A while back, we questioned the notion that the Braves’ trade for Adam LaRoche was about 2010. Today we’ll take a look at who might play 1B for Atlanta next season.

The contenders:

1. Adam LaRoche, the team’s current 1B, will be a free agent at the end of the season and could be resigned.

2. Chipper Jones, who has had a horrid season at third base, leading the league in errors and posting a -10.1 UZR, might benefit from a move to first.

3. Freddie Freeman is a first baseman and one of the organization’s top prospects, but probably won’t be ready for the big leagues until 2011 or, at the earliest, late 2010.

4. Martin Prado has had a good year, playing mostly at second base but also spending time at 1B and 3B and hitting .291/.342/.429.

5. Nick Johnson and Carlos Delgado are two other free agent first basemen, and are both injury risks.

So what’s Atlanta to do? Let’s analyze the situation:

• Move Chipper to 1B. This seems obvious, right? The Braves need a first baseman and Chipper seemingly can no longer hack it at third. Moving him to first would keep his bat in the lineup and hopefully help him stay off the DL. But here’s the rub: if Chipper moves to 1B he’ll be blocking Freeman, who could be ready for the bigs as soon as June. And Chipper is signed through 2011, so Freeman would potentially be stuck at triple-A until 2012.
• Make Martin Prado the first baseman. Prado has had a pretty decent season serving as Atlanta’s super utility player, hitting .291/.342/.429. The Braves could move him to first, where he’s played decent defense in 2009, until Freeman is ready. Unfortunately, this move wouldn’t solve the problem of Jones’ deteriorating fielding ability, and Atlanta would be crossing their fingers that Jones’ bad year in the field was an anomaly. Jones had an almost equally bad season at third in 2006, but rebounded to play average defense in 2007 and was a stellar fielder last season. Maybe he’ll make a similar recovery in 2010? Maybe. But he’s at the age when a dramatic defensive improvement is unlikely.
• Bring back LaRoche. This would be the safe play, as you pretty much know what you’re getting with LaRoche. On the other hand, what you’re getting really isn’t that great, and there’s little reason to think that he’d be any better than Prado, who is already under contract.
• Sign another free agent. Other free agent first basemen include Carlos Delgado and Nick Johnson, but both come with injury concerns. On the plus side, signing a free agent first baseman would allow Atlanta to play Prado at second base in 2010, where he’d most likely represent an offensive upgrade over Kelly Johnson, who has never lived up to expectations.

My advice? Atlanta should sign a free agent 2B, shift Prado to 3B and move Chipper to first. Both Felipe Lopez and Orlando Hudson will be available this winter and both would represent a drastic improvement over Kelly Johnson, who started 2009 as Atlanta’s 2B before getting benched.

Sure, Chipper would be blocking Freeman, but only until Chipper strains an oblique or herniates a disk in his back, or comes down with some other inevitable injury. And when he does Atlanta can call up Freeman for a tryout with the big club. And if Freeman hits so well that Atlanta is forced to keep him in the lineup even after Chipper returns from the DL, well, that’ll be a good problem to have.

Today, the AJC’s Jeff Schultz tells us that the Braves sole trade dealine move — a straight-up swap of 1B Casey Kotchman for 1B Adam LaRoche — is about 2010.

But he never tells us how in the world dealing Kotchman for LaRoche will make the Braves better in 2010. And for the love of me I can’t figure it out.

Schultz says, in his column titled “Message Heard: Welcome to the 2010 season”:

Wren hasn’t given up on 2009. But 2010 ranks as a higher priority.

and

Two weeks ago, Chipper Jones said that while it was clear the front office had made improvements to the roster,  “we’ve got our eyes toward next year and the year after, and whatever comes this year is gravy.”

Wren has never hid from that perception.

But the reality is LaRoche won’t play for the Braves in 2010 unless the team offers him arbitration and he accepts. And even if LaRoche does play for the Braves in 2010, he isn’t an upgrade over Kotchman, who is a better defensive 1B. In fact, the two are about equal — both represent about one win over replacement.

