Braves welcome back LaRoche...Bid farewell to Kotchman...

Today marked the last day Major League teams could make a trade. The MLB trade deadline was at 4:00 PM EST. It has come and gone. Former Cy Younger Jake Peavy was dealt to the White Sox again, the Red Sox landed C/1B Victor Martinez and the Braves brought back former 1B Adam LaRoche.

The Braves dealt 1B Casey Kotchman in exchange for Adam LaRoche and cash considerations. Kotchman was acquired at last years deadline in a trade that sent Mark Teixeira to the Angels.

Many Braves fans were caught off guard by the trade because Kotchman has been swinging a hot bat lately. The bottom line is that the Braves acquired a power bat in exchange for a player who hits for average. Adam LaRoche was fantastic his final year in Atlanta. He hit 32 long balls while knocking in 90 runs with a .285 average.

Wren landed one of the best second half hitters in baseball since 2006 in LaRoche. In '06 LaRoche hit 19 HR's, 48 RBI's and a .323 average post All-Star break; last year Adam hit 14 HR's, 42 RBI's and a .304 average. Kotchman's best second half came in 2005 when he launched 7 long-balls, with 22 RBI's and a .302 average. Although LaRoche has a much better bat, Kotchman plays better defense.

Kotchman is under team control for an additional 2 years and LaRoche becomes a free-agent after this season. But maybe the Braves will be able to reach a deal with the player they drafted in the 29th round of the 2000 draft. Tit-for-tat the Braves dealt a good fielder for a power bat which the lineup is lacking.

My projections have a healthy Braves lineup as follow:

1. McLouth CF
2. Prado 2B
3. Jones 3B
4. McCann C
5. LaRoche 1B
6. Escobar SS
7. Anderson LF
8. Church/Diaz RF
9. SP

Has Escobar taken his last at-bat as a Brave?

Tonight Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar may have made his final plate appearance in a Braves uniform. Yunel drove in an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th to put the Braves ahead 10-1.

The Havanian middle-infielder has a career batting average of .300 and has been one the best best leadoff hitters for the Braves the past few years tallying a .309 average, 6 HR's, 34 RBI's and an astonishing 54 runs in 320 at-bats from the #1 spot in the order.

Although Yunel's offensive numbers are quit impressive for a shortstop his mental errors in the field are not impressing anyone; including Bobby Cox who has sat Escobar for 5 straight games. Yunel has been one of the worst everyday shortstops in the NL this year. He has committed 11 errors while maintaining a .961 fielders percentage in the diamond. Ironic how things have shifted from last year. The most ironic thing is the fact that Jake Peavy apparently would have rejected a trade to the Braves because he did not want to loose the good defense of Yunel Escobar (who was a player that was going to be involved in the Peavy-Atl. trade).

So fans, the rumor mill is brewing that GM Frank Wren is willing to trade Yunel for a "good hitter." What is a "good hitter?" I consider Yunel to be a good hitter, and would it hurt the Braves more to start a guy like Diory or Infante at shortstop everyday so they can get a power bat in the lineup? What do y'all think? Is Adrian Gonzalez still a reasonable trading piece?