Braves release Glavine, add McLouth

June 4, 9:30 AMMLB ExaminerAlex Brown

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AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

The Atlanta Braves were busy Wednesday evening, releasing 305 game winner Tom Glavine and sending three prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Nate McLouth.  The Braves will look different going forward, as top prospect Tommy Hanson is set to join the rotation and McLouth will help plug a huge hole in the outfield. 

Glavine pitched for Atlanta last season but was ineffective and injured for most of the year.  He signed a one-year deal with the Braves this past offseason, but opened the year on the DL and hasn’t pitched in a major league game yet.  He was doing well in his rehab starts at Single A, but had experienced some setbacks and was set to make $1M guaranteed if he appeared on the Braves roster.  Given how Glavine pitched last year and with Hanson waiting in the wings, this appears to be the right business decision.  The flipside however, is the fact that Glavine has given a lot to this organization and probably deserved a shot – though I can’t imagine Braves GM Frank Wren made this call without consulting Tom first.

Hanson is Atlanta’s top prospect, and the number 4 overall prospect in the game today.  In 2008 (split between A and AA) Hanson went 11-5 with a 2.41 ERA, while striking out 163 batters in 138 innings of work.  He will give the Braves rotation the kind of boost that Glavine simply cannot provide at this point in his career.

McLouth’s arrival in the Braves outfield couldn’t come any sooner – the Braves outfield of Garret Anderson, Jordan Schafer, and Jeff Francoeur have put up an OPS of .668, .600, and .634, respectively.  They have a combined 8 home runs, and only Schafer (.313) has an on-base percentage above .300.  Comparatively, McLouth has 9 homers, an OPS of .819, and an on-base percentage of .349.  He should replace Schafer, who clearly needs more time in the minors, and play center field.  I wouldn’t be shocked if the Braves were done re-stocking their outfield, which (as of yesterday) was by far the worst in the major leagues.  Perhaps the biggest factor in this trade is what the Braves gave up – Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton, and Gorkys Hernandez.  Neither are among the Braves best prospects, meaning Atlanta can include Jason Heyward or Kris Medlan in another deal.

The Braves did a lot to improve their team on Wednesday.  Though it may be unpopular, releasing Glavine in favor of Hanson is the right baseball move, and the acquisition of McLouth immediately improves the Atlanta outfield both offensively and defensively.