"A year ago, the Braves made the first big trade of the 2010 offseason by dealing for Dan Uggla at the mid-November general managers meetings, where usually there is more groundwork done for trades later in the winter than actual trades completed.

Then there was a rumor two weeks ago that spread quickly, a rumor that the Braves might be willing to trade pitcher Jair Jurrjens and left fielder Martin Prado in order to free up cash to pursue a shortstop and power-hitting outfielder.

Couple those two situations — the Uggla trade of Nov. 16, 2010 and the Jurrjens/Prado rumors of the past couple of weeks – and it was understandable that Braves fans were braced for a trade or two to go down at the GM meetings this past week in Milwaukee.

Then no trade happened.

No trade even came close to happening, despite leaked reports that the Braves were talking to the Rockies about a possible Prado deal, to the Tigers about a possible Prado trade, to the Red about a potential Jurrjens swap….

"I think it's interesting that our name came up, a lot of talk about us and our players," said Braves GM Frank Wren, who was never quoted about any of those players, as he stuck to the policy he's employed in recent years of not addressing rumors, discussing specific players or updating the status of potential deals except in unusual circumstances."