By Jim Callis
December 17, 2002

After trading for Mike Hampton and losing Tom Glavine via free agency, the Braves continued an overhaul of their starting rotation on Wednesday. Atlanta acquired Russ Ortiz from San Francisco in exchange for Damian Moss and minor league righthander Manuel Mateo.

Depending on whether the Braves re-sign Greg Maddux and/or move John Smoltz back to the rotation, Ortiz could be their No. 1 starter in 2003. He filled that role with the Giants and was in line to receive the victory in what would have been a World Series-clinching Game Six before San Francisco's bullpen blew a 5-0 lead. A 28-year-old righthander, Ortiz won at least 14 games in each of his four full seasons with the Giants and hasn't missed a start during that time. He went 14-10, 3.61 with 137 strikeouts and 94 walks in 214 innings in 2002. He beat Atlanta twice in the Division Series, including the Game Five finale. Ortiz has a fastball that sits in the low 90s with heavy life, and he also throws a cutter, curveball and changeup. He has a lifetime record of 67-44, 4.01.

After signing free agents Ray Durham (three years, $20.1 million), Marquis Grissom (two years, $4.25 million), Edgardo Alfonzo (four years, $26 million), the Giants decided they needed to trim payroll elsewhere. They made the curious decision to trade their most consistent starter, who is reasonably priced at $4.4 million for 2003 and either a $5.7 million salary or $300,000 buyout in 2004.

It's also curious, however, that Atlanta added salary when it has spent most of the offseason moving trying to do the exact opposite. Hampton was attractive to Braves in great part because they'll only be obligated for $5.5 million of his $35.5 million in salaries for the next three years. Glavine also charged the team with making little effort to re-sign him before he took a three-year deal worth $35 million from the Mets. While Ortiz no doubt is a quality pitcher, he costs much more than Moss, who had a banner rookie season in 2002 and isn't even eligible for arbitration.

Moss, a 26-year-old lefthander, went 12-6, 3.42 in his first full year in the majors. His strikeout-walk ratio was a pedestrian 111-89 in 179 innings, but he ranked fifth in the National League by limiting opponents to a .221 average. Moss doesn't throw hard, but he's difficult to hit because of the life he gets on his high-80s fastball and his changeup. He also works with a curveball. Atlanta decided to go with a three-man rotation in the playoffs, so he didn't get a start in the five-game loss to the Giants.

Mateo, 20, was rated by Baseball America as the top pitching prospect in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League this season, his first in the United States. Signed out of the Dominican in 1999, he has a fastball with plus velocity (93-95 mph) and movement. His slider and changeup are still inconsistent, which is typical for a young pitcher, but his secondary pitches do have promise. Mateo went 7-3, 1.98 in the GCL, holding opponents to a .193 average and posting a 76-12 strikeout-walk ratio in 68 innings.