ajc.com | Braves | Braves to acquire lefty Hampton

That’s the story. Supposedly the Braves will give up Tim Spooneybarger and “a mid-level prospect” for Hampton, and the Marlins will pick up about half of the remaining salary. (Hampton is going to be paid by three teams!) He’s under contract for six more seasons, with the Braves paying him about $6.5 million a year.

No word on who the prospect is yet. Sending Spooneybarger away is a surprise, in that he was one of only three top relievers (with Smoltz and Ligtenberg) that the Braves had under contract. I can only guess that the Braves plan to re-sign Darren Holmes, at the least.

Tom Glavine’s days in a Braves uniform appear over. Presumably he will stay in the NL East, as the Phillies and Mets have been the teams showin the most interest. The Braves never seriously have negotiated with Tom.

I don’t know, however, how this effects Greg Maddux. With Hampton making relatively little, something like $3.5 million less than Tom made last season, the Braves might be able to re-sign Greg. We’ll see.

Hampton started out very strong with the Rockies in early 2001 (he was actually an All-Star that year) then hit some sort of wall, and really hasn’t pitched well in the last season and a half. He was even worse on the road than in Coors Field last season, so presumably that isn’t it. If he pitches well, it’s a steal, but he can potentially weigh down the team for six seasons if he’s not.