At least Kotchman would have been the less expensive option. He’s only scheduled to make $4-5MM in 2010, while LaRoche will probably earn closer to $7MM.

Maybe the Braves are planning to cut ties with LaRoche after this season and pursue a free agent 1B? If so, they’ll be able to choose from a glamorous list that includes 38-year-old Carlos Delgado, Nick Johnson, or Chad Tracy.

Maybe the Braves are planning to promote a minor leaguer? The organization’s only decent 1B prospect is Freddie Freeman, who hits for average and has shown some power, but who has only played 23 game at Double-A and doesn’t figure to be ready for the bigs by March.

Maybe the Braves are going to get creative and trade for a 1B?

Maybe. But as things stand now, it’s not clear how the LaRoche trade will help the Braves in 2010.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that it’s possible that LaRoche will really rake in the next two months and that he’ll qualify as a Type B free agent. If that happens and the Braves offer him arbitration and he decides not to return and signs elsewhere, then the Braves will get a supplementary draft pick between the first and second rounds of next year’s draft. But that’s several big ifs, and it still doesn’t change the fact that LaRoche is unlikely to make the Braves any better in 2010.

UPDATE #2: Last night I Tweeted Schultz and asked him, “How does the LaRoche trade help the Braves in 2010?” The response: “SchultzAJC@umpbump It doesn’t because chances are he won’t be re-signed. Trade was about 2009 but effort to improve team deal for 09 was minimal.” OK. But if 2010 really is the priority, why trade away a 1B who was signed relatively cheaply through next season for a guy who will be a free agent at the end of 2009?

FINAL UPDATE: I Tweeted Schultz and asked him, “So who will play 1B for the Braves in 2010?” He responded, “Ryan Howard. … Hey, a guy can dream. … Seriously, I think it depends on who corner outfielders are.”

It’s been a wild few weeks in Boston Red Sox-land, with Boston axing Mark Kotsay and his beautiful wife Jamie in favor of Adam LaRoche, the steroid revelations about David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, and the fevered speculation over whether Theo Epstein could — or would — swing a trade for Roy Halladay.

The dust is now at least starting to clear (at least, until Michael Vick signs with the Patriots, but that’s another story). Today, Boston gave up on acquiring Roy Halladay, went after Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez but then gave up on him, too, after Kevin Towers asked for the moon, and ultimately acquired Cleveland’s Victor Martinez (who can play first, catch, and DH) for reliever Justin Masterson and pitching prospect Nick Hagadone, as well as pitcher Bryan Price. This made the newly acquired LaRoche expendable, so Boston swapped him with the Braves for Casey Kotchman.

MLBTR said of the Martinez trade, “Gut reaction: nice haul.” From this I presume they meant that the Indians got a nice haul for Martinez (and this before Price was known to be part of the deal) but my reaction was, not so fast. I think this is a great deal for Boston. They get a versatile player in the switch-hitting Martinez, who is still only and beefs up their flailing offense. They deal a sidearm reliever who seems due to be figured out by opposing hitters and a high-ceiling pitching prospect returning from Tommy John surgery. Yes, Hagadone strikes out a ton of batters (11.7 K/9 over parts of three seasons) but he’s only started 23 games. He’s never pitched above the Sally League. And he throws a lot of walks: a 5.0 BB/9 in low-A this year. I know the Red Sox were high on him, but baseball is littered with high-ceiling prospects who just didn’t work out. This deal not only helps the Red Sox this year, but it helps them next year, too, as it will let them kick their dire catching problem down the road if they have to.

Price is sort of the mystery-man in this deal: a 6′4″, 210-lb righty who’s been pitching for high-A Salem. He was a 1st round (45th overall) pick in the 2008 draft. He’s 1 and 6 in Salem with a 6.54 ERA, but he also strikes out a lot of hitters. In 8 games for the low-A Greenville Drive, he went 3-2 with a 2.45 ERA, and had a more impressive season in his pro debut last year, where he struck out 43 and walked 10 in 12 games.

