LOWE GONE!...Still earns 10mil from Bravos

The Braves have moved that win-less vacuum known as Derek Lowe. According to mlb.com the Atlanta Braves have traded right-handed starting pitcher Derek Lowe to the Cleveland Indians. For those of us keeping score in this brief off-season, the Braves have already completed 2 of their off-season goals. The Braves have fired their hitting coach Larry Parrish and subsequently hired Chicago White Sox Hitting Coach, Greg Walker. Back to the Lowe trade, (personally I’d have taken a dancing monkey) but in return for Lowe, Atlanta will get 23-year-old minor league left-handed reliever Chris Jones and pay $10 million of Lowe's salary. In essence, “Here’s 10 million dollars, DON’T EVER COME BACK.”

That being said, I’d like to talk about a few things left the Braves management must take care of this winter in order to take us to the promise land:

1. With Lowe gone, the Braves need to focus on elite pitching. Even when healthy, the Braves rotation was built for the regular season. No team has more pitching depth at the AAA and Major League levels than the Atlanta Braves. By September the Braves were starting 3-4 rookies in their 5-man rotation; Beachy, Minor, Delgado, with an occasional start from #1 prospect Julio Teheran. In order to have success in September/October the Braves need to find a way to turn that depth into another front-line starter. There is more than enough pitching depth for the future. The Braves need another star now.




2. Shortstop. Honestly this is a bigger question mark than the Braves rotation. That’s not to say there aren't other problems, but with Chipper Jones coming back and assuming Jason Heyward is given another chance in right field, shortstop is the albatross around the neck of the Braves. They won't resign Alex Gonzalez, so how will the Braves fill this hole? Tyler Pastornicky is an option. The 21-year-old hit .314 this past season in the minors, including a whopping .365 after he was called up to Gwinnett. Ideally what the Braves would like is a veteran SS for a 1 year contract to bridge the gap to Pastornicky, to allow further grooming of the Braves prospect. The answer, for this Braves fan lies in Raphael Furcal. The Cardinals declined Furcal's 2012 option today, and Furcal is near the end of his career, but he still has some gas left in his tank. He is the perfect fit to get the Braves to 2013 and Tyler Pastornicky.




3. Bullpen Depth. The back-end of the bullpen in 2011 was the toast of the town for the summer months. The 7th/8th/9th innings were a virtual lock with O'Flaherty/Venters/Kimbrel respectively, or O'Ventbrel as the media dubbed the 3-headed monster. The only glaring problem was Fredi's proclivity for overuse. 2011 saw a bullpen burnout the likes of which made even Tommy Lasorda squirm. Used in moderation, the Braves will have no problem in 2012; however, apart from Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel, the Braves didn’t seem to have another reliever who instilled confidence. Maybe Kris Medlen ends up back in the bullpen where he’s done so well before. Maybe Peter Moylan returns to his previous form with better health. Or maybe the Braves seek outside options. Whatever the answer, adding depth to the bullpen has to be a priority this off-season.

OTHER BRAVES TRANSACTION NOTES:
In the event of a bench-clearing brawl, the Braves have exercised the 2012 option for bench specialist/badass Eric Hinske. Don't buy the "badass" thing? take a look at the pic below, yea, some folks get "sleeve" tattoos, Hinske gets a freaking SHIRT tattoo! Onto why they really resigned Hinske; the Braves chose Hinske's $1.5MM club option over a $100K buyout. The 34-year-old hit .233/.311/.403 in 264 plate appearances this year.



The Braves did not extend the same option to OF Nate Mclouth. The decision on McLouth was obvious, as the Braves faced a $10.65MM club option and a $1.25MM buyout. The 30-year-old outfielder hit .228/.344/.333 on the season.

That about does it for the Braves transactions. Congratulations are in order for the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Keep it warm for us boys, we'll be by to pick it up next October!