The Braves have signed 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Yohan Flande to a minor league deal. Flande pitched in 27 games (all starts) in AA-ball last season and he was 10-8 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 89 games (84 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 34-17 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Flande was the Phillies’ #17 prospect heading into last season according to Baseball America. With that in mind, I like this signing for the Braves.

The Braves have signed 33-year old lefty reliever George Sherrill to a 1-year deal. Sherrill pitched in 65 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last season and he was 2-2 with a 6.69 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. Sherrill has now pitched in 389 games (0 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 16-16 with 56 saves, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Braves now have a pitcher with closing experience on the roster but Sherrill won’t likely be working in that role in 2011 for them.

The Braves have acquired 34-year old righty reliever Scott Linebrink from the White Sox for 23-year old righty reliever Kyle Cofield. Linebrink pitched in 52 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 3-2 with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has now pitched in 543 games (6 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 38-27 with 7 saves, a 3.50 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Kyle Cofield was the Braves’ #24 prospect heading into the 2010 season according to Baseball America. Cofield pitched in 20 games (12 starts) in Rookie+AA-ball last season and he was 1-4 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Cofield pitched in 118 games (82 starts) in his six years in the minors and he is 25-26 with 3 saves, a 4.12 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Cofield walked 263 batters in only 485 innings so the Braves are not taking a big risk in moving him in this deal. Linebrink has pitched his best baseball in the majors while in the National League so I like this deal for the Braves.

26-year old lefty swinging catcher Brian McCann tied for 21st in the N.L. MVP Award voting with 1B Adam Dunn of the Nationals. McCann played in 143 games for the Braves last season and he was 129 of 479 (.269 avg, .828 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 21 homers, 77 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. McCann played in 754 games in his first six years with the Braves and he is 752 of 2,602 (.289 avg, .849 OPS) with 326 runs scored, 112 homers, 466 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. McCann is one of the core players on the Braves and he is one of the best catchers in all of baseball.

27-year old righty swinging 2B Martin Prado finished 9th in the N.L. MVP Award Voting last season. Prado played in 140 games for the Braves last season and he was 184 of 599 (.307 avg, .809 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 15 homers, 66 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Prado has now played in 398 games in his first five years with the Braves and he is 423 of 1,378 (.307 avg, .810 OPS) with 208 runs scored, 29 homers, 159 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Prado will move to left field in 2011 with Dan Uggla now on hand to play 2B.

The Braves have re-signed 33-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Eric Hinske to a 1-year deal with a option for 2012. Hinske played in 131 games for the Braves last season and he was 72 of 281 (.256 avg, .793 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 11 homers and 51 RBIs. He has now played in 1,127 games in his first 9 yards in the majors and he is 857 of 3,377 (.254 avg, .776 OPS) with 514 runs scored, 124 homers, 475 RBIs and 61 stolen bases. This was a good move for the Braves as Hinske is a very valuable player.