Ryan Dempster Gone, A.J. Burnett Likely Next... What Do the Braves Do?

On Tuesday, all Atlanta Braves fans lost the possibility of seeing pitcher Ryan Dempster in a Braves uniform this year. Dempster has reportedly signed a four-year deal worth about $52 Million to remain in a Cubs uniform.

The 17-game winner last season, decided that he wanted to stay in Chicago and help the Cubs make a push for the World Series instead of pursuing other options. So with Dempster gone and crossed off Frank Wren's list of pitchers that could help the Braves next season, we look at the other pitchers left out on the market...

1. CC Sabathia

CC is asking for way too much money and has gained interest from the Yankees, who are probably the only team who could meet his big contract demands.

2. A.J. Burnett

This fireball pitcher, who had a 4.07 ERA in 2008, played with Toronto last year and is reportedly also getting serious interest from the Yankees. They could certainly offer A.J. more money than the Braves are willing to give up, but it is just a matter of what team he likes the most.

3. Ben Sheets

Obviously, he is one of the most injury prone pitchers on the market this offseason, but when he is healthy, he has been lights out. It will be interesting to see if Frank will take a gamble on Ben or if he will just pass him by.

4. Derek Lowe

Frank Wren is extremely interested in Derek and will try very hard to sign him. The only problems are that he will be 35 years old by opening day, wants a long term deal, and has not been consistent.

His pitching over the last six weeks of the season may make Wren tempted to get in a bidding war over Derek.

5. John Garland

He had some good and bad times in Chicago but is not a major strikeout pitcher. However, his ability to last throughout the season may make Frank look at Johnny twice, especially if some of the other free agent pitchers have been snagged away from the Braves.

6. Junichi Tawaza

Oh boy, can this kid pitch. His amazing fastball has drawn interest from other teams such as Boston and Seattle. The Braves have already sent a contract offer to Junichi and are hoping he will sign on with the Braves. I certainly hope so too.

7. Randy Wolf

He had a great month of September for Houston, in which he had a 2.23 ERA. He is old, but his performance as of late may have given him more time to pitch in the bigs.

The free agency season is still very young and it will be very interesting to see if free agents go after money or go after the team they think has the best chance of going all the way and winning it all.

-GO BRAVES-

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