While the Los Angeles Angels and Miami Marlins have been creating headlines with their signings of Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson and Jose Reyes, countless teams have been slow movers. Among those teams are the Atlanta Braves. The Braves stopped playing ball once the calendar changed to September this past season, leaving fans hoping for money to be spent and changes to be made.

To start the offseason, the Braves ate a big portion of Derek Lowe’s contract and shipped him to Cleveland for Chris Jones. Jones pitched for Single-A Kinston in 2011, going 7-1 with a 3.36 ERA in 43 games. The Braves also saw their ace, Tim Hudson go under the knife to fix his ailing back. Add in the doubt to the health of Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens, and the Braves rotation could be quite different in 2012.

Since the Braves season ended, rumors started about possibly trading Jurrjens and/or Martin Prado. While those rumors haven’t led to anything as of yet, for the right price, both could see themselves playing elsewhere next season. What moves have actually been close this far for the Braves?

Earlier in the offseason, the Braves picked up the option on infielder Eric Hinske, while declining the option on center fielder, Nate McLouth. Hinske hit .233 with 10 home runs and 28 RBIs, while McLouth hit .228 with four home runs and 16 RBIs. McLouth has never been able to get going in Atlanta, and was expendable with the acquisition of Michael Bourn.

Relief pitcher Peter Moylan and utility infielder Brooks Conrad were both non-tendered contracts, making them free agents. Moylan appeared in just 13 games last season, spending most of the time on the disabled list. He was 2-1 with a 3.24 ERA. Conrad, the 2010 playoffs goat for the Braves had a terrible season, hitting just .223 with four home runs and 13 RBIs.

The Braves appear to be looking at prospect Tyler Pastornicky as their starter at shortstop, as they allowed Alex Gonzalez to sign with the Milwaukee Brewers. The defensive stud suffered through a horrible offensive campaign, hitting just .241 with 15 home runs and 56 RBIs.

In a division that has seen the Washington Nationals improve over the years, Miami and the Philadelphia Phillies improve this offseason, the National League East could be a scary division to play in. Atlanta needs to start making moves soon, or they could see a fourth place finish in 2012.

For access to Atlanta Braves season recaps from 1990-present, a look at trades that changed Braves history, or a look at the greatest award winners in team history, go here for easier access.

More from this contributor:

All-Braves Team

Top Athletes to Return from Retirement and have an Impact

Braves 2012 Starting Rotation

Remembering Skip Caray

Rise and fall of Andruw Jones

Hobson Lopes has been a life-long Atlanta Braves fan, thanks to TBS, and can be followed on Twitter @HobsonLopes.

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Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann is on the 2011 Silver Slugger team, selected by major league coaches and managers as the top offensive producer at his position in the National League.

The rest of the NL team: 1B Prince Fielder, Brewers; 2B Brandon Phillips, Reds; 3B Aramis Ramirez, Cubs; SS Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies; OF Ryan Braun, Brewers; OF Matt Kemp, Dodgers; OF Justin Upton, Diamondbacks; and P Daniel Hudson, Diamondbacks.

The American League team: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox; 2B Robinson Cano, Yankees; 3B Adrian Beltre, Rangers; SS Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians; OF Curtis Granderson, Yankees; OF Jose Bautista, Blue Jays; OF Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox; C Alex Avila, Tigers; DH David Ortiz, Red Sox.

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By Mark Bowman, from MLB.com

Atlanta Braves

Brian McCann (The Associated Press)

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ATLANTA — Brian McCann endured one of the worst six-week stretches of his career after returning from the disabled list in August. But his late-season slide did not keep him from becoming the first player to win five Silver Slugger Awards while playing for the Braves.

McCann joined rare company Wednesday when it was announced he won his fifth career Silver Slugger Award. It marks the fourth consecutive year the Braves catcher has been bestowed with this honor, which is given to the top offensive performer at each position in both the National and American Leagues.

With just six full Major League seasons under his belt, the 27-year-old McCann becomes the sixth catcher to win at least five Silver Slugger Awards. The others are Mike Piazza (10), Ivan Rodriguez (seven), Lance Parrish (six), Gary Carter (five) and Jorge Posada (five).

This marks the seventh time in the past nine years that a Braves catcher has won a Silver Slugger Award. Javy Lopez grabbed the honor in 2003, and Johnny Estrada won it in ‘04. McCann won his first in ‘06.

Tom Glavine and Dale Murphy stand as the only other players to win four Silver Slugger Awards while playing for the Braves.

Even with his late struggles, McCann ended this past season with a .270 batting average, 24 home runs and a .817 OPS. He led all Major League catchers in home runs and ranked second in OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) to Arizona’s Miguel Montero (.820).

It took McCann some time to find his power this year, as he totaled just seven extra-base hits (two home runs) through May 16. But with some help from his older brother Brad, a former minor league player, the catcher righted himself and went on a tear that provided reason to wonder if he might hit 30 homers for the first time in his career.

McCann batted .323 with 16 home runs and a 1.013 OPS during a 53-game stretch from May 17 until July 26, the day he strained his left oblique muscle and altered the course of his season.

Anxious to begin helping his teammates again, McCann returned to the Atlanta lineup on Aug. 14. Over the next six weeks, it would become apparent that he returned far too soon.

McCann batted .180 with six home runs and a .638 OPS in 37 games after returning from the disabled list. His batting average dipped from .306 to .270, and his slugging percentage from .514 to .466 during that stretch.

By Eddie Maisonet

– Newsdesk contributor

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Nov 2, 2011 – On Wednesday All-Star catcher Brian McCann became only the third Atlanta Braves to win four or more Silver Slugger awards, joining Tom Glavine and Dale Murphy as the only members of the esteemed fraternity. McCann hit .270 with 24 home runs and 71 RBIs on the season as the Braves missed the playoffs by one game.

The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. Here is the full list of players who won the award this year.

For the latest news and analysis on the Braves off-season, head over to Talking Chop, and for more information on baseball’s hot-stove season, check out our MLB news hub.

Read More: Brian McCann (C – ATL), Atlanta Braves

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Braves update: The Braves had won 10 of their past 14 games. They feature the National League’s third-best pitching staff going by ERA (3.43), and a big part of that is their dominant late-inning relief. Their bullpen ERA (2.96) is second in the league in large part thanks to the work of RHP Craig Kimbrel, LHP Jonny Venters and LHP Eric O’Flaherty. C Brian McCann has been their best offensive player. He has a .301 average, .371 on-base and .507 slugging.

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