The Braves came to terms with the Milwaukee Brewers on a trade that will send 3B Juan Francisco to the Brewers in exchange for minor league LHP Tom Keeling. The 25 year-old Keeling was an 18th-round pick in the 2010 draft out of Oklahoma State. He is having his best year as a professional at the Brewers' AA affiliate, and he will start an assignment at AA Mississippi when he joins the Braves organization, effectively taking Alex Wood's spot on the roster. He has been a late-inning reliever for Milwaukee, and it's safe to assume he will maintain that capacity in a Braves' uniform.
It is impossible to judge this trade as it stands right now, but from what little information I can gather, this seems like as good a deal as the Braves could have hoped for. In spite of his power, Francisco was never going to command much on the market, and with the trade deadline ~two months away, said market has yet to really develop in any meaningful sense anyway. This could be interpreted as a sign that Milwaukee may be interested in dealing current 3B Aramis Ramirez, as they stand well out of contention in the formidable NL central.
Brandon Beachy is scheduled to make another rehab start tonight for the Gwinnett Braves against Chattanooga. Assuming all goes well, he will make two more starts before being called up, with June 18 against the New York Mets being the target date. No word yet on whose spot in the rotation he will fill, but signs are pointing toward Kris Medlen.
Lastly, a bit of good news regarding the upcoming series against the Dodgers: AJC reporter Dave O'Brien tweeted that the Braves will most likely miss facing Clayton Kershaw during their upcoming west coast swing, meaning that short of the two teams meeting in the playoffs, they will not face him this season. I'm a big fan of Kershaw, but I much prefer to see him on a national broadcast against another team than suiting up against us. That guy is somethin' else.
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