In the end, despite the urge to pronounce “winners” and “losers” (as Sports Illustrated writers were doing on Twitter within moments of the deadline closing) this may be one of those trades that is a good deal for both teams involved. However, it seems to this observer that the Red Sox managed to buy low on Martinez, who has been slumping, and sell high on Masterson, who got all kinds of good press last season after an impressive MLB debut, but who posted a 5.73 ERA in July.

The Kotchman/LaRoche deal is another smart move by Boston. As a Beantowner, I didn’t really understand why Boston dumped Kotsay for LaRoche in the first place. (While LaRoche is a modest offensive upgrade, Kotsay could play outfield and infield, and was solid defensively.) So I’m glad to see the back of LaRoche, and glad to welcome the defensively skilled Casey Kotchman to Boston. A week or so ago, when I was writing about the alleged struggles of Jon Lester for the Metro, Boston ranked 28th in defensive efficiency. Today, they actually rank dead last — 30th. If Kotchman can sub in as needed for the defensively challenged Martinez and allow Kevin Youkilis to slide over to third, that should materially improve Boston’s defense. No, Youk’s -2.2 UZR at third isn’t great, but it’s substantially better than Mike Lowell’s -9.0 rating. Plus, if Big Papi suddenly loses his steroids power stroke again, Lowell can just DH.

The way I see it, Boston addressed their two biggest challenges: a struggling offense and an execrable defense. And they did it for a fraction of what Roy Halladay would have cost.

So, yes…if I actually ever updated my Twitter feed, I suppose I’d declare them trade deadline winners too.

From left to right, Chipper Jones, Matt Duff (former St. Louis Cardinal), Tom Martin (New York Mets), Adam LaRoche (Pittsburgh Pirates), Ryan Langerhans (Washington Nationals) and Willie Robertson (son of world famous duck hunter).

I’ve been absent from this here blog, and you can thank the horrendous thing that is Strep Throat for that. Fully recovered, I figured the best and easiest way for me to come back into action was a good ol’ “Random Links” post. Of course, with all these antibiotics, doctor’s visits, and so on, I couldn’t stay away from the medical theme. Well, O.K., a dentist is not necesarily a doctor, but I digress.

• Some weirdo in San Francisco is going to “lifecast” from this year’s All-Star game. This is the story of a sad man who happened to watch to many ears being eaten alive by Mike Tyson. The same man whose “only claim to fame” was his attendance to the game where Barry (or is it Brian?) Bonds hit his record-setting 73rd home run of the 2001 season. He was a few rows behind the guy that caught the ball (and the other guy that sued him for it). Now he wants to hook up to a webcam and a wireless laptop to beam his life to all and all. No matter that justin.tv (left) is now broadcasting 11 different channels, and that Justine Ezarik is a girl, who’s blond, and is also doing the same thing. No, Dr. Doug: Baseball Hunter will be different. (Never mind that the actual lifecast of the game will be blacked out, and that Dr. Doug, a dentist, has to check back with his disapproving wife and root canal patients).

• It doesn’t matter that you’re the youngest player to reach the 100 home run mark. You gotta get educated.

• And speaking of Brian, er, Boris, I mean, Barry, Dontrelle Willis isn’t scared that the Marlins could be the team against which Bonds hits big seven-five-six.

• Hmmm. The Twins’ new stadium may end up costing people in Minnesota (aka, taxpayers) a bit more than anticipated. About $8 mil more $10 mill more, and all thanks to those $320-an-hour attorneys. Don’t they know why the A’s continue to lead the way when it comes to…ugh, you know what I mean.

• For a minute there, Jason Bergman found comfort in knowing that all those sharpshooters scattered throughout RFK stadium where there for protection. Too bad his offense didn’t do the same, the Nats lost 4-2.

• This isn’t the Adam LaRoche of old; his aggressive attitude is paying dividends for the Pirates. His production his up, his average is up, he’s even swinging at 3-0 pitches. I wonder…

• And forget Polow Da Don, everybody knows “THE KING” of white girls is Chase Utley.

