Braves cutting Payroll?

Could Atlanta Braves GM Frank Wren secretly be cutting the payroll for the 2010 campaign?

The Opening Day payroll for the Braves in 2009 was $94,313,666 million. Frank Wren has trimmed the payroll by dealing Javy Vazquez and his $11.5 million contract to the Yankees in exchange for Melky Cabrera's $3 million contract, prospects and $500,000 cash.

After the Braves officially sign 1B/3B Troy Glaus to a 1 year/$2 million they should have approximately $7-9 million left according the 2009 payroll. Mark Bowman the Braves-beat writer for MLB.com suggest after the Glaus signing "the Braves appear to be done with their major offseason projects." Could this be bad news for Braves fans? I would say so. As of now the 2010 lineup is projected to be:

1. Nate McLouth, CF
2. Martin Prado, 2B
3. Chipper Jones, 3B
4. Troy Glaus, 1B
5. Brian McCann, C
6. Yunel Escobar, SS
7. Matt Diaz, LF
8. Melky Cabrera, RF
9. Starting Pitcher

The Braves finished the 2009 season with the following lineup:

1. Nate McLouth, CF
2. Martin Prado, 2B
3. Chipper Jones, 3B
4. Brian McCann, C
5. Adam LaRoche, 1B
6. Yunel Escobar, SS
7. Matt Diaz, RF
8. Garret Anderson, LF
9. Starting Pitcher

So, the Braves have replaced LaRoche with Troy Glaus who is capable of hitting 30+ HR's and 80+ RBI's if he stays healthy. Frank Wren has essentially swapped Anderson for an equally hitting Melky Cabrera and no other adjustments have been made. With LaRoche in the lineup the Braves still needed another power bat in the lineup to compete with elite teams such as Philadelphia and Los Angeles Dodgers. Should Braves fans panic if Wren does not sign another power bat prior to the start of the 2010 season? Wren has stated he is confident that Heyward can play OF for Opening Day but do we want to take the Schafer approach and potentially have our best prospect in the farm system of this decade fail, or should we take the Hanson approach and let him develop into a better player in the minors? Hopefully Wren will pull the plug and sign a power-bat or acquire a bat via trade. Until then "In Wren we trust."

Braves send Vazquez to the Yankees

Yankees GM Brian Cashman did not wait long to acquire a starting pitcher. After openly stating yesterday that the Yankees were interested in acquiring a starting pitcher, Cashman pulled off a trade this morning for fire-baller Javier Vazquez. Vazquez is coming off a career year after posting a 2.87 ERA AND 238 strikeouts.

The Braves are sending RP Boone Logan along with Vazquez and will receive OF Melky Cabrera, LHP Mike Dunn and 19-year old prospect Arodys Vizcaino. The Yankees have agreed to pay all of Vazquez's salary and will send $500,000 to the Braves.

In Cabrera, the Braves get a career .290 lead-off hitter and above average fielder who can play any position in the outfield. Mike Dunn posted 99 strikeouts in 73 1/3 innings in minor-league ball. Vicaino was the #3 prospect in the Yankees organization and has a low-90's fastball and great curveball. Vizcaino could be a sleeper in this deal. He has all the makings of a closer, fanning 52 batters in 42 1/3 innings while only issuing 15 walks. Vizcaino was also ranked as the #3 prospect in the New York-Penn league.

With the departure of Vazquez, the Braves still have six players capable of starting: Derek Lowe, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Tim Hudson, Kenshin Kawakami and Kris Medlen. I'll even go as far to throw in Jo-Jo Reyes into that mix. The question is who will be the ace of this team? Jurrjens is coming off a stellar season but is he ready to become the star of this pitching staff or should we stick with a veteran and go with Hudson or Lowe?

Major Website Changes

Hey y'all hope everyone is having a spectacular offseason.

Here's a quick run-down as to the transactions the Braves have made:

• Signed: free-agent RP Billy Wagner 1 year/$7M (2010), plus 2011 option
• Signed: free-agent RP Takashi Saito 1 year/$3.2M (2010)
• Signed: free-agent RP Juan Abreu 1 year/$400K (2010)
• Offered Arbitration: RP Mike Gonzalez
• Not-Offered Arbitration: OF Garret Anderson, 1B Adam LaRoche, 1B Greg Norton
• DFA: OF Ryan Church
• Non tendered: 2B Kelly Johnson
• Traded RP Rafael Soriano to Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for RP Jesse Chavez

Anyway, we are making major changes to AtlantaBravesNation.com for the 2010 season. We are open for suggestions and always love feedback (good or bad, hopefully good). Feel free to add us as a friend on Facebook or send us an email. Also follow us on Twitter.

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