The Atlanta Braves had a rough start to their offseason. After completing a trade with the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Javier Vazquez, they missed out in the A.J. Burnett sweepstakes, failed to strike a deal with the San Diego Padres for Jake Peavy, got spurned by shortstop Rafael Furcal, and lost franchise ace John Smoltz to Boston.

But, in the last five days, general manager Frank Wren is trying to reverse the club’s string of bad luck. On Saturday, the club signed Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami, and on Tuesday inked free agent Derek Lowe to a four-year, $60-million deal, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Read more »