Newly acquired Derrek Lee will wear No. 27 for the Braves, and he’ll play first base.
He doesn’t quite come with the splash -- or the press-box fire -- that accompanied the last No. 27-wearing first baseman the Braves traded for in the heat of a pennant race, Fred McGriff in 1993. But given the circumstances and the timing of Wednesday’s deal with the Cubs, the Braves feel awfully good about it.
That starts with Chipper Jones, who went down with a season-ending knee injury a week ago, giving the Braves a sudden need for a middle-of-the-lineup bat three weeks after the non-waiver deadline had passed.
“This is the one A-plus move that we could have made, I think,” Jones said.
The Braves were able to work out a trade for Lee, who had cleared waivers before Jones got hurt. They got him for cash considerations toward the $3.3 million he’s owed this season, the final year of his contract, and for minor league pitchers Robinson Lopez and Jeffrey Lorick from Single-A Rome and Tyrelle Harris, from Double-A Mississippi.
Lee waived his right to veto the trade, as a veteran of 10 years, five with the Cubs, which he exercised when the Cubs tried to trade him to the Angels last month ago.
“It just feels right,” Lee told reporters following the Cubs’ game Wednesday. “The main thing is we have six weeks left and Atlanta is in first place, and they’re playing great baseball.”
Jones and Lee were teammates in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
“There aren’t too many guys that play the position of first base better than D-Lee,” Jones said. “You’re getting a high-character guy coming into an already really good clubhouse. Over the last two weeks you’ve seen his swing come around. He’s hitting for power to all fields. It’s really big for us to get another right-handed presence in the middle of our lineup that can hurt you.”
Lee is hitting only .251 on the season, but since the All-Star break has hit .313 (30-for-96) with eight doubles, six homers and 20 RBIs in 24 games. Braves general manager Frank Wren recited those numbers from memory when talking to the media about the trade.
“It’s a lot like when I stood in front of you guys last year with Adam LaRoche,” Wren said. “One of the things that was so enticing with Adam was he was a good second-half player, and so is Derrek. He’s been a good second-half player, and he is in the middle of a good second-half roll. [He had] a great year last year and is still a threat. It makes our lineup a lot stronger.”
Lee hit four home runs in a three-game series at St. Louis last weekend with Braves’ top scout Jim Fregosi watching from the stands. Sunday morning, Wren called Cubs general manager Jim Hendry.
The only questions were whether Lee would waive his no-trade rights for the Braves and about his back injury. Lee left Sunday’s game with tightness in his back. He was diagnosed with a bulging disc and given an epidural shot of cortisone. He was out of the Cubs' lineup for the past three games. But Wren said the Braves think it’s a short-term problem, and Lee told him on the phone he would be ready to play Friday.
“It’s not a concern at all,” Wren said. “We had our doctors look at the MRI -- he had an MRI on Monday -- and they think it’s going to clear up in the next few days.”
Rather than travel to Atlanta for one game Thursday, the Braves are allowing Lee to stay in Chicago until Friday, when the Braves open a three-game series against the Cubs.
“I had hoped we could get him into a game back here tomorrow before his first game was against the Cubs,” Wren said. “But I think in the long run, we’re better off from a health perspective to let him stay there.”
Lee is more than just a big bat. He’s a three-time Gold Glove first baseman who helped win a World Series with the Marlins in 2003. He’s also known to be a classy teammate.
Wren knew Lee his rookie season in Florida in 1998, when Wren was an assistant GM for the Marlins.
“He’s just a tremendous guy, and he’ll fit into this clubhouse very well,” Wren said.
Troy Glaus showed his own clubhouse character Wednesday, when he was informed the Braves wanted to put him on the disabled list with an inflamed left knee to make room for a new addition at first base. (The Braves called up Brandon Hicks to fill in until Friday.)
Glaus suggested after a week’s rest, he could go to Triple-A and work out at third base. Wren said it’s an idea the Braves had already kicked around, and he agreed. Glaus figures to come back in September either at third base or as another right-handed bat off the bench.
“I obviously don’t harbor any ill will; it’s something that made our team better,” Glaus said of the trade. “Hopefully I can come back in 15 days and be the third baseman and make us even better than that.”
Glaus had hit only .174 with two home runs and 15 RBIs in his past 46 games.
“Quite frankly, we’re not here in a position to even make a trade like this if it hadn’t been for the contributions of Troy Glaus in the first couple of months,” Wren said. “He carried us in May and June. It’s a shame; his legs just didn’t hold up.”
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