Did the Braves make a good move by signing Ervin Santana?

I think management felt they had to pull the string on this one to show their fanbase that they want to win, ticket sales are at stake here in an already shaky market. They have already lost 2 pitchers.

If there is any such thing as an "okay" move, let me know because I think this move is okay.

Look, here is the problem I have with Santana. He's always going to give up a lot of long balls. In 2012, he pitched at a terrific pitcher ballpark in Angels Stadium and still surrendered 39 long balls. Yes, 39 home runs. This guy has the ability to get pounded hard when he's off his control. And also, his career track record isn't pretty. His ERA in each of the past 6 years has been 3.49, 5.03, 3.92, 3.38, 5.16, and 3.24. Other than a 2 year span when his ERA was under 4.00, he's been inconsistent.

This move could be good because he would be pitching against weaker teams in the NL. I mean, many pitchers do well in the NL after struggling in the AL. It's an inferior league compared to the AL. And the Braves have a terrific defense outside of Mr. Dan "I can't hit for average and strikeout a lot" Uggla. But then again, he did have a pretty good defense with the Angels in 2012 and still "sucked".

I would say it's okay but nothing big though. As least it's better than a "bad" move.

Good move for Santana, decent for the Braves. They needed someone, and he's what was left, so it is somewhat desperation at this point. However, moving to a pitchers park in Atlanta rather than Toronto or Baltimore is a good choice. Moving to the NL could also help. The NL East might be the lightest hitting division in the league, with four parks that generally favor pitching, and only one team in Washington with really even a decent offense. Not a fan of giving up a draft pick on a one year deal, but it needed to be done. Overall decent move, can't really complain even if he doesn't pitch that well.

Yes, they needed a veteran presence in their rotation and since Kris Medlen went down they need between 170-200 innings and they didn't have that in their farm system.

Santana should do a little better in the NL but the fact remains he's a mediocre talent who relies heavily on his teammates scoring more runs than he allows. The Braves could have paid a lot less for a similarly-talented player but I think they wanted to make a splashy signing to show their fans that they're serious about winning this year.

They, apparently, don't think their fans know much about baseball.

It was a move out of desperation, they've lost 2 starters already./