The Braves have hired Jim Powell for their radio-broadcast team and are working to bring back Don Sutton to be his new partner, according to several people familiar with the negotiations.
Sutton is still under contract with the Washington Nationals, where he's spent the past two seasons. The Braves were trying to reach a settlement to permit him to return to Atlanta, where the Hall of Fame pitcher worked 18 seasons as a Braves television broadcaster through 2006. The Braves had planned a news conference for today to introduce the new radio team. However, that was postponed after difficulties arose getting Sutton out of his contract.
There are big shoes to fill in the radio booth, where Pete Van Wieren retired in October after 33 years calling Braves games, first on TV and radio, then exclusively on radio in recent years.
Van Wieren's longtime broadcast partner, Skip Caray, died in August.
Braves TV broadcasts will again be handled by Joe Simpson and Jon Sciambi on Fox Sports South and SportSouth, and by Simpson and Chip Caray on Peachtree TV.
Powell, who graduated from Georgia in 1986, spent the past 13 seasons calling Milwaukee Brewers games alongside Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker.
Powell called Georgia Baseball games in 1985 and 1986 and was a color analyst for University of South Carolina football and basketball from 1993-95. He declined to comment when reached by cellphone Wednesday.
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