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Atlanta Braves right-handed starting pitcher Tim Hudson is close to taking the next big step in his return from Tommy John surgery. Hudson had the surgery last July 27th, and has been rehabbing ever since, including throwing off the mound in the bullpen recently. The organization has now scheduled him to pitch for Myrtle Beach on July 19th and 23rd. He will then be reevaluated, and could be ready for major league action soon after.

If Hudson's outings in mid and late July are successful, and the club deems him close to returning, this could open up the Braves to trade Javier Vazquez for other pieces that the club needs. I've made the argument several times that Vazquez is our most tradable player (even more than Yunel Escobar), and there are a lot of teams that need to add more starting pitching. The good season Vazquez has had to this point also means that he has likely increased his trade value since coming to Atlanta last off-season, that's more reason that the Braves should trade him if they feel that Hudson can step into the rotation shortly thereafter.

As reported by a Washington Nationals beat writer (via MLBTR):

[Nyjer Morgan} is the not the only outfielder the Nationals are looking at. They have interest in Braves outfielder Jordan Schafer. He began the season as Atlanta's everyday center fielder, but was sent down after the team acquired Nate McLouth from the Pirates.

The Nationals have been unhappy with their outfielders for quite some time. They have come to the conclusion that Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham belong in the American League as designated hitters and Elijah Dukes makes too many mental mistakes.

Only Willie Harris and Austin Kearns have played solid defense, but they are not part of the team's long-term plans.

The presence of Nate McLouth does make Jordan Schafer expendable if trading him nets us a more established offensive player. Man, they're already looking to trade Adam Dunn... Jim Bowden really messed that team up. Dunn is only signed for two years, and is relatively affordable, but I can't fathom us trading for Dunn when we could have signed him without giving up anything just four months ago.

Josh Willingham has always intrigued me, and I would consider him a definite offensive upgrade over Jeff Francoeur or Garret Anderson -- Willingham has the best OPS on the Nationals at .919. I'm not convinced that I would trade a prospect on the magnatude of Jordan Schafer for Willingham, but maybe he's worth it.

The article also says that they are interested in acquiring a second baseman after the season, could they have interest in Kelly Johnson?

From K-Ros this morning, perhaps another outfielder we are looking at adding:

The Brewers' quest for pitching could lead to renewed talks with the Braves, who in the past have targeted Brewers right fielder Corey Hart. The Braves would need to clear their own right fielder, Jeff Francoeur, before acquiring Hart, and no team is hot after Francoeur.

The problem for the Brewers in trading Hart is their lack of a suitable replacement. Still, the Braves are deep in pitching — and could get even deeper if right-hander Tim Hudson returns from Tommy John surgery in mid-August.

Like Francoeur, Hart is in his first year of arbitration and signed to a similar contract. Surely the Royals would take him if we just sort of gave him away.

The Braves apparently inquired on Hart back in early December at the Winter Meetings, though there is some debate as to whether they did or not. Hart is a somewhat similar player to Francoeur, though he may be realizing more of his potential at this point than our current right fielder. Here is a comparison of their stats:

He certainly offers more in the extra base hit department, but with the need for pitching on some other teams, I would think we could get more for a starting pitcher if we choose to trade one.

We'll keep an eye on these rumors as they come out, and I believe we'll see more and more the closer Tim Hudson is to returning. His successful return allows the Braves to make a big move.

Oh, this makes me weep out loud (hat tip:  MLBTR):

According to sources familiar with the situation, the Friday before last season's trade deadline -- which ultimately saw the the Red Sox trade Manny Ramirez, Brandon Moss, and Craig Hansen to get Bay in return -- the Braves came just minutes away from securing the services of the outfielder for themselves.
 
The deal would have sent Concepcion Rodriguez, Brent Lillibridge, Brandon Jones, and Jeff Locke (the North Conway, NH, native who was ultimately dealt to the Pirates this season to acquire McLouth) to Pittsburgh for Bay.
 
It seemed like such a certainty that the Braves actually had the uniform, with Bay's name affixed to the back, made up. But, according to the sources, in the end Pirates team president Frank Coonelly stepped in, nixing the deal because there wasn't enough major-league talent coming back in return.

If only... if only. But hey, there's always this off-season, and all we'd have to give up then is money.

In his blog this evening, MLB and Braves beat writer Mark Bowman had this to say about Jeff Francoeur:

The Royals are watching Jeff Francoeur this weekend and there's still obviously a chance that Dayton Moore could be prompted to make a deal for the 25-year-old outfielder. 

But to make this deal work, the Braves may need to be willing to assume the baggage and cost that Jose Guillen would bring.  Guillen is making $12 million this season and he'll be owed and equal amount before his contract expires at the end of the 2010 season.

