SB Nation Atlanta - Derek Lowe's Injury Means More Than One Missed Starthttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46601/atlanta-fave.png2010-09-02T16:05:30-04:00http://atlanta.sbnation.com/rss/stream/14299722010-09-02T16:05:30-04:002010-09-02T16:05:30-04:00Derek Lowe's Injury Means More Than One Missed Start
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<p>There have been rumors coming from both Dave O'Brien of the AJC and Mark Bowman of MLB.com for a little over a week that <span>Derek Lowe</span>'s elbow is not exactly feeling up to par. Yesterday, Frank Wren acknowledged that he will have his next start skipped and that <span>Kenshin Kawakami</span> will be the replacement on Friday against the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/florida-marlins" class="sbn-auto-link">Marlins</a> in Florida.</p>
<p>This affects the team in a couple of ways. One, we get to see what Kawakami can offer this team heading into next season. Two, as Martin Gandy of <a href="http://www.talkingchop.com">Talking Chop</a> pointed out on his twitter earlier today, trading Lowe this offseason became even more difficult. </p>
<p>Lowe is owed $15 million next year and the <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Braves</a> would presumably like to go younger in the rotation since he has underperformed so greatly. He is signed for two more seasons, so the team would have to eat a large portion of his contract even before this elbow injury occurred. Now that there are worries toward the end of the season, he just became that much more immovable. </p>
<p>With the playoffs rapidly approaching and the Braves being in prime position to make them, they have some decisions to make regarding the post-season rotation. <span>Tim Hudson</span> will start game one, <span>Tommy Hanson</span> and <span>Jair Jurrjens</span> will likely start games two and three in some order, with <span>Mike Minor</span>, Lowe, or Kawakami battling for the final spot.</p>
<p>Minor seems to be the best pitcher, but the Braves may decide to go with Lowe -- which would be a mistake in my opinion. This injury may change their plans and they have very little confidence, if any, in Kawakami. Lowe's elbow injury is certainly helping Minor's chances at getting a few starts this October.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2010/9/2/2320361/derek-lowes-injury-means-more-than-one-missed-startBenDuronio