The Braves have signed 36-year old lefty reliever Joe Beimel to a minor league deal.  Beimel missed all of the 2012 season due to Tommy John Surgery.  He last pitched in the majors in 2011 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, working in 35 games (0 starts) in which he was 1-1 with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP.  Beimel has pitched in 567 games (23 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 24-32 with 4 saves, a 4.21 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP.  If Beimel looks good in the minors, he won’t be there long as the Braves need someone to replace Eric O’Flaherty from the left side of the pen.

The Braves have signed 31-year old righty reliever Kameron Loe to a minor league deal.  Loe has pitched in 11 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Cubs & Mariners in which he is 1-1 with a 7.80 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP.  Loe has now pitched in 313 games (47 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 33-41 with 4 saves, a 4.46 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.  If he looks good in the minors, he won’t be there too long for the Braves.

The Braves have released 23-year old righty starting pitcher Mark Pope.  Pope pitched in 5 games (all starts) in A-ball for the Braves last year and he was 0-2 with a 12.27 ERA and a 2.62 WHIP.  Pope has now pitched in 47 games (26 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 10-12 with a 6.40 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.  Pope should start looking into a new line of work if he doesn’t pitch well when another team gives him a shot.

The Braves have released 30-year old lefty reliever Dusty Hughes.  Hughes pitched in 12 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Braves this year and he was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA and a 2.17 WHIP.  Hughes last pitched in the majors in 2011 for the Twins.  He has pitched in 80 games (1 start) in his first three years in the majors and he is 2-5 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Braves moving forward.

The Braves have released 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Jordan Parraz.  Parraz played in 29 games in AAA-ball for the Braves this year and he was 11 of 78 (.141 avg, .550 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 homers, 8 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Parraz has now played in 833 games in his 10 years in the minors and he is 853 of 2,999 (.284 avg, .801 OPS) with 461 runs scored, 69 homers, 399 RBIs and 129 stolen bases.  This is not much of a loss for the Braves moving forward.

The Braves have signed 30-year old switch-hitting outfielder Brandon Boggs to a minor league deal.  Boggs played in 21 games in AAA-ball for the Twins earlier this year and he was 14 for 76 (.184 avg, .608 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs.  Boggs last played in the majors in 2011 with the Milwaukee Brewers.  Boggs has now played in 130 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 68 for 326 (.209 avg, .695 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 10 homers, 43 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  He will start his career with the Braves in AAA-ball.

The Braves have acquired 33-year old righty reliever Roman Colon from the Pirates for cash considerations.  Colon has pitched in 3 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year in the minors and he is 0-1 with a 8.10 ERA and a 2.10 WHIP.  Colon has pitched in 124 games (8 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 8-10 with 1 save, a 5.19 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.  Colon might be able to help the Braves later this year, if he looks good in AAA-ball.  I like this pickup for the Braves, as Colon has always had a very live right arm.

The Braves have signed 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Nick Weglarz to a minor league deal.  He played in 109 games in AA-ball for the Indians last year and he was 88 for 368 (.239 avg, .762 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 14 homers, 58 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Weglarz has now played in 617 games in his first 8 years in the minors and he is 536 of 2,123 (.252 avg, .814 OPS) with 358 runs scored, 82 homers, 319 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.  Weglarz is going to be a big time longshot to make it to Atlanta in 2013.

The Braves have signed 26-year old righty reliever Erik Hamren to a minor league deal.  He pitched in 58 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year for the Padres and he was 2-6 with 10 saves, a 3.77 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.  Hamren pitched in 14 games (0 starts) in 2011 for the Padres in his only taste of the majors so far and he was 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.  Hamren will likely start out in AAA-ball for the Braves.

The Braves have acquired 35-year old righty reliever Luis Ayala from the Baltimore Orioles for 24-year old lefty reliever Chris Jones.  Ayala pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Orioles earlier this year and he was 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 497 games (0 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 37-46 with 19 saves, a 3.37 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.  Ayala will join the bullpen and pitch important innings at the back end of games.  Chris Jones pitched in 1 game out of the pen in AA-ball for the Braves this year and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP.  Jones pitched in 45 games (0 starts) in AA-ball for the Braves last year and he was 2-5 with 2 saves, a 3.90 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  This was an excellent deal for the Braves as Ayala should give the bullpen a little more balance.