The Atlanta Braves have claimed 23-year old lefty Eric O’Flaherty off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. O’Flaherty pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Mariners last season and he was 0-1 with a 20.25 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. O’Flaherty has pitched in 78 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he was 7-2 with a 5.91 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. This was definately a risk worth taking for the Braves as O’Flaherty wasn’t that bad before last season and he is only 23 years old and left handed.

The Braves have re-signed 30-year old outfielder Joe Borchard to a minor league contract. He should be fully recovered by spring training from the Tommy John Surgery he had done last season. Borchard played in 33 games in AAA ball for the Braves last season and he was 32 for 117 (.274 avg, .799 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. Borchard does have impressive power but he whiffs way too much and that has hurt him in his major league career to date. Borchard has played in 301 games in his major league career and he is 147 for 716 (.205 avg, .636 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 26 homers and 77 RBIs. He has whiffed a stunning 222 times in his major league career to date (31%)!

The Braves need to rebuild the pitching staff and they will likely try to add through the free agent market. Ben Sheets, Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett, Ryan Dempster, Jon Garland and Braden Looper are the top righties the Braves will consider. From the left side the Braves might think about bringing in Randy Johnson, Andy Pettitte, Oliver Perez or Randy Wolf. The Braves could also look at cheaper alternatives like Paul Byrd, Pedro Martinez, Freddy Garcia or Jon Lieber from the right side and Kenny Rogers or Odalis Perez from the left side. The Braves likely will need at least two of the pitchers mentioned above to help fill out a suddenly needy rotation. The Braves could also really use another lefty reliever to team with Mike Gonzalez. Joe Beimel, Jeremy Affeldt, Brian Shouse, Arthur Rhodes, Darren Oliver, Dennys Reyes or Alan Embree would be a good addition to the bullpen from the left side. The Braves also could use a couple of righty relievers with their eyes likely on Brandon Lyon, Russ Springer, Kyle Farnsworth, Juan Cruz, David Weathers, Bobby Howry and Chan Ho Park. Milton Bradley, Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, Pat Burrell or Garret Anderson will likely be considered to fill the starting LF job. The Braves could also use a backup catcher with Gregg Zaun, Michael Barrett, David Ross, Henry Blanco, Eliezer Alfonzo, Javier Valentin or Paul Bako all make sense for them.