The Braves have traded 25-year old lefty reliever Nelson Payano to the Mariners to complete the Greg Norton trade. Payano had pitched in 27 games (0 starts) in AA for the Braves and he was 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Braves would do this move all over again if they had to as Norton has got some key hits off the bench for them despite not putting up a good batting average. Norton has played in 42 games for the Braves this season and he is 18 for 87 (.207 avg, .648 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs.

The Atlanta Braves should have also been talking to the Indians about Paul Byrd when they traded them Sal Fasano yesterday. The 37-year old righty would likely help out the Braves right now with all of the injuries they have suffered in the starting rotation. Byrd has started 14 games for the Indians this season and he is 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. A return to the National League would probably help cure that high ERA a little bit as he wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with designated hitters. Byrd has a career record of 100-88 with a 4.39 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. If the Indians raise the White Flag this season they wouldn’t probably ask for more than Martin Prado as they have a glaring hole at 2B. Prado is stuck on the bench with the Braves with no hope of overtaking Kelly Johnson for the starting job. Prado has played in 18 games for the Braves this season and he is 11 for 39 (.282 avg, .845 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

The Atlanta Braves have traded catcher Sal Fasano to the Indians for a player to be named later. This is a case of the Braves taking advantage of a situation with the Indians’ Victor Martinez being injured as it’s like they will be getting something for nothing. The 36-year old righty swinging Fasano had played in 26 games in AAA ball for the Braves this season and he was 16 for 83 (.193 avg, .597 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Chances are that he was never going to play for the Braves anyway.

I can’t figure out why the Braves are waiting to call up lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez due to all of the injuries on the pitching staff. Gonzalez has pitched in 8 games on his rehab assigment in AA+AAA ball and he is 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He is looking really sharp as he has whiffed 12 batters and only has walked 1 in 10 innings in the minors. The Braves need him right now to save games.

The Braves have placed righty reliever Rafael Soriano on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. It’s starting to look like this will be a problem all season long for Soriano and that’s a shame because he is a good pitcher. Soriano has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Braves this season and he is 0-0 with 3 saves, a 2.00 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.