Q: Brian McCann and Tim Hudson joined the Braves in 2005, the last year of the streak of 14 division titles. They both left in the offseason. Are there other ex-Braves players from that time still in the majors, or anywhere, professionally?
—Charles Mejeris, Riverdale
A: In addition to McCann (New York Yankees) and Hudson (San Francisco), first baseman Adam LaRoche (Washington), shortstop Rafael Furcal (Miami), second baseman Kelly Johnson (Yankees), and reliever Kyle Farnsworth (Houston) are the regular players from the Braves' 2005 roster who are still active in the major leagues.
Brayan Pena played in 18 games that season and is Cincinnati’s backup catcher this year. Other players, including outfielders Jeff Francoeur, Andruw Jones and Ryan Langerhans, and infielder Wilson Betemit, are in various other leagues. Francoeur, who was promoted to the majors in June 2005, plays for El Paso, the Triple-A affiliate of San Diego. Jones is in his second year with the Rakuten Eagles of the Japanese Baseball League. He had 26 home runs and a team-leading 94 RBIs to lead the Eagles to the Japan Series championship in 2013.
Langerhans, who played for the Braves from 2002-07, plays for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League. Betemit plays for Durham, the Triple-A affiliate of Tampa Bay. Jason Marquis, who pitched for the Braves from 2000-03 and was with San Diego in 2013, is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is hoping to pitch in the majors sometime this season. Bruce Chen, who pitched for the Braves from 1998-2000, is with Kansas City.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We'll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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