Braves Notes: Payroll, Greinke, Uggla, Chipper

Braves GM Frank Wren told David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he has noticed a “re-emphasis on speed” in baseball over the past five or six years. Wren said he’d like the Braves to transition into a more athletic club, but that’s far from the only interesting comment he made. Here’s the latest:

• Wren says the Braves have “an ample payroll to win” without question. The Mets and Phillies may spend more, but teams like the Rays win with less.
• The Braves discussed trading for Zack Greinke, but decided against it. “We talked about it,” Wren said. “I just think it was going to be cost-prohibitive for us, because some of those players it would have taken to make that deal are players we’re going to be counting on in the next year or two, and we think they’re going to be premium talents at the major league level.”
• Generally speaking, Wren said he is hesitant to trade “productive, game-changing” young players who could have a “huge major league impact in the future.”
• There have not been setbacks between the Braves and Dan Uggla as they discuss an extension. O’Brien suggests the sides will likely reach a five-year deal this offseason.
• Chipper Jones explained to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that his pre-season workouts have been coming along slowly, but steadily. "I'm so out of shape, one of my neighbors caught me dry-heaving on his lawn," Jones said. "We had a nice little chuckle out of it. I grabbed his phone to make sure he didn't take any video and people would see it on YouTube."