That a team is looking for starting pitching in the offseason is not news; everyone does it every year. The Braves will be no exception. But they are also unsettled in the outfield.
Right fielder Jeff Francoeur is the best-known quantity. Sort of. Everyone with the team is keeping their fingers crossed that Francoeur doesn't repeat last offseason's error of weight training to bulk up, which might have been the source of his disastrous 2008 season. His goal was to get bigger and become a home run hitter. Instead, he lost his quickness. The Braves will have to wait at least until spring training to have a clue as to which Jeff Francoeur they have. Elsewhere in the outfield, Matt Diaz was working his way into a steady gig in left field after platooning there in 2007, until he came out on the wrong end of an encounter with an unpadded section of Miller Park's outfield wall.
Josh Anderson is not a big bat, but he is speedy on the basepaths, turning singles into doubles and, often, triples, and he can steal bases.
Omar Infante is capable of timely hits but needs steady at-bats to accomplish that. Unfortunately, his ability to pay multiple positions hurts him; he doesn't get a chance to settle in anywhere.
Gregor Blanco decided to play winter ball in Venezuela in part to work on becoming more consistent at the plate, but he does not possess a big bat.
Jordan Schafer could be the big outfield bat the Braves are looking for. He finished with a .269 batting average for Class AA Mississippi after struggling early as he tried to prove his previous numbers didn't come courtesy of HGH (for which he tested positive and was suspended 50 games this year). He is playing in the Mexican Winter League, trying to make up for the time he lost.
Gorkys Hernandez, a 20-year-old center fielder who came to the Braves along with Jair Jurrjens from Detroit in the Edgar Renteria deal, is a longshot, but it's not impossible to imagine him in Atlanta next year. He impressed enough with Class A Myrtle Beach to be included in the Futures Game, as he was in 2007 when he was in the Tigers organization. He may not be far behind Schafer, and having two potential major league center fielders is never a bad thing -- particularly when constructing a trade offer for Padres ace Jake Peavy.