Adam LaRoche is without a doubt this year’s most disappointing player, and it’s not like he doesn’t have any competition. Garrett Atkins, Ryan Howard, Mark Redman and Bobby Abreu have all staked a claim, but LaRoche has outdone them all. He has been totally, completely, thoroughly 100 percent awful.

Currently, LaRoche is hitting an anemic .193 with four HR and only 20 RBIs. He’s slugging just .331. Ick.

On the plus side, LaRoche has walked 25 times and he’s been hit by a pitch once, which is halfway to his 2006 total — and we’re still a week away from June! If he keeps it up, he’ll match his career high of 4 HBPs, set in 2005.

I think LaRoche needs to embrace the HBP as a way of getting on base. After all, if quality players like Chase Utley and Craig Biggio can take one for the team on a regular basis, than surely LaRoche can stomach getting beaned on occasion.

Adam, it’s time to pull a Roger Dorn. Lean into it. Let it hit you. Cause god knows you haven’t been hitting it.

* Shout out to Danny for the LaRoche updates.

The Fanhouse made an interesting observation yesterday, pointing out that Padres 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff is off to such a horrid start “that he could go 1 for 8 in a double-header, and still raise his average!”

That’s really bad. But is Kouzmanoff this year’s biggest disappointment? Hard to say. There are plenty of candidates, including:

1. Adam LaRoche

Last year, after starting on ADD medication, LaRoche had a big second half on his way to a career year and 32 HR. But apparently LaRoche is off his meds again. So far this year he’s hitting .168 with three homers.

2. Chone Figgins

Figgins broke two fingers on his throwing hand in spring training. Since his return, Figgins is hitting .137 with three doubles and three runs batted in 14 games. He’s only had 51 at bats, but that’s still pretty disappointing.

3. Ryan Howard

He hit a game-winning pinch hit grand slam recently, so we’ll cut him a little slack. But he followed up his grand slam with a strike out. What do you think we’ll see more of in coming weeks, homers or Ks? For Philly’s sake, it better be the former.

4. Jeff Weaver

I don’t know how he pitched so well last October. It just doesn’t add up. Add Weaver to a long list of terrible Seattle free-agent signings, along with Beltre, Sexton, and Vidro. Just awful.

5. Ichiro Suzuki

He’ll turn it around. He’s freaking Ichiro in a contract year. Remember the crazy second half he had in 2005? I’m betting on a repeat performance this season.

6. Freddy Sanchez

No power. No speed. Last year was a fluke.

Did I miss anyone?

Adam LaRoche, originally uploaded by FLC.

Last year, then Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche was the subject of an ESPN “Outside the Lines” episode, in which it was suggested that the slugger’s use of ADD medication, and not his play against lefties, was the reason his numbers began to climb.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ever the flip-flopping publication, went on LaRoche’s defense, asking readers if they thought the ESPN segment was “unfair.”

Well, now that he’s no longer with the Braves, the AJC feels they can bounce around words like “absentminded” when referring to LaRoche as if they were his middle name.

LaRoche shows trade hasn’t changed him

By DAVID O’BRIEN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 03/03/07

Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — Things haven’t changed entirely for Adam LaRoche, who showed up with the Pittsburgh Pirates to play his old team wearing No. 96.

“First game, forgot my jersey,” said the famously absentminded former Braves first baseman, who will wear No. 25 this season, “in honor of Andruw Jones.”

LaRoche hit fourth and went 0-for-2 with a groundout and flyout in two plate appearances in a 5-4, 10-inning loss to the Braves at Wide World of Sports, his first Grapefruit League game for the Pirates .

“This is what you get when you get traded,” Braves shortstop Edgar Renteria said of the No. 96 on his black jersey.

“What’s up, dude? What’s with that number?” Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said to LaRoche, after coming from behind him and surprising him with a hug.

The game was televised on ESPN, and broadcasters poked fun at LaRoche for the jersey snafu. “It’s all right; I’m used to it,” he said, smiling.

Har, har, jolly old “absentminded” LaRoche, forgot his jersey, har, har. All fun and games; but don’t you suggest that the medicine he takes for his “absentmindedness” might be enhancing his performance, lest you treat him “unfairly.”