped in and showed immediate offensive success. He also gets rave reviews for his defense.