Braves look to reinforce pitching staff in offseason

After seeing best-laid plans torpedoed by pitching injuries in his first year as Braves general manager, Frank Wren has a clear objective as he prepares for an important winter.

“Improve our starting pitching — that’s our No. 1 priority,” Wren said Monday, a day after the fourth-place Braves closed a disappointing season at Houston with their 90th loss.

Wren said the Braves’ payroll would increase next season, but would not say by how much. It’s believed the Braves, with a increase from this year’s $92 million payroll to something approaching $100 million, would have between $40-45 million to spend on additions for 2009.

Wren said the Braves plan to acquire two proven starting pitchers — not named John Smoltz, Tom Glavine or Mike Hampton — and a power-hitting outfielder, through free agency and/or trades.

“In the free-agent marketplace, that’s really not a lot of money,” he said, “when you look at what the top guys go for. But we think we can fill our needs.

“We need to get some veteran starting pitchers, and we’re going to use our assets however it takes to get them. I think we’re sitting in a pretty good spot, because we’ve got the financial resources to get players, and prospects to make trades. We can go both ways. Some clubs can’t.”

It seemed ironic that Hampton, who pitched six innings in Sunday’s 3-1 loss, was the only healthy veteran Braves starter for the last two months, after Smoltz, Glavine and Tim Hudson had season-ending arm surgeries.

Smoltz (shoulder surgery) and Glavine (elbow, shoulder surgeries) are still in relatively early stages of comeback attempts this winter. Wren said they would be wanted back once they’ve proven they can pitch. Hudson isn’t expected back before August and could miss the season.

Hampton missed nearly 36 months recovering from elbow surgeries and other ailments. The Braves want to re-sign him now that he’s healthy, but Wren said they would still pursue two other reliable, top-of-the-rotation starters.

“We had three older pitchers in our rotation,” Wren said, referring to Glavine (42), Smoltz (41) and Hampton (36). “You expect maybe one of them to go down, but not all three of them. That’s not something you can guard against.”

Wren said the Braves hope to have back Smoltz and Glavine, but neither would likely know until at least mid-winter whether he’ll be able to pitch again.

The GM said the Braves would assemble their roster as if Smoltz, Glavine and Hudson, who had elbow surgery in August, aren’t going to pitch this season.

“I’ve talked to both [Smoltz and Glavine],” Wren said. “We have to fill the spots in our rotation, without regard for them. And then if they can come back and pitch, maybe it knocks a young guy back to [Class AAA) Gwinnett. But we can’t count on [either of them].”

Not trading from ‘next wave’

Trading prospects to fill immediate needs is a cringe-inducing thought for some Braves fans still mindful of the 2007 trade-deadline deal that sent five top prospects to Texas for Mark Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay.

Wren said Monday he won’t trade from a group of elite prospects he called the “next wave” of Braves due to arrive in a couple of years, including outfielders Jason Heyward and Jordan Schafer, first baseman Freddie Freeman and top pitching prospects led by Tommy Hanson.

“We’ve got a lot of prospects, but it’s a fine line,” Wren said. “Especially when you’re making multiple-player trades. We feel like we’ve got a wave of talent coming, and we won’t trade from that wave. That’s not the way you build a winning team. You may win one year doing that.”

The Braves had scouts canvass the majors the past month to watch potential pitching acquisitions, including pending free agent Derek Lowe, who some Braves believe would be a perfect fit.

The Braves also are said to have some interest in Giants fireballer Matt Cain and veterans Ryan Dempster, Kyle Lohse, A.J. Burnett and Brad Penny.

They want to add starters for the Nos. 1 and 2 spots in a rotation that returns rookie 13-game winner Jair Jurrjens and maybe Hampton, who made 13 starts (3-4) after nearly three years on the DL.

“We’d like to re-sign Mike,” Wren said of the left-hander, who had a 3.72 ERA in his last nine starts, including eight with a least six innings and three earned runs or fewer. “We expressed this to him a couple of weeks ago.”

The Braves like their infield as is, and Wren said they should proceed under an assumption that National League batting champion Chipper Jones is only going to play 120-125 games at third base. Having Omar Infante and Martin Prado to fill in the for the oft-injured 36-year-old helps, Wren said.

Wren said the Braves need right fielder Jeff Francoeur to bounce back from his dismal season (.239, 11 homers, 71 RBIs). Wren said Francoeur realizes he got too heavy and muscular last winter.

The Braves look to add a bat in left field. Wren said center field could be a competition between Schafer, Josh Anderson and Gregor Blanco, though none is assured the job.