Lowe Agrees to Deal with Braves

Now that Smoltz has left, GM Frank Wren is attempting to be more aggressive in the rebuilding of the Braves roster. Starting with the rotation, Wren has already signed (well agreed to terms with) Japanese veteran Kenshin Kawakami to a three-year deal, and expect more official news on that in the coming week. Today he extended a 4-year/$60M offer to free agent pitcher Derek Lowe, who appears to have agreed to its terms. You know Lowe, the guy who won Game 4 of the 2004 World Series (aka Boston's curse-reverser). Lowe spent he past four season with the Dodgers, winning over 15 games once (16 in 2006) and pitching less than 200 innings only once (199.1 in 2007). The Braves' offer out-bid the Mets' offer of $36M over three years. Lowe and his agent had been hoping for that fourth year, which is a bit iffy given Lowe's age (35), but as a sinker-ball pitcher (and not a power pitcher), Lowe is the kind of guy who may be able to pitch well into his 40s. In any case it seems like the Braves are counting on it. Afraid that Lowe may pull a Furcal on us, they are not reporting anything official until he signs the contract, but all signs show that the Braves have a new ace in town. Time to go update my MLB08 rosters!

Projected starting rotation for 2009:
Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens, Kenshin Kawakami, Jorge Campillo

In other Braves news...

• IF Omar Infante avoided arbitration and signed a two-year deal to stay with the team. Infante played all over the infield and outfield last season, proving to be a great asset off the bench. He was acquired from the Cubs before last season along with RP Will Ohman.
• SP Tom Glavine appears to have pushed back his first mound session to the end of week, choosing to play long toss first to strength that left arm. Glavine has not thrown off a mound since having surgery on his elbow and shoulder, but he assures everyone that there is no reason to be concerned.
• AJC beat writer Dave O'Brien reports that the Braves' interest in free agent LF slugger Adam Dunn has increased over recent weeks. Dunn, probably the best remaining free agent outfielder not named Manny, is a perennial 40HR, 100RBI, 100BB hitter.. who strikes out over 180 times too. And is a terrible fielder. Although being able to pencil in those numbers would be a great relief for an outfield that hit only 28HR last year. A two-year deal would be likely, I should think.