From MLBTR, who thankfully did the heavy lifting and allowed me to avoid listening to sports talk radio (ugh):

Braves GM Frank Wren was on 790 The Zone yesterday.  Wren explained that the Braves have other options besides Derek Lowe, and had several things in play prior to John Smoltz leaving:

There's other guys out there that we like.  I have trade proposals on my desk as we speak that would bring another pitcher to us.  There's other things we can do...The trade proposal that I have on my desk - that was put in place six weeks ago.

Other notes: Wren wouldn't comment on Andruw Jones, and doesn't see the Braves acquiring Manny Ramirez or Jake Peavy.

Intriguing that he's been able to essentially "sit" on a trade proposal for six weeks. I wonder if he's sitting on it because it's contingent on the Braves making another move first (i.e., signing a free agent pitcher or two) or if he's sitting on it because it involves trading a prospect or player he doesn't really want to trade (and would only do it if he was desperate) -- who knows, but it's interesting that he mentions it.

All things being equal (which they never are, I don't know why I say that all the time) I'd rather the Braves sign Derek Lowe at this point rather than trade for another pitcher. The trade pieces should be saved for that big outfield bat. Yes, we could sign Dunn, but perhaps there is a better fit available via trade than the left-handed hitting Dunn.

Another scenario that's been floating around my head the past week or two; assuming the Braves sign Lowe (and of course, Kawakami), then they may free themselves to trade one of their younger pitchers whom they may have been holding onto to compete for a rotation spot -- specifically, Charlie Morton. The organization seems to hold him in high regard, and other organizations may also like him better than Jo-Jo Reyes or James Parr or Jorge Campillo. I would imagine any trade of Morton would be in exchange for a bat. There haven't been too many hitters traded this off-season and I think those teams with available bats are holding out for pitching in return. If we sign Lowe, then we suddenly have some pretty good depth, and guys like Morton, Reyes, Parr, and Campillo, are all competing (along with Tommy Hanson) for one spot in our rotation.

It doesn't really make much sense to send Morton or Reyes back to triple-A as they have nothing left to prove at that level. The default fifth-starter at this point is Campillo, and if any one else is needed then Hanson could make his debut or any other "almost-ready" prospect like Todd Redmond or Kris Medlen. Don't forget about Anthony Lerew as someone who could come back and add minor league depth for our rotation.

Like we've been saying all winter long, if we could just get a couple of free agent arms, then we'll be able to use some of our young pitching to make a trade. We can likely be even more reckless in trading that young pitching as the pitchers we're considering acquiring or have already acquired are less of an injury risk than most -- Vazquez, Kawakami, and Lowe would be a pretty stable front three. They may not blow your socks off, but after the last few years there's something to be said for consistency and endurance.