After signing relivers Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito early this off season, it became obvious that Braves GM Frank Wren would have to unload either Derek Lowe or Javier Vasquez in order to stay within budget.  Although many teams would like either Lowe or Vasquez, not many teams can afford them.

At age 36, Derek Lowe is the more expensive of the two.  In fact, he is the Braves highest paid player.  He is set to earn $15 million per year for each of the next three years.  Lowe has always been a good pitcher, but 2009 was not his best year.  He finished the year with a 15-10 record, a 4.67 ERA, and a 1.52 WHIP.  However, his career numbers are better than that.  For his career, Lowe is 141-117, has an ERA of 3.84 and a WHIP of 1.29.

Vasquez is 34-years old and is signed through 2010 for $11.5 million.  He was also 15-10 in 2009, the same as Lowe, but with a much better ERA of 2.87.  He also had an impressive 1.03 WHIP.  For his career, Vasquez has a record of 142-139, an ERA of 4.19, and a WHIP of 1.24.

Of the two, the Braves would prefer to trade Lowe, both because of the dollars owed to him and the years remaining on his contract.  In exchange, the Braves would like to find a right handed power bat that can play first base and/or one of the outfield corners.  Right now they have their sights set on free agent Xavier Nady.

Although Milton Bradley doesn’t exactly fit the Braves biggest need, might the Cubs and Braves match up on a trade?  First, the Cubs are one of the few teams that can take on Derek Lowe’s contract.  In 2010, Lowe is $6 million more expensive that Bradley.  He’s $4 million more expensive than Bradley in 2011.  That’s a total of $10 million more over two years that the Cubs would have to spend if the traded Bradley for Lowe.  Of course, they are likely going to have to pay somewhere around $10 million to another team to move Bradley anyway, so it really is a wash.

There’s also the matter of the final year of Lowe’s contract.  He’ll be 39 years old and will be owed $15 million.  In three years, $15 million might not be too bad for an effective starting pitcher, but will Lowe still be effective.  It’s a risk, there’s not doubt about that.  Considering the lack of other trade partners the Cubs have been able to interest in Bradley, I think it is a risk worth taking.

The Cubs are in need of a middle-of-the-rotation arm, so adding Lowe would help out the pitching staff.  He’s not the ace that Roy Halladay is, but at least for now he’s solid.

Would the Braves want Bradley?  That’s hard to say.  Bradley sports an above-average on-base percentage and can provide some power from time to time.  He has only hit more than 20 homeruns once in his career, but Xavier Nady, who the Braves have admitted intererst in, has only done it once as well.  Nady’s second best homerun year is 20 while Bradley’s is 19.  In fact, both players have been in the majors since 2000 and Bradley has actually hit 28 more homeruns than Nady during that time.

Their career hitting lines are also similar.  Bradley has a slash line of .277/.371/.450 while Nady’s is .280/.335/.458.  There’s not a lot of difference.

Bradley is 31-years old and is owed $21 million over the next two seasons.  Nady is also 31.  He earned $6.55 million in 2009 with the Yankees and is likely looking for a multi-year deal in the neighborhood of $8-$10 million per year. 

Nady missed nearly all of 2009 after injuring his elbow in April and having Tommy John surgery in July.  So, while Bradley is prone to injury (he stayed relatively healthy in 2009), Nady doesn’t appear to be a better health risk.  In fact, I would question whether Nady will even be ready at the beginning of the season.

By trading for Bradley, the Braves could kill two birds with one stone.  First, they could trade Lowe and pare down their payroll.  They could also fill a need at a corner outfield spot.  Granted, Bradley has not played any first base, but Nady has only played 82 total games at first, so it’s not like he’s built his career there.  If adding a first baseman is really that important, perhaps the Cubs could throw Micah Hoffpauir into the deal to sweeten the pot.

By signing Nady, the Braves will be adding to their payroll without moving one of their pitchers.  It will just make their payroll problem worse.  They also won’t be getting a guy that meets their needs much, if any, better than Bradley does.

Of course, we’re avoiding the white elephant in the room: Bradley’s behavior issues.  Why would the Braves or any other team want to add Milton Bradley to their locker room? 

In better economic times, the answer would probably be that they wouldn’t.  But these are not normal economic times.  Many teams are trying to either hold the line on spending or cut payroll.  The Braves are a team that are currently above their payroll budget.  They need to cut salary and they need to cut relatively deep.

Trading Lowe for Bradley will allow them to decrease payroll while also taking care of their corner outfield need.  Then the trick will be for Bobby Cox to work his clubhouse magic and integrate Bradley into the Braves locker room.  Cox is known as a players manager, so perhaps he and Bradley would hit it off.

So, there you have it.  The perfect solution for the Milton Bradley situation.  Jim?  Mr. Hendry?  If you’re reading this (and I know you are), it’s time to get busy.  I’ve already done the heavy lifting here.  All you have to do is get the Braves to agree to the deal.  That shouldn’t be too hard.