4:01pm: O’Brien’s official story is up. Anderson will get about $2.5MM on a one-year deal. The official announcement will come tomorrow.
Anderson will platoon with Diaz, and be reunited with former teammate Casey Kotchman, who went to Atlanta in the Mark Teixeira trade.
3:43pm: Further down in the comments, O’Brien adds:
"It’s one year, $2.5 mill."
3:11pm: In the comments section of his blog, Dave O’Brien confirms that the Braves have signed Anderson. Says O’Brien:
"It’s a done deal, Anderson’s going to be here as early as tomorrow. He’s en route today, I’m told. Whether that means he’ll be introduced tomorrow, not certain. But likely.
Important thing is: He’s signed. And this isn’t a friend telling us."
1:18pm: Mark Bowman of MLB.com is reporting on his blog that the Braves may have interest in Garret Anderson, having missed out on Ken Griffey Jr.
Previously, we’ve heard that the Braves will look within their system for answers to their outfield situation. Bowman previously shared the same opinion, but is changing his tune. He writes:
"Now, I’m of the opinion that the Braves have definite interest in Garrett Anderson and may be working to get a deal done with him in the very near future. "
Anderson, 37 in June, posted a .758 OPS, though that may be a bit misleading. Following the All-Star Break, he put up a very nice .855 OPS through his last 60 games. He was also far more effective against right-handed pitching. While his average was nearly identical against both righties and southpaws, he slugged .450 against right-handed opponents, compared to .371 against lefties. He also clubbed 14 of his 15 home runs against righties.
Sounds to me like he could still form an effective platoon with Matt Diaz.
