The 2010 Major League Baseball trade deadline is just over a month away with the deadline being its customary date of July 31st on a yearly basis.

Over the next month I will try and tackle every Major League team as the deadline approaches to see if they will be buyers, sellers or stick to their current roster.

I will be basing my assumptions on the direction the team is going, their record as of the date I post the article, possible roster injuries and so on and so forth.

I will provide the information about each team by division starting today with the National League East leading Atlanta Braves.

Coming into play today against the Chicago White Sox the Braves hold a record of 42-29, good for first place in the NL East, a game and a half ahead of the New York Mets.

The team was given shocking news prior to the 2010 season when long time manager Bobby Cox announced that this year would be his last as manager with the ball club, after an illustrious managing career which saw him lead the Braves to eleven division titles and a World Series championship while featuring one of the most legendary starting pitching rotations of all-time consisting of his top three in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine & John Smoltz.

The team overhauled its roster despite finishing ten games over .500 last season, falling just short of the NL Wild Card.

The Braves let reliever Mike Gonzalez walk via free agency to the Baltimore Orioles and traded closer Rafael Soriano to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for pitcher Jesse Chavez. Soriano was not expected to accept arbitration as the Braves were willing to let him walk in exchange for Type A draft pick compensation, but were forced into the trade when Soriano accepted arbitration.

The team was also involved in trading away one of their top pitchers of 2009 Javier Vazquez to the New York Yankees in a deal featuring outfielder Melky Cabrera in return as they looked to shed payroll.

The Braves went to the free agent market and nabbed veteran Billy Wagner to close and Takashi Saito to set-up in what some around baseball thought were poor moves due to the wear on the aging veterans. The two players have both been impressive out of Atlanta’s bullpen so far this season.

They also signed Troy Glaus to a $1.75 million deal to play first base on a regular basis for the team, while arranging a $1.5 million deal with Eric Hinske to fortify their bench.

Tim Hudson was to make his return to the Braves starting rotation on a full time basis proving he was healthy at the end of last season, which prompted the Braves to sign him to a three year, $28 million extension.

The team let Kelly Johnson leave via free agency handing the starting second base job to Martin Prado and decided that 20 year-old prospect phenom Jason Heyward was Major League ready and would start the season in right field.

The drastic overhaul has worked thus far for the team as Hudson (7-2, 2.34ERA) is proving once again he is the ace of a starting staff that features sinker baller Derek Lowe (9-5, 4.77ERA), hard luck loser in Japanese import Kenshin Kawakami (0-9, 4.78ERA), fire baller Tommy Hanson (7-4, 4.17ERA) and the surprising Kris Medlan (4-1, 3.33ERA) who is filling in for the injured Jair Jurrjens.

The resurgence of Glaus (.275, 14HR, 55RBI) who has been battling injury for quite some time combined with an outstanding All-Star caliber year thus far from Prado (.340AVG, 7HR, 31RBI) and strong contributions from Hinske (.311, 5HR, 27RBI) & Heyward (.259, 11HR, 45RBI) as well as one of the best bullpens in baseball have the Braves off to a great first half start.

As any contending team reaches the trade deadline there is always the possibility of attempting to make your squad better than it already is via a trade or signing.

As I mentioned above the Braves feature outstanding starting pitching as well as a strong bullpen. Where they struggled in the past was scoring runs, which they currently lead the National League in with 350 runs scored. The additional run support combined with their stellar pitching has made for their first half success.

Currently the Braves feature a very strong defensive minded bench that can hit the ball in backup catcher David Ross (.279, 0HR, 15RBI), Brooks Conrad (.267, 3HR, 15RBI), Brandon Hicks (.000, 0HR, 0RBI), Omar Infante (.306, 1HR, 18RBI) & Gregor Blanco (.438, 0HR, 0RBI). The only problem I see with their bench is the lack of pop that would normally be provided by Hinske.

With Hinske spending the majority of his time in the outfield as opposed to being a big bat off the bench the team will need a big bench bat for their playoff run to counteract the newly added playing time for Hinske in my opinion.

The team currently has outfielders Nate McLouth (concussion like syndromes) & Matt Diaz (right thumb infection) on the disabled list so upon their return Hinske could return to the role he was intended for.

Both McLouth (.176, 3HR, 14RBI) & Diaz (.178, 0HR, 5RBI) were having terrible years prior to their injuries so they might not be the solution the team is looking for.

The Braves, conscious of payroll additions, hence the move of Vazquez prior to the 2010 season, could acquire a player such as the Philadelphia Phillies Greg Dobbs, who was recently designated for assignment by the team after having a poor start (.152, 1HR, 6RBI). Dobbs made a name for himself in the big leagues as a pinch hitter setting the Phillies franchise record for pinch hits with 22 off their bench in 2008 and would be a very affordable addition at $770,000. He can play all four corner positions and could come via a trade for a low level prospect if the Braves went that route. Dobbs just cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment from the Phillies today, so I am sure he would love a trade to a team which would enable him to play in the Majors again. The trade could even revive his bat.

The Braves have also been rumoured as one of many interested teams after the services of Kansas City Royals outfielder David DeJesus. The outfielder has been on the Braves radar for some time and despite a lack of power is having a very productive season (.322, 5HR, 31RBI). DeJesus would be more of an expensive addition, but still comes at a reasonably affordable $4.7 million this season. The only problem may be the asking price for the 30-year old as the Royals may want top end prospects in return.

Unless the team falters drastically leading up to the trade deadline I expect the Braves to make at least one move to improve their squad.

No matter what direction the Braves decide to go they should be able to continue to contend in the National League using their impressive starting staff combined with excellent bullpen. They will just need to continue to hit the ball and the addition of another bat, no matter which way it comes is crucial for the Braves if they want to make a deep playoff run.

We shall see what happens.

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