Yates could certainly use a fake DL stint until they figure out what to do.

Maybe wickman will "strain his back" again trying to lift 5 boxes of jelly doughnuts...

Wait, the price for Arroyo was Brandon Jones, Tommy Hanson, and a minor league reliever.. and the braves didn't take it? That seems like a great deal for the Braves. I mean, I love me some Tommy Hanson, but isn't Arroyo his upside?

I think Hanson is probably more of a strikeout pitcher than Arroyo.

I'd much rather sell high on Escobar. Yunel needs to hit .300 to be effective and I'm not really sure he's a true talent .300 hitter. Alex Gonzalez only signed a two-year deal with the Reds, right?

If Hanson, Schafer, and some of the high-ceiling/low level guys avoid the bloodshed, Arroyo would be the right fit, especially given the fact he's locked in for 29M from '08-'10 and the Braves are obviously concerned with winning during the Chipper/Smoltz era.

Oh absolutely I'd rather trade Escobar. I'm not sold on him at all. I think he's untouchable though, especially if the rumor of trading Renteria and installing Escobar at SS was true. he just does the things that Cox loves, like that steal of second the other night.

Agreed. I was hoping they were showcasing Escobar, but it appears he's around for the long haul.

Good news for the farm system is that Jeff Locke and Cole Rohrbough are looking like absolute monsters in Danville. Locke took after Rohrbough tonight with five perfect innings and 10 Ks. Combined in 64.2 IP they've got a 94-11 K-BB with two homers allowed. A bunch of groundballs too.

I've got a nice summary of the players Texas got back in the deal, as well as my own takes on the trade, over here.

I am very glad that the Braves seem averse to trading Yunel Escobar. Not because I think he's fantastic - I have roughly the same opinion of him that most of you seem to have. But he is currently the only thing standing in between a primary backup infielder of Woodward, Prado, or Orr. Yikes. You can't trade all of your depth.