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Utility man Joe Thurston, formerly of the Cardinals, has signed a minor league deal with the Braves.

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A few tidbits of information today. First off, from Mark Bowman we learn that the Braves have signed light-hitting utility man Joe Thurston, who last year was with the Cardinals, to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Thurston is mainly a second baseman, but he's made himself more valuable in recent years be learning to play the outfield and most recently learning to play third base (though, not that well). He's played a tad bit of shortstop in the minor leagues, but mainly he'll be in camp competing for the second utility infield position.

In the same blog post, and later in a front page post, Bowman quotes a source who confirms that it is highly unlikely that Javier Vazquez would waive his no-trade clause to go to a West coast team. I tackled that rumor and debunked it last night, albeit with out a "source," I instead used logic. It's good to know that Javy is still interested in remaining in Atlanta beyond next season. I'd like to see that happen, but of course, all of this is predicated on the Braves moving Derek Lowe.

Speaking of Lowe, I expect that we'll begin to hear another team mentioned more frequently in trade rumors with Lowe -- the New York Yankees. They seem to be tackling one off-season priority at a time, and after acquiring Curtis Granderson and now signing Nick Johnson, many people expect them to focus on starting pitching. The Braves are rumored to have long been interested in Nick Swisher. If they can swing Lowe for Swisher, then that may free up the Yankees to go back and try to re-sign Johnny Damon, another move that is seemingly in the Yankees interest.

Another team that may be looking for more starting pitching is the Cubs, who just freed up a bunch of money by trading Milton Bradley. I'm not sure how they would match up in a trade with the Braves, though, as they don't seem to have any surplus at a position the Braves need to fill.

I also continue to hear that free agent Xavier Nady and the Braves are close to a deal, and that only lingering medical questions about Nady are holding up the deal. Getting Swisher and Nady would seem to wrap up the principal needs of the Braves off-season, and set us up with a good and deep team heading into spring training. One name that I haven't heard mentioned with the Braves, but one I'd like to hear mentioned is Troy Glaus. He's a year removed from a fantastic season, and while he would primarily play first base, he would be an excellent third base insurance policy against Chipper Jones getting injured.

The Braves front office also officially announced, via a press release, that the team has signed six minor league free agents this off-season. The list includes left-handed pitcher Mariano Gomez, catchers Orlando Mercado and J.C. Boscan, infielder Joe Thurston and outfielders Brent Clevlen and Mitch Jones. They join right-handed pitcher Scott Proctor, who signed in November.

There were some groans from Atlanta Braves fans when the Baltimore Orioles signed Mike Gonzalez earlier this week. Groans because that was our last chance to get a first round draft pick in 2010. The Orioles first-round pick is protected, which means we get their second-round pick (along with a supplemental first round pick). This may not be such a bad thing, though.

As it stands now, the Braves will have three of the top-75 picks in next June's draft. We will get the 35th pick (compensation in the supplemental first round for Gonzalez), the 56th pick (the Orioles 2nd round pick as compensation for Gonzalez), and the 72nd pick (our standard 2nd round pick). All of this is assuming we don't sign any more type-A free agents, in which case we would also forfeit our second-round pick (73 overall).

We had similar picks in 2008 when we took a trio of strong young pitchers -- Brett DeVall, Tyler Stovall, and Zeke Spruill -- two of whom are considered by many to be two of our top-10 prospects. While first round picks are coveted, the Braves have done well with their second round picks. Players such as Freddie Freeman, Jeff Locke, Yunel Escobar, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Brian McCann were all second round picks by the Braves in the last decade. The Braves have actually done a better job of holding onto their second round picks of the last decade than their first round picks.

The point is that there is a lot of talent in the second round of the draft and the Braves will be able to take full advantage of that. By not having a first rounder, they also free up draft money to possibly take some chances and pay some above slot bonuses to guys in the lower rounds who were projected to go higher but didn't. The Braves have generally had good luck with these types of players in the past.

It would have been nice to have two more picks had Rafael Soriano not accepted arbitration, but we're still in good shape for next year's draft.

If you're like me, you haven't done any shopping yet. I thought I would help folks out by pointing out two self-serving gifts that they can get for the baseball fan in their family.

First, our very own CB Wilkins has penned a short novel as much about life as baseball, Four-A follows relief pitcher Bry "Hummer" James over the course of a season, as he bounces between the highest levels of professional baseball, stuck in between, at an unofficial level called Four-A.

Help show CB some love and "buy his product."

