For some reason it appears that the Braves are willing to deal 26-year old righty swinging shortstop Yunel Escobar but it just doesn’t make sense to me. He is the type of player that the Braves should be building around instead of moving. Escobar has played in 84 games for the Braves this season and he is 99 for 323 (.307 avg, .784 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 11 homers, 58 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has been one of the Braves’ best hitters this season and they should be looking for more offense instead of getting rid of what they already have.

The Braves need some middle relief help and there are some teams with it available. The Indians, Padres, Pirates, Mariners and Diamondbacks have what the Braves crave. If the Braves want a righty then Rafael Betancourt (Cleveland), Cla Meredith (S.D.), Miguel Batista (Seattle) and Jon Rauch (Arizona) would likely be the available players. Lefty starting pitcher Jo Jo Reyes and outfielder Gregor Blanco would likely be enough to get one of those pitchers. If that is the case the Braves should get on the phone right now. If the Braves want a lefty then John Grabow of the Pirates is the guy. He would likely cost the Braves a little more than what it would take for the righty relievers. Other lefties likely on the block are Ron Villone and Joe Beimel of the Nationals. The Nationals would likely take Blanco and Reyes for Beimel or Blanco for Villone.

The Atlanta Braves have a tough decision to make on the 2008 season that likely needs to be done by next Thursday’s trading deadline. Do they raise the white flag or make a move or two to compete for the National League East? The Braves are currently 49-53 which has them 6.5 games behind the Mets in the East. The Braves likely have to focus on winning the division if they are going to add to the team as they are 9.5 games behind the surging Brewers for the Wild Card. If the Braves go for it they will likely need some bullpen help and bench help. They also might be able to use another starting pitcher as Jo Jo Reyes and Chad Morton aren’t capable of helping the team make a playoff run. Mike Hampton and Tom Glavine appear almost ready to come back from injuries but it never hurts to have another quality starting pitcher around just in case they are rusty. If the Braves become sellers in the next week Mark Teixeira, Jeff Francoeur and Mark Kotsay are likely the most marketable players that the Braves would be willing to move. Everything depends on how the Braves play from now until Thursday which will help them make up there minds.

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.