Nobody anticipated that the Braves would go through anything as miserable as their current 3-24 stretch. But a losing record in the second half was certainly expected. So instead of extending their commitment to Gonzalez at the end of this season, the club took advantage of a chance to do so at a more appropriate time.
During the two weeks that followed the break, Atlanta traded Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan and Alex Wood off its active roster. The only Major League-ready return the club has received from those trades so far is Hector Olivera, who missed all of August and has spent the past two weeks trying to acquaint himself with big league competition.