Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - Early in the winter, it looked as if Atlanta's offseason was going to be defined by who it couldn't get to join the club.

Striking out on deals to land free agents A.J. Burnett and Rafael Furcal, as well as a decision not to pursue a discussed trade for San Diego's Jake Peavy, the Braves appeared as if they were going to be facing an uphill climb with their effort to halt a three-season playoff drought.

In fact, the Furcal ordeal started to get nasty after the Braves felt they had a reached a verbal agreement with the infielder, only to watch Furcal return to the Dodgers instead.

But then the pieces started falling into place. Though John Smoltz left after spending 20 seasons with the Braves, the franchise slowly began to rebuild its pitching staff by adding Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Japanese import Kenshin Kawakami.

The Braves hope that is enough to replace the likes of Smoltz, Mike Hampton and Tim Hudson, as Atlanta tries to recover from its 2008 fourth-place finish. The once-dominating franchise has now missed the playoffs in three straight years following 11 National League East titles in a row and had its worst divisional finish since ending the 1990 season 6th in the West.

Atlanta was, however, unable to add to its offense. Though the Braves finished last year with a .270 batting average, third best in the NL, that number was drastically helped by reigning league batting champion Chipper Jones. Atlanta made a push for free agent Ken Griffey Jr. but he opted to instead return to Seattle.

Though in the twilight of his career, Griffey's bat would have been a nice addition to a club that only connected on 130 home runs last season.

The Braves did land a new left fielder, signing Garret Anderson, but he was the only significant addition to the offense from outside the organization.

However, a healthy return for a series of players as well as an infusion of some young talent could have Atlanta back in the mix in the NL East.

Below we take a capsule look at the 2009 edition of the Atlanta Braves, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

2008 FINISH (72-90) - Fourth Place (NL East)

KEY OFFSEASON ADDITIONS: SP Derek Lowe, SP Javier Vazquez, SP Kenshin Kawakami, OF Garret Anderson, C David Ross, RP Boone Logan,

KEY OFFSEASON SUBTRACTIONS: SP John Smoltz, SP Mike Hampton, RP Jorge Julio, OF Josh Anderson

PROJECTED LINEUP: Jordan Schafer (CF), Yunel Escobar (SS), Chipper Jones (3B), Brian McCann (C), Garret Anderson (LF), Jeff Francoeur (RF), Casey Kotchman (1B), Kelly Johnson (2B)

PROJECTED ROTATION: Derek Lowe (RHP), Kenshin Kawakami (RHP), Jari Jurrjens (RHP), Javier Vazquez (RHP), Tom Glavine (LHP)

PROJECTED CLOSER: Mike Gonzalez (LHP)

MANAGER: Bobby Cox

INFIELD

Jones enters his 16th season with Atlanta and is coming off the first batting title of his career. The third baseman ended the season with a .364 average in addition to 22 home runs and 75 runs batted in and was hitting over .400 through mid-June to provide the Braves with some excitement during their disappointing season.

Injuries are a concern for Jones, though. He appeared in just 128 games last year and hasn't played in more than 150 games since 2003. He also left the United States team early in the World Baseball Classic with discomfort in his right side.

Still, the 36-year-old is still a lifetime .310 hitter with 408 career homers.

Casey Kotchman, 26, will begin his first full season with the Braves across the diamond after coming over from the Angels last season in the Mark Teixeira trade. Kotchman, who brings a solid glove to the field with power potential, hit just .237 in 43 games after the trade, but hit .287 before the deal after posting a .296 average in 137 games in 2007.

The rest of the power will come from catcher Brian McCann, who hits out of the cleanup spot and posted a .301 average last year with 23 homers and 87 RBI. One of the top offensive catchers in the NL, McCann has never hit lower than .270 in his career and has averaged nearly 22 homers over the last three seasons.

The Braves had aimed to move Yunel Escobar (.288/10/60) over to second base with the addition of Furcal, but he will now be staying put at short. He is likely to bat second in the order, possibly behind second baseman Kelly Johnson if the Braves elect to put Johnson in the leadoff spot.

The left-handed hitting Johnson batted .287 in 150 games a year ago with 12 homers and 69 RBI, stealing 11 bases but also striking out 113 times.

OUTFIELD

Anderson is the new face in Atlanta's outfield and the 36-year-old will be making the transition to the NL for the first time after spending his entire career previously with the Angels.

