New York Yankees blog Pinstripe Alley is running a series where they go over possible scenarios if the Yankees are not able to sign Cliff Lee, and the Braves are up. The normal names are mentioned, and things do not seem to match up well between the two teams.
↵The normal names: Kenshin Kawakami and Derek Lowe. Braves fans want to see Kawakami off the payroll, so naturally he is the first name mentioned. He is taking a solid chunk of money and will not be expected to even contribute in 2011. However, while he has been league average across the board since signing with Atlanta, that is not what the Yankees want as a backup plan for Lee. The Yankees would be able to take on Lowe's salary, but it is a similar situation as Kawakami in that it is not what they are wanting as an option. That could prove to be beneficial to the Braves because Lowe's mechanics changes and resulting performance down the stretch in 2010 could be a sign of what is to come next season, and I have doubts that many teams realize this.
↵Jair Jurrjens is the other option, and while he was talked about as a true trade piece for a power bat entering this offseason, trading him now would not help the Braves in any way, and it would actually weaken their rotation. I do see this is as a possibility once the Braves are willing to hand Julio Teheran a job, possibly as soon as 2012. But for now, I would be surprised to see the Braves deal a starter.