Major League Baseball

Wagner's arrival is only the start

Published Dec. 2, 2009 11:37 p.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

First Tim Hudson, now Billy Wagner. The Braves are off to a nice start this offseason, but it is only a start.

General manager Frank Wren, facing the possible losses of both free-agent left-hander Mike Gonzalez and righty Rafael Soriano, needs to keep working on his bullpen.

But mostly, Wren needs to fix his offense.

News and notes

The Braves not only had the best rotation in the National League last season, but they also had a better bullpen than the eventual league champion Phillies.

The biggest difference between the teams was their offenses — the Phillies scored 85 more runs than the Braves, ranking first in the NL.

The Phillies' offense will not get any worse this offseason. In fact, it might even get better if the team finds a better hitter at third base than Pedro Feliz.

The Braves? It's too early to judge.

The re-signing of Hudson gave Wren enough rotation depth to trade either right-hander Derek Lowe or righty Javier Vazquez for a hitter.

But the Braves actually took a step back offensively on Tuesday, declining to offer salary arbitration to first baseman Adam LaRoche, who hit a combined 25 home runs with an .843 OPS for the Pirates, Red Sox and Braves last season.

Not to worry; the Braves can get a comparable first baseman — or perhaps LaRoche himself — at a more reasonable price than his projected $8 million number in arbitration. The true area of concern is the outfield, where the Braves' combined OPS ranked next-to-last in the NL last season.

Know who would be perfect for this team? Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.

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