The Braves have brought back old friend Adam LaRoche in a trade with the Red Sox. To acquire LaRoche the Red Sox shipped 26-year old lefty swinging Casey Kotchman to Bean Town. The 29-year old lefty swinging LaRoche has played in 93 games for the Red Sox and Pirates this season and he is 85 for 343 (.248 avg, .772 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 13 homers and 43 RBIs. LaRoche has now played in 781 games in his major league career and he is 718 for 2,665 (.269 avg, .824 OPS) with 372 runs scored, 124 homers and 429 RBIs. LaRoche should be a vast improvement over Kotchman who just isn’t much of a hitter. Kotchman played in 87 games this season for the Braves and he was 84 for 298 (.282 avg, .764 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 6 homers and 41 RBIs. In parts of two seasons with the Braves, Kotchman played in 130 games in which he was 120 for 450 (.267 avg) with 46 runs scored, 8 homers and 61 RBIs. Despite Kotchman’s prowess with the mitt the Braves just couldn’t afford to carry his weak bat for the position. LaRoche usually has big second halves so he should definately improve the Braves’ offense the remainder of the season.

The Braves have released 29-year old righty reliever Jeff Bennett. Bennett pitched in 33 games (0 starts) for the Braves this season and he was 2-4 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Bennett was probably released because he broke his hand after a rough performance and that rubbed the Braves the wrong way. Bennett pitched in 108 games (6 starts) in three seasons with the Braves and he was 7-12 with 3 saves, a 3.55 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Bennett will likely hook on with another team this season as long as he’s healthy.

Kelly Johnson has been a steady performer for the Braves until this season when he seems to have lost it. Johnson has played in 71 games this season for the Braves and he is 54 for 239 (.226 avg, .687 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 6 homers, 22 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Braves might try to move Johnson in a trade before this Friday if a team is willing to give the Braves something for him. Johnson has lost his starting 2B job to Martin Prado but who can blame the Braves for making that change? Prado has played in 74 games for the Braves this season and he is 74 for 235 (.315 avg, .860 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 6 homers and 26 RBIs. Johnson might benefit from a fresh start in a new organization.

For some reason it appears that the Braves are willing to deal 26-year old righty swinging shortstop Yunel Escobar but it just doesn’t make sense to me. He is the type of player that the Braves should be building around instead of moving. Escobar has played in 84 games for the Braves this season and he is 99 for 323 (.307 avg, .784 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 11 homers, 58 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has been one of the Braves’ best hitters this season and they should be looking for more offense instead of getting rid of what they already have.

The Braves need some middle relief help and there are some teams with it available. The Indians, Padres, Pirates, Mariners and Diamondbacks have what the Braves crave. If the Braves want a righty then Rafael Betancourt (Cleveland), Cla Meredith (S.D.), Miguel Batista (Seattle) and Jon Rauch (Arizona) would likely be the available players. Lefty starting pitcher Jo Jo Reyes and outfielder Gregor Blanco would likely be enough to get one of those pitchers. If that is the case the Braves should get on the phone right now. If the Braves want a lefty then John Grabow of the Pirates is the guy. He would likely cost the Braves a little more than what it would take for the righty relievers. Other lefties likely on the block are Ron Villone and Joe Beimel of the Nationals. The Nationals would likely take Blanco and Reyes for Beimel or Blanco for Villone.

The Braves have traded 25-year old righty swinging outfielder Jeff Francoeur to the Mets for 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ryan Church. Francoeur played in 82 games this season for the Braves and he was 76 for 304 (.250 avg, .634 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 5 homers, 35 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. In five years with the Braves, Francoeur played in 631 games in which he was 653 for 2,453 (.266 avg, .732 OPS) with 310 runs scored, 78 homers, 359 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He just doesn’t seem to be the same player as he was in 2006+2007 when he cranked 48 homers and knocked in 208 runs for the Braves. Ryan Church played in 67 games for the Mets this season and he was 65 for 232 (.280 avg, .707 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 2 homers, 22 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Church has now played in 504 games in his 6-year major league career in which he is 423 for 1,548 (.273 avg, .789 OPS) with 206 runs scored, 49 homers, 224 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see how this trade pans out as both players were in the Dog House and can use a new start.

34-year old righty reliever Vladimir Nunez is working his way back to Atlanta. He has pitched in 24 games (2 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 2-2 with 2 saves, a 2.23 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. If the Braves have problems in middle relief and Nunez keeps pitching well in AAA he should get another chance at the show.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Tommy Hanson was the top prospect in the Braves’ minor league system heading into the 2009 season according to Baseball America and he’s showing why. Hanson started 11 games in AAA-ball this season before his promotion and he was 3-3 with a 1.49 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. Hanson has started 6 games for the Braves this season and he is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has only allowed 27 hits in 36 innings this season but he has walked 18 batters so his control will need to improve. Still, Hanson will be a major factor in whether or not the Braves make the playoffs or not this season.

Righty Rafael Soriano and lefty Mike Gonzalez have been lights out sharing the closer’s job. Soriano has pitched in 37 games for the Braves this season and he is 1-1 with 8 saves, a 1.63 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He has only allowed 21 hits while whiffing 50 batters in 38 2/3 innings. As long as his elbow holds up there is no reason to think he can’t keep up the good work because he has downright nasty stuff. Mike Gonzalez has pitched in 41 games for the Braves this season and he is 3-0 with 9 saves, a 2.54 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Gonzalez has whiffed 54 batters in only 39 innings this season. Soriano & Gonzalez make a super team at the back end of games.

Martin Prado is just playing too well right now for the Braves to have him on the bench. So, he has replaced Kelly Johnson as the Braves’ starting 2B. Prado has played in 54 games this season for the Braves and he is 47 for 150 (.313 avg, .876 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 4 homers and 15 RBIs. Kelly Johnson lost his starting job by playing in 68 games and going 50 for 234 (.214 avg, .645 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 5 homers, 20 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. This was a good move by Bobby Cox and it should pay off as Prado has played really well for the Braves this season.