Anderson, who hit .293 with 15 homers and 84 RBI in 145 games last year, battled a strained right calf during spring, an injury that was sustained just one day after he signed with Atlanta. The Braves hope he can stay healthy as they are counting on him to be their everyday left fielder.

Jeff Francoeur has something to prove in right field after a horrid 2008. The 25-year-old hit .293 with 19 homers two seasons ago, but dipped to just .239 in 155 games last year, a campaign that even included a brief stint in Double- A. Lacking pop in the outfield, the Braves would receive a big boost if Francoeur can produce the power he displayed in 2006 when he connected on 29 homers.

Center field will apparently be manned by young Jordan Schafer. Considered one of Atlanta's top prospects, Schafer, who was hit with a 50-game suspension last year, beat out Josh Anderson for the job.

STARTING ROTATION

The Braves began last season with a rotation that included Smoltz, Hudson and Tom Glavine and even saw the oft-injured Mike Hampton return to the roster in late July.

Only Glavine remains now and he will open as the fifth starter after going 2-4 with a 5.54 earned run average in 13 starts last year, his first back in Atlanta after a five-season stay with the Mets.

Glavine (elbow) was one of three Braves starts last season to undergo season- ending surgery, joining Smoltz and Hudson. While Smoltz is now in Boston, Hudson will likely be out until at least August after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. Hampton, meanwhile, joined Houston as a free agent.

That left a lot of holes for the Braves to fill and all-in-all, the club did a decent job. They first went overseas to sign 33-year-old Kawakami, who was 9-5 with a 2.30 ERA in 20 games (16 starts) with the Chunichi Dragons last season. He did miss most of September with a strained back, but won 112 games in 11 seasons in Japan and is a former MVP.

Atlanta then landed its new ace with the signing of Lowe, who hasn't won fewer than 12 games in any of the past seven seasons since he returned to a starting role after severing as a closer in Boston for three seasons. The righty won 14 games last year and his 3.24 ERA was his lowest in six seasons.

With the Braves coming off the type of injury-plagued season they had last year, the fact that Lowe has topped 200 innings in five of the last seven seasons was also appealing.

Atlanta also acquired Javier Vazquez (12-16, 4.67 ERA last year) from the White Sox to help lighten the load for Jair Jurrjens, who is coming off an excellent rookie campaign that saw him post a 13-10 record with a 3.68 ERA in 31 starts.

Rookie prospect Tommy Hanson is making a solid push for rotation consideration, but it is more likely he will start the year at Triple-A before earning a call-up at some point this season.

BULLPEN

Not surprising, the bullpen will depend on how several players return from injury.

Mike Gonzalez enters as the closer and he notched 14 saves in 36 games last year after returning from Tommy John surgery of his own. The left-hander should take a step forward this season after ending 2008 without a setback.

Atlanta is also hoping for solid returns out of Peter Moylan and Rafael Soriano. Both are coming back from elbow surgeries, with the right-handed Moylan aiming to return from Tommy John surgery. While he isn't a lock for Opening Day, Moylan is making good progress.

The right-handed Soriano, meanwhile, was limited to just 14 games last season due to lingering elbow issue that began in Spring Training last year.

Boone Logan, also acquired from the White Sox in the Vazquez trade, is the most experienced left-hander on Atlanta's roster and is competing with fellow new- comer Eric O'Flaherty for the main lefty role, while right-handers Blaine Boyer and Jeff Bennett are also bullpen options.

BENCH

With the signing of Garret Anderson, Matt Diaz's return from a 2008 knee injury will have him in a backup role. Diaz appeared in just 43 games last season. Meanwhile, Greg Norton can play first base and left field.

Atlanta signed catcher David Ross to a two-year contract to spell McCann at times. Ross played in 52 games with the Reds in 2008 and hit .231 with three homers and 13 RBI.

Martin Prado and Omar Infante are both valuable backups since they can both play multiple positions all over the field, though both played under 100 games last year thanks to injury.

OUTLOOK

Windows only stay open for so long and the one that allowed for Atlanta's dominance in the NL East has long shut. With the Mets and Phillies both young and talented, the Braves are playing catchup while also constantly looking over their shoulder at the Marlins and the Nationals. Atlanta did enough to fill the holes in its rotation to stay competitive and healthy, but the club's offense doesn't have the power to win close games versus the New York, Philadelphia and Florida.

It's tough to count out the Braves after the run they went on, but a third place finish is the most that can be expected.