Breaking Down the Javier Vazquez Deal

The Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees swapped players today in what is probably the third-biggest trade of this off-season to date.

Javier Vazquez is headed back to New York, where he pitched in 2004 for the Yankees, while the Braves acquired Melky Cabrera as the centerpiece of players coming their way.

Also going to the Yankees was left-hander Boone Logan, while the Braves gained prospects in left-hander Mike Dunn and right-hander Arodys Vizcaino and cash.

The well-documented fact that Braves were looking to trade either Derek Lowe or Vazquez started to indicate that Lowe would be the one headed out, with the Angels as a favorite. The opposite happened today, a day after rumors of the Yankees talking to the Braves about making a deal.

Vazquez, coming off a year in which he went 15-10 and had a 2.87 ERA, helps the Yankees to match the Red Sox acquisition of John Lackey.

The Braves add Cabrera to their outfield, filling a hole left by Ryan Church after his half-season in Atlanta. He will likely fill in the slot in right-field, joining Matt Diaz and Nate McLouth in the Braves outfield.

The deal is baffling in many respects. Most importantly, the fact that Cabrera was completely dispensable for the Yankees after they acquired Curtis Granderson to play centerfield.

While the Braves wanted to unload payroll and a starting pitcher, Derek Lowe makes more than Vazquez, but the fact that Lowe's contract has three more years on it likely had something to do with that.

The Yankees certainly seemed to steal this deal, and the Braves really gave them Vazquez. Cabrera is a middle-run player in the majors and the two pitchers, though solid, are not proven. They both throw hard, and that is a plus for future Braves bullpens hopefully which was clearly a goal in this deal.

The Braves have seemingly made some awful trades under GM Frank Wren. Most notably, two deals involving Mark Teixeira.

The Braves traded away a plethora of prospects to gain Teixeira, including Elvis Andrus, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Neftali Feliz, who is now a top-ten prospect in all of baseball.

A year later he was shipped to the Los Angeles Angels for Casey Kotchman, who was mediocre at best in his stint in Atlanta.

This Vazquez deal follows as another ridiculous move by the Braves lately.

The Yankees did add Logan as well, who came to the Braves with Vazquez from the Chicago White Sox last off-season. Nevertheless, the addition of Vazquez keeps the Yankees as a favorite to repeat as World Series champions again next year.

It is hard to see a team that can beat a rotation of A.J Burnett, C.C. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Vazquez. That is a formidable foursome for all teams.