The Braves have placed outfielder Garret Anderson on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left quadriceps muscle. Anderson has played in 10 games for the Braves so far this season and he is 5 for 25 (.200 avg, .551 OPS) with 3 runs scored. The Braves have recalled Brandon Jones from AAA and he should get a lot of playing time while Anderson is out of action. Jones has played in 14 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 16 for 52 (.308 avg, .778 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

The Braves have designated 27-year old righty reliever Blaine Boyer for assignment. Boyer has pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Braves this season and he is 0-1 with a 40.50 ERA and a 4.50 WHIP. In parts of five seasons with the Braves, Boyer has pitched in 129 games (0 starts) in which he was 6-9 with 1 save, a 5.46 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The Braves won’t miss Boyer much as he just hasn’t pitched too well for them over the years.

UPDATE: The Braves have traded Blaine Boyer to the Cardinals for 26-year old righty swinging outfielder Brian Barton. Barton has played in 10 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 3 for 28 (.107 avg, .326 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 RBI and 3 stolen bases. Barton played in 82 games as a rookie last season for the Cardinals and he was 41 for 153 (.268 avg, .746 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. This is a good trade for the Braves as they need help in the outfield and Barton might be able to give them some.

The Braves have placed righty reliever Jorge Campillo on the 15-day disabled list. Campillo has pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Braves this season and he is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 2.70 WHIP. The Braves have recalled 23-year old righty starting pitcher James Parr to replace Campillo on the pitching staff. He is the Braves’ #28 rated prospect according to Baseball America. Parr has started 1 game in AAA-ball this season and he is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Parr started 5 games for the Braves last season and he was 1-0 with a 4.84 ERA. In 5 seasons in the minors prior to 2009, Parr has pitched in 114 games (100 starts) in which he is 43-30 with 4 saves, a 4.00 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.

25-year old righty swinging Jeff Francoeur looked lost in 2008 for the Braves. He played in 155 games for the Braves last season and he was 143 for 599 (.239 avg, .653 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 11 homers and 71 RBIs. Francoeur has now played in 549 games in his major league career in which he has a .268 batting average with a .746 OPS. Francoeur made 4 errors in 152 games in RF last season for the Braves while showing slightly below average range. Francoeur does have a cannon in RF as he had 14 assists last season for the Braves from RF.

25-year old lefty swinging Brandon Jones will be the likely backup in RF. He played in 41 games for the Braves last season in which he was 31 for 116 (.267 avg, .709 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He also played in 95 games in AAA-ball last year in which he was 90 for 346 (.260 avg, .748 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 8 homers, 52 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Jones played in 7 games in RF last season without making an error while showing slightly below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C+

The Braves will go with their #3 prospect according to Baseball America in CF. 22-year old lefty swinging Jordan Schafer played in 84 games in AA-ball last season in which he was 80 for 297 (.269 avg, .849 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 10 homers, 51 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Schafer has to keep his nose clean from here on out as he has already been suspended once by Major League Baseball for use of performance enhancing drugs.

25-year old lefty swinging Gregor Blanco will he Schafer’s backup in 2009. He played in 144 games for the Braves last season and he was 108 for 430 (.251 avg, .675 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 1 homer, 38 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Blanco didn’t make any errors in 69 games in CF last season for the Braves but he showed pretty poor range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: D+

36-year old lefty swinging Garret Anderson and 31-year old Matt Diaz seem like the perfect platoon mates, but, Anderson isn’t ready to be a part time player yet. He 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 also had a decent year in 2008 in the field for the Angels last season. Anderson didn’t make any errors in 82 games in LF last season while showing good range. He also had 9 assists last season which is an amazing number considering how many games he played in the field.

Matt Diaz rips lefty pitching. He played in only 43 games for the Braves last season in which he was 33 for 135 (.244 avg, .568 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers, 14 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Diaz has played in 350 games in his major league career and he has a .309 batting average with a .792 OPS. Diaz only made 1 error in 37 games in LF last season while showing average range.

Brandon Jones is starting the season in the minors but he would get called up if something happened to either Diaz or Anderson. He played in 29 games in LF last season for the Braves without making any errors while showing average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C+