I can see KC being one of the more likely destinations for Frenchy, but the Braves wouldn't take on that Guillen contract in a million years. It's one thing to want to get rid of a guy who is under performing as badly as Francoeur is, but taking on a player like Guillen is not too much of an upgrade, and it's certainly not an improvement when his contract is condiered. For $12 million a year, the Braves could get a lot more out of the free agent or trade market than Jose Guillen.

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Here is a tidbit from the Miami Herald via MLBTR:

The Marlins rejected Atlanta's offer of outfielder Jeff Francoeur for Cody Ross before the Braves acquired Pittsburgh's Nate McLouth.

Here is a comparison of their stats (Ross has 14BB and 50K):

Gosh, I wonder why the Marlins turned that down? I think we're going to hear many more rumors of the Braves trying to get something for Jeff Francoeur, and perhaps even this trade will be revisited in some fashion. I've said it before, and I'll repeat it here, I don't think the Braves finish this season with Jeff Francoeur on the team.

Like what I did with that headline? Yeah, I do too. It's been one heckuva week -- with some long anticipated good news and some unexpected bad news.

Frustrated fans voice displeasure
No, that link is not about Braves fans and Tom Glavine, it's about Pirates fans and their displeasure with their organization for trading Nate McLouth.

[...] fans used words such as "bonehead," "awful" and "typical" to describe the trade of McLouth to the Atlanta Braves for three minor league prospects. The sentiment was clear: Most people were more than willing to express their displeasure.

"Wow," second baseman Freddy Sanchez said Thursday of the trade, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I think the biggest thing was the shock factor. It's obviously a tough pill to swallow. Our No. 3 hitter just got taken away, the guy who leads our team in home runs and RBIs, and we were 6½ games out. We could still have been right there. I think we still can. But we're all just kind of wondering right now ... wondering what it is."

On Thursday, at the clubhouse table where McLouth used to play cards with relievers Sean Burnett and Jesse Chavez, a candle bearing McLouth's uniform No. 13 was lit, along with a photo of him in uniform, the Post-Gazette reported. "We'll miss him," Burnett said.

Other players were angrier.

"There ain't a guy in here who ain't [ticked] off about it," said first baseman Adam LaRoche, according to the report. "It's kind of like being with your platoon in a battle, and guys keep dropping around you. You keep hanging on, hanging on, and you've got to figure: How much longer till you sink?"

Those guys are Drama. I've never heard of lighting a candle for a traded player... that's a little weird. I also just Love it when athletes use war analogies to explain their situation. No, Adam, what you're going through is Nothing like guys getting killed in battle, not even close.

Meet Tommy Hanson, Your New Atlanta Braves Starter
Here's a great link about our new young gun. I especially like their comparison of his release points for all of his pitches -- you can really see one of the reasons why he is so tough to hit.

Tom Glavine speaks and does himself a disservice
Mark Bradley at the AJC has a good article about Glavine and his spat on 790 this morning. He echoes a lot of what I said earlier (or maybe I echoed him, either way).

Baseball Prospectus Minor League Update
Kevin Goldstein gives us an update on Jordan Schafer, who after going 0-for-5 in his return to the minors on Wednesday, went 3-for-4 with a homerun, 4 runs, and stolen base last night. Recently traded pitcher Charlie Morton also had a good night in his Pirates minor league debut, throwning 7 scoreless innings, and striking out 7.

Fresh on the market, Glavine says a couple teams have called
I promise to keep these updates to a minimum. Do we really care where he goes?

Glavine feels cheated of chance to pitch
His comments here are a bit more sane, but still just seem like a broken record.

When the Brave make a trade it's never just one trade, it's usually several, and the Nate McLouth deal may just be the beginning of the dealing.

Atlanta is one of the teams in conversation with the Boston Red Sox about veteran right-hander Brad Penny, according to sources, at a time when the Red Sox have been doing their own research on Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur.

Seems intriguing, go on...

Atlanta's bullpen, however, has been a problem -- the Braves ranked 17th among 30 teams in relief ERA, at 4.32.

It is unclear whether Atlanta would have interest in Penny as a starter or as a reliever; if the Braves added Penny to their rotation, they could shift Kawakami into their bullpen.

Kawakami has been effective, generally, through the first 45 pitches of his starts, but opponents have an OPS of 1.042 against him in pitches 46 to 60.

Is that all...

The Braves and Red Sox match up with other pieces and parts, as well, if they were to expand their conversations beyond Penny and Francoeur.

Oh boy, this trade season really has started early. Penny is only signed through the end of this year, so getting him for Francoeur may be just a way to casually get rid of Francoeur without outright releasing him.

Of course, the Braves say they're not interested:

It's been an eventful and hectic week for the Braves.  But contrary to an ESPN.com report, a Major League source said that the Braves don't have any interest in acquiring Brad Penny from the Red Sox.

And the dance goes on.