Mike Hampton injured his side this morning and could miss all of April or more. At the bottom of his article, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman mentions that the injury may prompt the Braves to scour the trade market for a starting pitcher. Right now the front four are Smoltz, Hudson, James, and Davies. Lance Cormier could fill in for Hampton if Schuerholz doesn’t find a reasonable trade.
One available starter might be the Cubs’ Wade Miller, assuming he is healthy but does not win the fifth starter job. I imagine the Phils won’t send Jon Lieber over to the Braves. Brad Penny’s stock seems down lately, and he could be an option. And don’t forget that the Braves may have had someone on hand to watch Carl Pavano pitch a few days ago.
The Tigers might have a small surplus with Zach Miner apparently pushed out of the rotation by Mike Maroth. The Braves sent Miner to the Tigers for Kyle Farnsworth in July of ’05. Paul Byrd is another former Brave who might be available. And I’m sure Shawn Chacon could be had for a decent-sized bag of peanuts. Plus there’s the Rockies, with Josh Fogg or Byung-Hyun Kim seen as expendable. Finally, as mentioned in the comments, Mark Redman is still a free agent.
