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Braves complete deal for ChiSox's Vazquez
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The White Sox will send Vazquez and left-handed reliever Boone Logan to the Braves for four prospects — catcher Tyler Flowers, infielders Jonathan Gilmore and Brent Lillibridge and left-handed pitcher Santos Rodriguez.
"Hopefully, I can bring a consistent guy to the rotation, someone who can just take the ball every five days and give his team a chance to win," Vazquez said. "That's what they're expecting of me and that's what I'm expecting of myself, to put up innings for the Braves."
The deal — finalized Thursday after being agreed to earlier in the week — fulfills the Braves' desire to add front-line starting pitching while continuing the White Sox's quest to get younger and more athletic while reducing their payroll.
The Braves entered the offseason intending to acquire two quality starters. When their quest to acquire Padres right-hander Jake Peavy stalled, they shifted their attention to other trades and made free-agent right-hander A.J. Burnett a top priority, a move Vazquez supports.
"That would be awesome," Vazquez said. "Any team would like to have him."
Vazquez, 32, went 12-16 with a 4.67 ERA for the White Sox last season. He isn't a top-of-the-rotation starter, but his stuff remains above-average and he could benefit from a move to the National League. He has pitched 200 or more innings in eight of the last nine seasons, the exception being 2004, when he worked 198.
For the White Sox, the trade of Vazquez will mark their second major move of the offseason. They earlier sent first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher and a minor league pitcher to the Yankees for infielder Wilson Betemit and two minor-league pitchers, and continue to discuss trades for outfielder Jermaine Dye.
"I just always try to move forward and just go on with my life, I guess," Vazquez said. "I really like to be a positive guy and show a positive side to other people. I really try to stay away from the negativity."
The 32-year-old right-hander has a 127-129 career record with Montreal, the New York Yankees, Arizona and the White Sox. He is owed $11.5 million in each of the next two seasons, then can become a free agent.
"I've been kind of a power pitcher for most of my career, a fly ball pitcher," Vazquez said. "Coming to a stadium like Atlanta, which plays fair, is a little bit better ballpark to pitch in than Chicago. I think that's probably going to help me."
White Sox general manager Ken Williams said the trade was part of his team's effort to bring in young players. He said he was obviously "watching the dollars, but this deal was motivated by a continued desire to transition into a new core."
The Braves have made starting pitching their major focus of the offseason. John Smoltz and Tom Glavine are both in their 40s and coming off arm operations, and Tim Hudson is not expected back until late in the season after undergoing elbow ligament replacement surgery.
Atlanta had hoped to re-sign injury-prone Mike Hampton before he completed a deal with Houston this week.
"Especially after I started hearing rumors a while back, I guess I was expecting a move. I was glad it was here to Atlanta. This has always been one of my favorites," Vazquez said.
Logan was 2-3 with a 5.95 ERA in 55 appearances with the White Sox in 2008. He has a 4-4 record with a 5.87 ERA in 144 games over three seasons with Chicago.
The 6-foot-4, 248-pound Flowers, who is 22, gained attention when he hit 12 homers in 20 games in the Arizona Fall League. He batted .288 with 17 homers at Class A Myrtle Beach last season.
"I think this guy will be an All-Star catcher," Williams said, adding the White Sox had no plans to move him to another position. "For his size, he has a lot of agility behind the plate and he throws the ball extremely well. ... I think he will be a heck of an offensive catcher and a solid defensive catcher behind the plate."
Lillibridge hit .200 in 80 at-bats with Atlanta last season. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Richmond, batting .220.
Gilmore, a third baseman, batted .294 with four homers and 35 RBIs in 94 games with Advanced Rookie Danville and Class-A Rome in 2008.
The 6-foot-5 Rodriguez was 1-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 14 relief appearances with the Gulf Coast League Braves in 2008.
Williams said he didn't foresee another major deal as he heads off to the winter meetings, which begin Monday in Las Vegas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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