Braves contact Kawakami

Japanese all-star pitcher Kenshin Kawakami was in Atlanta on Monday for a physical needed to finalize an agreement with the Braves. This physical is the final barrier to him signing with the Braves. The 33-year-old was 9-5 for the Chunichi Dragons last year, when he missed several weeks because of a back strain.

The Braves badly need some starting pitching after failing to sign Sabathia, Burnett, or any of the major free agent pitchers and after they lost John Smoltz and Mike Hampton. Tim Hudson might miss the entire season with a ligament injury in his arm.

As of now the Braves rotation looks as follows:
1) Javier Vazquez
2) Jair Jurrjens
3) Jorge Campillo
4) JoJo Reyes
5) Charlie Morton

Jurrjens was a great rookie last year and Vazquez is a solid pitcher, but after that those pitchers are not good enough to allow the Braves to compete. As a side note, I love Vazquez. He has always been a better NL pitcher, citing his days back w/ the Expos. Look for him to be a low risk high reward pick late in drafts.