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Grading on a curve: Frank Wren's first offseason as the Braves' general manager appears to have been successful. He landed his primary target in Glavine and gained the speedy Anderson from the Astros at the bargain cost of Oscar Villarreal. Then he took care of two needs by sending Jose Ascanio to the Cubs in exchange for utility man Omar Infante and left-handed reliever Will Ohman. More available funds might have allowed for the acquisition of a more experienced center fielder. But working with what he had and taking advantage of a slight bump in payroll, Wren took care of immediate needs and also fortified the future by landing both Jurrjens and top prospect Gorkys Hernandez from the Tigers. When Hernandez comes to the Majors in a couple of years, fans will understand why scouts regard him so highly.

Arrivals: LHP Glavine, INF Infante, LHP Ohman, RHP Jurrjens, C Javier Lopez and RHP Chris Resop.

Departures: CF Jones, SS Renteria, LHP Ron Mahay, RHP Octavio Dotel, INF Julio Franco, OF Willie Harris, RHP Lance Cormier, RHP Ascanio and INF Chris Woodward.

The Road Ahead: Manger Bobby Cox has said he'd be comfortable taking this current roster to Spring Training. The starting rotation and lineup appear to be very strong, the bullpen seemingly has the right pieces to be successful and the bench will certainly benefit from Infante's versatility.


A lot can change by Opening Day, but as 2007 becomes 2008, this is who is projected to take the field for the Braves:

SS Yunel Escobar
2B Kelly Johnson
3B Chipper Jones
1B Mark Teixeira
RF Jeff Francoeur
C Brian McCann
LF Matt Diaz/Brandon Jones
CF Josh Anderson or Jordan Schafer
SP John Smoltz
SP Tim Hudson
SP Tom Glavine
SP Chuck James
SP James/Jurrjens/Reyes
CL Rafael Soriano

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