Braves leaning towards bringing back Medlen.

[Heyward]

Per rotoworld.

Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Braves "are leaning toward bringing back" Kris Medlen (elbow) rather than non-tendering him.
Medlen is making his way back from a second Tommy John surgery and is projected to earn $5.8 million in arbitration, according to MLBTradeRumors.com. However, as good as he was for the Braves from 2012-13, they simply can't let him walk away for nothing. O'Brien says Medlen could return "perhaps on a reduced contract with incentives." The righty should be ready to rejoin the rotation early on in the 2015 season.

[Hawk]

One year incentive-laden contract with a team option. I could definitely get behind that, although the whole 'second TJ' thing is a bit worrisome after witnessing what happened to Venters last year.

[keithlaw]

One year incentive-laden contract with a team option.

That would be nice. Something like $1.5 million base salary with $750k for every 5 starts.

[emk418]

Yea it's a smart move. We need to bring in a veteran for the 4th spot but I like having Medlen/Hale/Northcraft/Martin/Hursh battle it out for the 5th spot.

[zitothebrave]

Yea it's a smart move. We need to bring in a veteran for the 4th spot but I like having Medlen/Hale/Northcraft/Martin/Hursh battle it out for the 5th spot.

And Beachy too, odds are that he'll be signing on the cheap with a second TJ. I expect pretty much nothing from him or Medlen but having them on cheap deals where if they're healthy they get paid more makes sense for both sides.

[thethe]

Need to put Medlen in the bullpen or else his elbow will explode.

[NYCBrave]

When would he potentially be available to pitch in games?

[nsacpi]

When would he potentially be available to pitch in games?

I believe he had the surgery in March. Normal recovery is 12 months. But for a second TJ, I think you need to add three months. So best guess would be June. Medlen (and maybe Beachy) are ok as depth, but we can't count on them as starters coming out of spring training. We still need another arm for the rotation (to join Minor, Teheran, Wood and Hale).