2011 Offseason

Going into this offseason, the Atlanta Braves are looking for a shortstop (there still is a chance that they could resign Alex Gonzalez if he does not ask for too much money), a good corner outfielder with some pop in his bat, and a veteran reliever or two...And of course a good couple of bench, utility guys.

This past Monday, the Braves and Indians started the whole offseason with a big move. We sent Derek Lowe and $10 million dollars to the Cleveland Indians for a minor league pitcher in return. No, the Braves were not able to dump all of his salary on the Indians, but we knew that $5 million was probably going to be the most we were going to get out of another team. It was time for Lowe to move on with his career. He did what we needed him to do and now we have our kids up and ready.

Speaking of starting pitching, the 2012 season is going to be exciting seeing who wins the 5 spots in the starting rotation. Here are the Braves' starting pitchers who all have had Major League experience: Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Brandon Beachy, Mike Minor, Kris Medlen, Randall Delgado, Julio Teheran, and Aroldys Vizcaino. You can never have too much pitching as we watched and learned with the Boston Red Sox just a few years ago when they all got hurt. However, with so much depth and talent on hand, the Braves may decide to move one of them to help fill the needs of the team. Personally, I feel like it's going to be Jurrjens, but who am I to say. We all saw last season and two years before how dominate he can be when and if healthy.

With the shortstop situation, everything is being evaluated before Frank Wren and the Braves make a decision. I am sure they have thought of deals and moves I have yet to think of. We did remove Alex Gonzalez from the 40 man roster. They could very well resign hiim though. We have been fortunate to get him at such a bargain. I know his offense production is not real good, but there really are not many much better out there. We do have a shortstop that did well in AAA this past season, but he may not be MLB ready come start of the season. Also, there are a couple of big names out in the FA market like Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins. Like I said, Wren will probably make a deal that we, or at least I, have not thought of...Maybe not as big of a trade like last year with Dan Uggla.

You may of already knew this information, but I hope you guys enjoyed this piece of article. I am really looking forward to the other moves and signings the Braves make. If you have any comments, questions, trade talks, FA signings, or anything else, feel free and please share! GO BRAVES!!!