The Braves have signed 35-year old righty starting pitcher Derek Lowe to a 4-year, $60 million dollar contract. Lowe pitched in 34 games (all starts) last season for the Dodgers and he was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has now pitched in 533 games (255 starts) in his major league career and he is 126-107 with 85 saves, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. The Braves likely overpaid for Lowe but he was the best free agent still available. With that in mind this was a good signing for the Braves.

The Atlanta Braves have signed 33-year old righty starting pitcher Kenshin Kawakami to a 3-year deal. Kawakami pitched in 20 games (17 starts) in Japan last season and he was 9-5 with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has pitched in 257 games (243 starts) in his career in Japan and he is 112-72 with 1 save, a 3.22 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. The Braves will be counting on Kawakami to at least be the #4 starter in 2009 and he was worth the risk.

The Braves have re-signed 36-year old switch hitter Greg Norton to a 1-year deal. He played in 117 games for the Mariners and Braves last season in which he was 49 for 187 (.262 avg) with 29 runs scored, 7 homers and 35 RBIs. Norton has now played in 1,012 games in his major league career and he is 589 for 2,334 (.252 avg, .766 OPS) with 312 runs scored, 89 homers and 331 RBIs. This was a good move for the Braves as Norton played well after coming over from Seattle in 2008.

The Braves have invited 33-year old righty reliever Vladimir Nunez to spring training where he will compete for a spot in the bullpen. Nunez pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Braves last season and he was 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has now pitched in 252 games (27 starts) in his major league career and he is 21-34 with 21 saves, a 4.76 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. This was a good low risk signing for the Braves as Nunez was semi-decent out of the bullpen for them last season.

The Braves have signed 28-year old switch hitting 3B Brooks Conrad to a minor league contract. Conrad played in 6 games for the A’s last season and he was 3 for 19 (.158 avg, .369 OPS) with 2 RBIs and a amazing 9 whiffs. He also played in 117 games in AAA-ball last year in which he was 113 for 465 (.243 avg, .821 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 28 homers, 91 RBIs and 127 whiffs. This was little more than a depth signing for the Braves.