Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Braves release Glavine, trade for McClouth


Braves fans won't like this one.

In a stunning move that saves the team a $1 million roster bonus, Atlanta released 43-year-old Tom Glavine on Wednesday.

Thanks for the memories, Tom.

Glavine, who had just completed a six-inning shutout with Class-A Rome on Tuesday night, is the final pillar of the pitching trinity of Glavine-John Smoltz-Greg Maddux that anchored 14 straight playoff appearances in Atlanta.

Recovering from shoulder and elbow surgery in the offseason, Glavine's all-time record stands at 305-203. This may be the end of the road for Glavine, although a contender in need of an innings-eater like the Phillies may be send his agent a text message as we speak.

The Braves also traded for Pirates' five-tool OF Nate McClouth, giving up three prospects – OF Gorkys Hernandez, LHP Jeff Locke and RHP Charlie Morton. Hernandez was ranked as the No. 4 Braves prospect, while Locke was No. 7.

Announcing the beginning of a new era, the Braves also made it official that fireballer Tommy Hanson will be called up to start Saturday, with Kris Medlen moved to the bullpen after Jorge Campillo was placed on the DL today.

Hanson had a fine spring, hitting 99 on the radar gun in his debut.

Fantasy spin: The biggest of the three news items is Hanson, who has dominated at AAA Gwinett, compiling a 1.49 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 90 strikeouts in 66 1/3 IP. He's a must-add in every format and while you can't expect these numbers, check back to Tim Lincecum's rookie season for a guideline.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Fitting. Glavine, several years ago, left the Braves and a ton of loyal fans to their nemesis for more money. Now, the Braves cut ties with him for more money. Very fitting.

Thanks for the more pleasant memories, but good riddance.

Unknown said...

Why wouldn't Braves fans like this? As a fan, the loyalty I had for Glavine went out the door when he jumped to, of all teams, the Mets. Sure, I was happy he was back but it wasn't the same as his first run. Now he's in his 40's and at best a questionable #5 starter. Why not bring a guy like Hanson with his stuff to be the #5?

Sure it's a sad end to his career as a Brave and I feel for him since he wanted badly to pitch for the team again. But, anybody who knows what they're talking about would realize this is best for the team. If they didn't have what they have waiting in the wings it would have been a questionable move. But to say Braves' fans wouldn't like it is a stretch.

Greg S said...

Braves suck!

Go Jays!!!

Anonymous said...

Yesterday was a great day to be a Braves fan. First, Tom Glavine is released and Tommy Hanson gets the call up to the majors. Then the news that the Braves had traded for an all-star, gold glove winning, power hitting, base stealing centerfielder. Wow!!!

I can't wait for tonights game to see McLouth.....and then Sat. to see Hanson.

MichaelProcton said...

Nah...Braves fans realize that he's not very good anymore and isn't worth $1 million to make a few crappy starts, especially when they'd come at the expense of Hanson or Medlen. If he hadn't suffered the shoulder setback, he would have been up from late April until now, but we can't be blamed for that.

And yeah, those Braves sure suck...that's why we swept you in Toronto and our rookie #4 beat Halladay, right?

The only thing I'm mad about is the rainout last night; I had a ticket to Saturday's game before the Hanson announcement, but now I'll miss him. BOO!