There are two names that could be moved by the Braves before the August 31st waiver trade deadline -- Mark Kotsay and Mike Hampton. Kotsay is the more likely of the two to get moved with two possible suitors mentioned by Ken Rosenthal on Saturday's telecast.

The Boston Red Sox have a need for a left-handed hitting outfielder. Their first attempt to add that bat resulted in Brian Giles rejecting the trade. With J.D. Drew now possibly out of action for an extended period of time due to (ironically) back spasims, the Red Sox are seeking backup options, and Kotsay could fill that role.

The Brewers may also have a need for an outfielder, and they have apparently exchanged a name with the Braves, but they would only step up their pursuit if Ryan Braun's rib cage injury worsens.

While Mike Hampton has only started six games in his road back from every injury a pitcher could possibly have, he has tossed two back to back quality starts, and with starting pitching at a premium a playoff team may want to add an additional starter as insurance for the final month of the season.

There's no telling what kind of prospect or player we may be able to get in return for either of these players. Both of them are still owed a good deal of money for the remainder of the season and what we get in return could depend on how much of their remaining salary the Braves would be willing to pick up. Any player we get in return would also likely be a player (or prospect) to be named later, and we would not find out who that is until the end of the season.

If Mark Kotsay is traded, the Braves may move to bring up top-prospect Jordan Schafer from double-A Mississippi -- something they may do anyway when rosters expand in September. After suffering through his 50-game suspension and the stuggles to get up to speed once reinstated, Schafer has been on fire in August, hitting .346 with a .705 slugging percentage.

Here is a quick snippet from the AJC :

The Braves' John Smoltz threw a scoreless eighth inning Saturday night for Class A Rome, striking out one, and could be activated as soon as Monday.

Mike Gonzalez made his second appearance in his minor league rehabilitation assignment at AA Mississippi. He gave up two hits in two scoreless innings after throwing one scoreless inning Thursday. The Braves would like to give Gonzalez a couple of weeks to work his way back.

"He just needs to get back competitive," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said.

I expect that even when these guys return they'll be a bit shaky for their first couple of outings, so the immediate benefits may not be realized, but if they stay healthy and return to their previous form (still a tall order for Gonzo, who is coming back from TJ) then the end of the game for the Braves may begin sometime around the sixth or seventh inning.

I especially like what this portends for our problem in one-run games. There is a distinct lack of confidence in some of the Braves relievers right now, so to add two guys like Smoltz and Gonzalez to the back of the pen makes a huge difference in how Cox uses his relievers (not to mention the recent addition of Rafael Soriano). Guys like Acosta and Boyer turn into the early innings guys, and Ohman returns to being just a LOOGY. Bennett and Carlyle can then go back to being just long-men or situational guys. By the way, that list sort of tells you that I think the team will cut Royce Ring and demote Phil Stockman (though they may choose to demote Carlyle instead).

As much as this is a good thing for our bullpen, I still would prefer that Smoltz come back as a starter. Obviously the thought from the team and from John is that his elbow will hold up better as a reliever than as a starter, but this leaves our rotation without its best pitcher -- and the winningest pitcher in post-season history, if we're looking that far ahead (and we should be).

Further down in the AJC article it mentions that Mike Hampton did some more long tossing on his latest road back from his latest injury -- and he didn't have any setbacks. I'm still of the opinion that he'll severely stub his toe on his way out of the dugout to make his first start and have to leave the game without ever throwing a pitch.

I really love this definition of gamer from Grant at McCovey Chronicles:

A gamer is someone who doesn’t care what the weather is – if it’s too hot or too cold. A gamer knows that rain makes the water we drink, and the water we drink can also be used to make things like Gatorade, Juicy Juice, and Otter Pops, so it can’t possibly be bad. A gamer knows that tendons are held together with a little thing called "spirit", and that ligaments are held together with a glue called "courage and dirty uniforms."

I think Hampton fits the mold and should get more credit for gutting it out during all that rehab he's done.

Seriously... seriously!

Strained left pectoral muscle... he found a new muscle to strain. I wonder if Hampton is related to Rocco Baldelli.