Left-hander Tom Glavine checked in with Dr. James Andrews on Jan. 26 and got the green light to continue the modest pitching he's been doing for the last few weeks.
And now that the Braves' early throwing has commenced officially -- at 9 a.m. on Jan. 30 -- Glavine will be stepping those efforts up. The target right now is to be able to pitch in a few spring training games, throwing enough to be ready to pitch by Opening Day. Assuming he has a contract, which he currently does not.
But Glavine's situation is totally different from that of right-hander John Smoltz, who will be going to spring training with the Red Sox after feeling dissed by general manager Frank Wren.
Partly because Glavine's rehab and pitching timetable is further behind Smoltz's, there is no urgency to get a deal done now. And Glavine said last season that he didn't believe he should be paid as a front-line pitcher because that wasn't what he is anymore.
Smoltz wouldn't say anything like that, no matter what.
Last season, Glavine's track record of pitching 200-plus innings every season made him a third starter; if he's with the Braves this season, he'll be at the end of the rotation.
The Braves have 24 pitchers on their 40-man roster and have invited seven more to spring training as non-roster invitees. That total does not include Glavine. But his locker is undisturbed in the clubhouse, and he and Wren have been in touch regularly.
Manager Bobby Cox is not concerned about having too many pitchers on hand in spring training because he does not yet know how many Braves might be on the roster of their home countries for the World Baseball Classic.
And no one, not even Glavine, knows what he will be able to do until he takes the mound in a game situation.
But right-hander Tim Hudson joked that the Braves' staff is so deep that when he returns from rehabbing his right arm, he might end up as the long guy in the bullpen. So where does that leave Glavine?
