TRADE UPDATE

It is being announced by multiple sources that the Braves have reached a deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

Braves get: 1B Casey Kotchman and AA RP Steve Marek

Angels get: 1B Mark Teixeira

Kotchman is solid; I can't say I know anything about Marek save his MiLB.com player page(http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Stephen%20Marek&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=447821) but the Braves scouts must really like the guy to pull him out of the blue like that (he does have a good strikeout rate). How good this deal ends up being for the Braves mostly depends on how Kotchman develops. He's a third year player and a very good defensive first basemen, but a lot of people think he hasn't finished developing as a hitter, especially regarding his batting average (.325 in the minors).

Atlanta's not done. It's only a matter of time before the Braves make another deal.