McLouth says strength, confidence are back after dismal 2010

If Braves officials have any concerns about incumbent center fielder Nate McLouth, they do a fine job hiding them.

Plenty of fans have said they're worried about center field, but general manager Frank Wren says he thinks McLouth can bounce back from a career-worst 2010 season in which he hit .190 with six homers in 85 games.

If he doesn't, the Braves might have to scramble to find a midseason replacement for the second time in three years.

"We think he can do it," Wren said. "I think we saw enough in September, and we've seen enough in his career. He's a good player. I believe, and I think most people around here believe, that what we saw for that first year he was with us was an aberration. That's not Nate McLouth. I mean, he's too good a player. There's too many teams that would love to have him. And he brings some things to the table that we don't [otherwise] have.

"I feel real good about where he is now, both physically and mentally, to get the job done this year."

So does McLouth, 29. He has gone from a 2008 All-Star and Gold Glove winner with Pittsburgh -- he had a National League-high 46 doubles, 26 homers and 94 RBIs -- to a bust since a June 2009 trade to Atlanta. Last season he had a .298 on-base percentage, 24 RBIs and career-low .322 slugging percentage in 242 at-bats.

The ever-optimistic Michigan native says he's ready to get his career back on track.

"Last year when I went through such a tough year, your confidence does take a hit," he said last week from his home in Grand Rapids, Mich. "But I've done it. I've gotten my strength back, and my swing feels good this offseason. I'm as confident as ever.

"I'm not going to pretend like last year didn't happen, but I think I can take positives from it. Hopefully when struggles come along, that [experience] can help me get through it."

He missed six weeks with a concussion after a June 9 collision with right fielder Jason Heyward. Before the incident, McLouth already was slumping at .176 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 57 games.

Wren insists it's not the money that's owed to McLouth -- $6.5 million in 2011, plus a $1.65 million buyout or $10.65 million option for 2012 -- that kept the Braves from acquiring another proven center fielder this winter.

"The money never was in the equation," Wren said. "The talent is what drives those decisions. And Nate has talent."

After struggling for a week in his late-July return from the disabled list, McLouth was sent to Triple-A Gwinnett to rebuild his confidence and swing. He impressed teammates and Braves officials by how he responded to the demotion. In Pittsburgh and Atlanta, teammates have always described McLouth as a team-first player.

McLouth said his return to Triple-A was beneficial.

"It absolutely was," he said. "It couldn't have been handled by the organization, by Bobby [Cox, then Braves manager] and Frank, in a better way. I tried to handle it as professionally and as well as I could, and to use my time in the minors as a positive, not be upset and bitter about it."

After being recalled Aug. 31, in his fourth game back he began a 10-game tear that saw him go 11-for-30 (.367) with three doubles, a triple, three homers and 10 RBIs, with two other would-be homers taken away by catches above the fence.

"When he plays like he's capable -- and we saw it in September -- he has an impact on the game," Wren said. "He can drive a ball out of the park, he can run, he can do a lot of things on the field to help you win."

The Pirates thought so when they signed him to a three-year, $15.75 million on Feb. 17, 2009, buying out his first three years of arbitration. They traded him four months later in a deal the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called a "stunning move." McLouth was one of the most popular Pirates with fans and teammates.

"I know how it's going to be received back home," Pirates GM Neal Huntington told the Post-Gazette after the trade. "Believe me, it was the most difficult move I've made, but we believe it was the right baseball move, and we believe it firmly."

The Braves gave up three prospects in the deal: pitchers Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke and center fielder Gorkys Hernandez. Locke hasn't pitched above Double-A; Hernandez hit .266 with two homers and a puny .668 OPS in Double-A last season, and Morton is 7-21 with a 5.91 ERA in 35 starts for Pittsburgh.

So no one the Braves traded is threatening to haunt them for a decade.

Nevertheless, the Braves have gotten far less than expected from McLouth since they made that June 2009 trade to replace slumping opening-day center fielder Jordan Schafer.

The Pirates replaced McLouth with their own top prospect, Andrew McCutchen. In two seasons since, McCutchen has hit .286 with 103 extra-base hits (28 homers), 110 RBIs and 55 stolen bases in 262 games.

Pirates center fielders led the National League in average (.286) and OBP (.359) in 2010, and were fourth in slugging percentage (.450).  Braves center fielders? They were last in average (.232) and 14th in slugging (.339).

McLouth has played 169 games for Atlanta and hit .229 with 17 homers and 60 RBIs and a .709 OPS. In his final 1 1/2 seasons with Pittsburgh, he hit .269 with 34 homers, 123 RBIs and an .834 OPS.

In his last 169 games for the Pittsburgh, he was successful in 28 of 28 stolen-base attempts. For the Braves, he's 19-for-27.

His defense has also disappointed, at times. His throws -- or lack thereof -- have been baffling. Too often, he has chosen to hold the ball when it appeared there might be a chance to throw out a runner.

After his blistering September stretch, McLouth went 4-for-24 in his last 10 regular-season games, with no extra-base hits nor RBIs. He went 1-for-2 with a single in his only postseason plate appearances.

"Even at the end when I tailed off a little bit, I felt like I was hitting the ball hard," he said. "The whole time I was back [from Triple-A] I felt like I played well."

That said, McLouth realized he had a lot of work to do after he got home to Michigan.

"In the time I missed due to the concussion I really lost a ton of strength," he said. "Because I couldn't do anything after that concussion, as far as my normal weight workout. And when I got back from the DL, I didn't want to lift and go through that initial soreness you get when you come back from a layoff. I didn't want to go through that soreness during the season.

"When I got back in the gym after the season, I noticed how much explosiveness and core strength I had lost. That's one thing that's been encouraging this winter. It took a while to come back, but I've gotten most of my strength back."