The Braves traded two lefty relievers for one because they believe that Royce Ring has a higher upside than either Startup or Ledezma. It will be interesting to see if they are right as only time will tell. Ring pitched in 15 games this season with the Padres and he was 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Ring has tossed 15 innings in the majors this season and he allowed 11 hits, walked 14 batters and whiffed 17.

Ledezma had a rough time in Atlanta so they had no problem trading him. Ledezma has pitched in 35 games this season with the Tigers and Braves and he is 3-3 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. Startup is a 23 year old lefty reliever who was pitching really well for the Braves AAA team. In 42 games this season he was 3-2 with 1 save, a 2.23 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. It seems like the Braves might have overpaid a bit here for Ring but they are going for broke this season.

The Braves have sent lefty starter Matt Harrison and lefty reliever Beau Jones to the Rangers to complete the Teixeira trade. Harrison is a 21 year old pitcher who was ranked as the #3 prospect in the Braves system according to Baseball America. He has started 20 games in AA ball this season and he was 5-7 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has tossed 116.2 innings this year and he has allowed 118 hits, walked 34 batters and whiffed 78. 20 year old Beau Jones has thrown in 26 games (1 start) in A-ball this season and he was 5-0 with 3 saves, a 4.63 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. In 56.1 innings Jones has allowed 48 hits, walked 26 batters and whiffed 49. Jones was ranked as the #14 prospect in the Braves system according to Baseball America. It’s amazing to say but the Braves still made out in this trade despite the fact that they traded 5 of their top 20 prospects in their farm system. Mark Teixeira will make a huge difference in their starting lineup and Ron Mahay should help out their bullpen.

It’s amazing that the Braves gave up so little to acquire Octavio Dotel. The Braves plan on using Dotel as a set up man at least initially. But if Bob Wickman continues to pitch poorly Dotel could replace him as the closer at some point. Dotel pitched in 24 games this season for the Royals and he was 2-1 with 11 saves, a 3.91 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. In 23 innings he allowed 24 hits, walked 11 batters and whiffed 29. Dotel looks healthy and he’s had a good major league career so I expect him to pitch well for the Braves the rest of the way. He has pitched in 419 games in his major league career and he is 39-32 with 82 saves, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has thrown 633.1 innings in his career and he has allowed 506 hits, walked 281 batters and whiffed 761.

Kyle Davies has never pitched too good for the Braves and he should be no loss to them. He was 4-8 with a 5.76 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP in 17 starts this season for Atlanta. In 86 innings this year he allowed 92 hits, walked 44 batters and whiffed 59. Davies’ career numbers are pretty pathetic which probably makes the Braves happy that someone still wanted him. He has pitched in 52 games (45 starts) in his major league career and he is 14-21 with a 6.15 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP! In 237 major league innings Davies allowed 280 hits, walked 126 batters and whiffed 172.

The Atlanta Braves have decided to go for it all this season so they traded 4 good prospects to the Rangers to get one of the best players in baseball and a decent lefty relief pitcher. Mark Teixeira has played in 78 games this season for the Rangers and he was 85 for 286 (.297 avg, .921 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 13 homers and 49 RBIs. Teixeira has played in 693 games in his major league career and he is 746 for 2,632 (.283 avg, .901 OPS) with 426 runs scored, 153 homers and 499 RBIs. He will give the Braves another monster bat in the middle of the batting order and he will likely make everyone in the lineup better. Ron Mahay will also fill a big hole for the Braves as they needed a quality lefty in the pen. Mahay has pitched in 28 games this season for the Rangers and he was 2-0 with 1 save, a 2.77 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. In 39 innings this season he has allowed 33 hits, walked 21 batters and whiffed 32.

The Braves traded away catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, shortstop Elvis Andrus, righty starter Neftali Feliz and a player to be named later. Saltalamacchia played in 47 games this season for the Braves and he was 40 for 141 (.284 avg, .744 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. Andrus and Feliz are very young but very talented players. Andrus is an 18 year old shortstop in A-ball. He played in 99 games in the minors this season and he was 94 for 385 (.244 avg, .665 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 3 homers, 37 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Feliz is a 19 year old righty starter in Rookie Ball. He has pitched in 7 games (6 starts) in the minors this season and he was 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. In 26.1 innings he has allowed 16 hits, walked 12 batters and whiffed 28. The Braves have also furnished the Rangers will a list of 5 players to choose from as the 4th player in the trade and he will likely be another good prospect.

The Braves have designated lefty reliever Wil Ledezma for assignment. He pitched in 12 games for the Braves this season and he was 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. Ledezma worked 9.1 innings for the Braves this season and he allowed 12 hits, walked 4 batters and whiffed 7. The Braves have recalled Jose Ascanio to replace Ledezma in the bullpen. Ascanio has already pitched in 4 games for the Braves this season and he is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has thrown 6 innings this season and he has allowed 7 hits, walked 1 batter and whiffed 7.