ATLANTA -- With this week's acquisitions of Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami, the Braves have satisfied their needs for starting pitching. Now, they once again will turn their attention to adding some power to their outfield mix.
The Yankees appear to be willing to trade either Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher, both of whom have drawn interest from the Braves.
Indication that the Yankees will wait to deal one of these outfielders during Spring Training doesn't necessarily affect the Braves, who seem willing to wait to see if this or other trade possibilities materialize.
While Nady appears to be the more attractive option from an offensive standpoint, the Braves seem to have more interest in Swisher, who is under contract through the end of the 2011 season.
Nady likely will enter the free-agent market with his agent Scott Boras at the conclusion of the '09 season. Before Swisher was traded to the Yankees in November, the Braves had interest in acquiring him from the White Sox.
All indications are the Braves still are looking to land an outfielder via a trade. They still don't seem interested in satisfying the salary desires possessed by Adam Dunn and other free-agent outfielders.
Having spent most of their available funds on pitching, with the acquisitions of Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Kawakami, the Braves are looking to add power to their outfield mix with a defensively sound outfielder.
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Source: MLB.com