The Atlanta Braves have signed 36-year old lefty swinging outfielder Garret Anderson to a 1-year contract with $2.5 million bucks. The initial thought is that Anderson would platoon with Matt Diaz in left field but don’t be totally surprised if he just wins the full time job outright. Anderson played in 145 games for the Angels last season and he was 163 for 557 (.293 avg, .758 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 15 homers, 84 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 2,013 games in his major league career in which he is 2,368 for 7,989 (.296 avg, .796 OPS) with 1,024 runs scored, 272 homers, 1,292 RBIs and 78 stolen bases. This was a good signing for the Braves as Anderson might have more left than Ken Griffey Jr. who chose to sign with the Mariners instead of Atlanta.

26-year old lefty swinging Casey Kotchman didn’t hit too well after coming over from the Angels in the Mark Teixeira trade last season and they need that to change in 2009. Kotchman played in 43 games for the Braves last season and he was 36 for 152 (.237 avg, .647 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 20 RBIs. Overall, Kotchman played in 143 games in 2008 in which he was 143 for 525 (.272 avg, .738 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 14 homers and 74 RBIs. Kotchman was also outstanding in the field last season as usual as he only made 2 errors in 141 games at first base. Kotchman makes the whole infield better defensively so he just needs to hit better in 2009 to be a big asset for the Braves.

36-year old switch hitting Greg Norton will backup Kotchman in 2009. He played in 117 games for the Braves & Mariners last season in which he was 49 for 187 (.262 avg, .812 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 7 homers and 35 RBIs. But, Norton is not much of a defender at first base as he made 2 errors in only 10 games there last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C

The Braves have re-signed 42-year old lefty starting pitcher Tom Glavine and he will be the #5 starter for them this season. Glavine pitched in 13 games (all starts) last season for the Braves and he was 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Glavine has now pitched in 682 games (all starts) in which he was 305-203 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. This was a good move for the Braves as a healthy Glavine would be one of the best #5 starters in all of baseball.

The Braves look set at catcher for the 2009 season. 25-year old lefty swinging Brian McCann will be the starting catcher for the Braves again in 2009 but he will get a few more days off than last season with veteran David Ross backing him up. McCann played in 145 games for the Braves last season and he was 153 for 509 (.301 avg, .896 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 23 homers and 87 RBIs. McCann did have some trouble throwing out basestealers as he only nailed 21 of 114 (18%), but, Braves’ pitchers still liked throwing to him as they had a 4.25 ERA with him behind the plate. Look for McCann’s numbers to improve with him getting more days off in 2009.

31-year old righty swinging David Ross was signed as a free agent to back up McCann this season. Ross played in 60 games for the Reds & Red Sox last season and he was 32 for 142 (.225 avg, .721 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 13 RBIs. Ross has good power but he’s basically a all or nothing hitter. Ross threw out 10 of 36 (28%) basestealers last season but Reds’ pitchers had a 5.11 ERA with him behind the plate. Look for that ERA to improve this season as the Braves have a better pitching staff than the Reds did last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: A-

The Braves decided that they needed to retool the starting rotation for the 2009 season and that’s exactly what they did. The first thing the Braves did was acquire righty workhorse Javier Vazquez from the White Sox but he wasn’t cheap as it cost them a lot of legit prospects. The Braves then signed Kenshin Kawakami from Japan and he should fit right into the Braves’ rotation as the #4 man. The final piece was added just recently when the Braves inked veteran righty Derek Lowe to a 4-year deal. The Braves really helped themselves out with these moves. In the Vazquez trade with the White Sox the Braves also acquired lefty reliever Boone Logan. The Braves only made one signing in the field of play that will matter to them as they signed David Ross to be the backup catcher.

OFF SEASON GRADE FOR THE BRAVES: B+