New Homes For Braves pitchers & If Frenchy’s the answer, what’s the question?

There were two items that caught my eye when I got time to actually catch up on Braves news tonight. The first was the loss of two minor league pitchers on waiver claims today. The second made me think it might be time to go back to the future.

Late this afternoon in what may have been whiplash from being hypnotized by Scott Boras into signing Oliver Perez, (no really they signed him, I didn’t believe it either) the Nationals claimed Lee Hyde from the Braves . Hyde was originally a fourth round of pick in the 2006 but had to have TJ surgery in 2007.  In 2010 he pitched 60 2/3 total innings at AA and AAA finishing with a 3.41 ERA,  7.7 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.  Earlier the the New York Yankees had claimed Jose Ortegano. Ortegano was a pretty decent prospect heading until last season but seemed to take a step back as his ERA shot up to 6.20 in 21 games at Gwinnett. Neither player was in the top 30 Braves prospects this season.

Fredi Gonzalez said he would like to add a right-handed hitting backup outfielder to go along with Eric Hinske. Hinske is no longer an everyday player and was never a great outfielder but he is a superb bench guy who leaves it all of the field and has a nice touch for late inning magic. There’s not much left out there at this point and it’s a little early to looking for a trade.  We already missed out on Scott Hairston , Willie Bloomquist, Andruw Jones, and  Reed Johnson.  The search is further complicate because the old men Phillies are also frantically looking to replace Jason Werth.

Meanwhile we’ve decided to trade Rodrigo Lopez  ( repeat after me, Why did we sign him Frank?) and of course we’re still trying to trade Kenshin Kawakami. With that as trade bait <cough> <omg> <cough> where do we look? The Red Sox have an excess of outfielders but they will want a quality pitcher. No match there. I’ve heard the Indians need some innings pitched and aren’t winning this year anyway. But I didn’t see anything there that might fit. I love the idea of Hunter Pence but he’s an everyday guy and costs more than a backup, so I expect he’s out as well. There is a guy we could probably have – great glove, strong arm, right handed bat with power and now a part time player – so what about Jeff Francoeur?

Frenchy seems to be exactly what Fredi ask for. By all accounts he’s a great guy that the Braves players still like, his best friend (BMac) is still here and he loves Atlanta. I think it’s a fit, heck he may just find his stroke again. The question is, would the Frank Wren bring him back after dumping him like a broken watch? Well, he brought back Lopez, Norton and Proctor who altogether have less talent remaining than Frenchy. So, why not?