The second gift if for the Fantasy baseball fan in your life. For the second year in a row, I had the opportunity to contribute to John Burnson's Graphical Player. The book is a run-down of every baseball player who could have a fantasy impact in 2010, with not only analysis from a team expert (like me for the Braves), but a huge sampling of stats presented in graphed format so you can easily see trends. People I know that have used it for their fantasy drafts say it is possibly the most helpful book on the market for fantasy baseball players.

For a preview of the book, click here.

To order the book, click here.

And here's an update on the Talking Chop 2010 Baseball Annual, which should be coming out around the start of spring training. All the site content has been formatted into the book, and every player's career stats have been added. All the minor league player reviews and stats have been added. Most of the gaps in the player analysis and minor league analysis have been filled, and I'm just waiting to get sporadically motivated to tackle some of the bigger items like the season review. All in all, the annual is coming along wonderfully. I think it's going to be delivered on time, and will be a book to be proud of.

Happy Shopping!

I saw this rumor earlier this evening and thought very little of it, but then ESPN.com decided to repeat it and source it:

According to a reliable source, the Angels are talking to the Braves about Javier Vazquez. The Braves however want to deal Derek Lowe, obviously. The names of the players in a potential deal are not known, but it is no secret the Braves are looking for a power hitting left fielder and are said to be interested in Juan Rivera.

The ESPN rumor central piece adds this:

The Angels have actually been focused on Javier Vazquez, according to executives of two clubs that have spoken with them.

Maybe ESPN is reporting anything and everything, but they seem to have multiple sources. Kudos to AngelsWin.com, a blog, for getting this story first.

Compliments aside, both sites mention the big hang-up with Vazquez being his no-trade clause to West coast teams. I don't think a player would negotiate that level of specificity into a contract and then ignore it when it comes trade time. Vazquez has been traded enough to be picky, and he won't waive his no-trade just to because Bill Stoneman and Vazquez "keep in touch," as the AngelsWin post mentions. That's a lot of wishful thinking on their part.

Furthermore, Vazquez and his agent should know that going into a contract year there is more value in remaining in the National League where Javy had a career year last year. They should also have some idea that the Braves want to re-sign Vazquez. Atlanta's a good and stable situation for Javy, and I don't see him waiving his no-trade to leave, that's the only leverage he has.

This rumor is likely a result of the Angels asking for Vazquez instead of Lowe, but that doesn't mean the Braves are going to bite. Frank Wren's luck is not on the side of negotiating a trade and not having the player veto it. The Angels may very well have interest in Javy, but I don't think that will end up being his ultimate destination.

The Hardball Times has published their version of the 2010 Top-10 Braves Prospects. I believe this is the first year they've had prospect rankings, but I could be wrong. It's certainly the first year I've noticed them having any sort of prospect rankings. Here is their top-10 list, no real surprises:

1. Jason Heyward
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Julio Teheran
4. Mike Minor
5. Randall Delgado
6. Zeke Spruill
7. Craig Kimbrel
8. Christian Bethancourt
9. Brett DeVall
10. Cody Johnson

It's nice to see DeVall get ranked in the top-10, as I think he deserves to be. Check out their site, despite listing us with the Phillies for some reason (?!?) they have some pretty sound and concise analysis of our prospects.

According to Yahoo's Tim Brown, former Atlanta Braves closer/setup man Mike Gonzalez has signed with the Baltimore Orioles:

Mike Gonzalez has agreed to a two-year, $12-million contract with O's. Incentives could bring worth to $16 million over two years.

Not a bad deal at all, and he should get a chance to close in Baltimore. Of course, this guarantees that the Braves will not have any first round picks in 2010's June draft. Thanks to Rafael Soriano accepting arbitration, the Braves lost the potential for a first round pick, and they surrendered their first round pick to the Boston Red Sox when they signed Billy Wagner.

The Braves will receive a supplemental first round pick as well as the Orioles second round pick as compensation for Gonzalez.

Yes, this is another post about the Atlanta Braves' quest to trade Derek Lowe, but this one comes with actual new information. New information directly from the mouth of Lowe himself. I was going to name this post, "Lowe On The Lowe Trade:  'It's Not If, But When'." But then I kept reading the article that Mark Bowman just posted on MLB.com. The almost-title quote from Lowe regarding a potential trade:

"I'm just waiting for it to happen," Lowe said. "I don't think it's a matter of if anymore. It's just a matter of when."

You're not the only one waiting for it to happen, Derek. Then he goes on to stick his proverbial foot in his mouth (my emphasis):

"I take it kind of personal," Lowe said. "Noboby made them give me a four-year, $60 million contract. There wasn't a ransom or anybody holding a gun to their heads. It was a negotiation and that's what they viewed as fair. I would have never even considered going there if I knew that ultimately this was going to happen."

Those are some serious words, fueled in part by this:

Since the season concluded, Lowe said that he has been bothered by the fact that he hasn't had any conversations with any members of the Braves organization.

But the Braves have made contact with Lowe's agent, Scott Boras, to explain the reason they are looking to trade either Lowe or Vazquez.

"By not speaking, that speaks as much as anything," Lowe said. "It's kind of unsettling because you're just sitting here."

That reminds me of the complaints that John Smoltz had last off-season, and quite frankly it's something that surprises me. I would have thought for sure that a coach would call and check in on each player in the off-season to make sure their following a routine and staying in shape.

Lowe has some salient points, and the Braves decision to possibly trade Lowe may have some longer and more serious implications. It has long been policy of the Braves front office not to give no-trade clauses, but the Braves have never (potentially) ushered a high-profile free agent like Lowe out of town so fast. What would trading Derek Lowe, who just signed a 4-year deal with Atlanta, say about the team's commitment to players if he gets traded after just one season (and as Lowe says, really just two bad months that put a black mark on the season). How much harder would it be to try and lure top free agents to Atlanta?

The silver lining here is that if the Braves were waffling on moving Lowe, these few words may have helped motivate them to finally pull the trigger.

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Could the Braves sound the horn for the Yankees' Nick Swisher?

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There has been quite a bit of silence on the Derek Lowe front for the last 24 hours. The latest incarnation of a destination for the Atlanta Braves starting pitcher has been conjured up by AJC beat writer David O'Brien:

Lowe-for-Swisher would be a strong outcome for the Braves in the whole Lowe situation. Big Money (Yanks) could make things all better.

He goes on to make an analogy about the Yankees being a rich uncle who is benevolently buying back the car which was too expensive that we (the Braves) got last year, blah, blah. Things have been so quiet the past 24 that I'm forced to re-print these twitter ramblings. Lowe might as well be headed anywhere at this point.

Lowe-for-Swish would be a decent deal, though I've consistently been on the fence about Nick Swisher. He seems like another in a long line of almost-stars who do a few things well, but have some holes in their game. But he knows how to hit a homerun and he knows how to take a walk, so that's a start. He's be a better option than Juan Rivera, who everyone and their brother keep trying to put us on.

I'm ready for something to happen. Damn the Braves patience.

[UPDATE: 4PM]

To add another thought here; with the Lee/Halladay deal now done, and the Mariners having already added Chone Figgins and Cliff Lee this off-season, and with John Lackey off to Boston, surely the Angels feel they need to respond. I think Derek Lowe would be a good beginning to that response, with the notion that he will likely pitch better back in SoCal.

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

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It looks like the long-awaited trade of Atlanta Braves starter Derek Lowe is nearly upon us. The prerequisites for a Lowe trade are about to be finalized and that could be the trigger which leads other teams to make a move to acquire Lowe.

The Boston Red Sox are on the verge of signing John Lackey for way too much money. The Phillies and Mariners and Blue Jays are playing the Napa Cap Shuffle with Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, and the Phils want to have their cake and eat it too, so they will land Halliday regardless of the cost.

That leaves several teams, particularly the Angels, without a "top-flight" starter, and if they believe that Lowe fits that mold, then maybe they'll bite on a trade. The Mets, and specifically their fans, are also left wanting more, but not only do we not want to trade with a division rival, we don't match up well with the Mets on the trade front.

Those two teams would be the front runners for his services, but there may be another mystery team or two who could get into the bidding, especially if the Braves can eat some of Lowe's salary as they apparently indicated that they can (though that is not their preference). Lowe is essentially the next most attractive starting pitcher on the free agent or trade market this winter, and his services could come relatively cheap in terms of players a team would have to give up to get him.

For the Braves, getting rid of that contract would be a huge help, as the team must view that as somewhat of an overreaction last year to what had transpired the year before with the starting rotation. The balance on the Braves now would be to spend more money on the lineup rather than the rotation, especially with inexpensive rotation options in Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson entrenched for several years.

We're still in the sit and wait mode on a possible Lowe trade, but we're certainly waiting more eagerly.

[UPDATE: 11:15]

Maybe the White Sox could be a buyer. After all they seem to be collecting a bunch of old Dodgers players who have bad contracts.