The Atlanta Braves are going to be surefire buyers on the trade market, but who are the perfect trade targets from the biggest possible sellers?
Particularly after erasing a small skid with a blowout victory over the Rangers on May 15, Atlanta Braves fans can go back to dreaming of a World Series. Before that, though, the expectation should certainly be that the Braves are going to work toward that goal with some moves at the trade deadline.
While general manager Alex Anthopoulos has made it clear that the club won't make a panic trade in the wake of the Max Fried and Kyle Wright injuries, the Braves should still be eventual buyers on the trade market when the summer rolls around to fill holes on the roster.
On the flip side of the coin and where the Braves should be looking for trade targets, though, is the most likely sellers at the trade deadline. Based on what we're seeing, it seems that the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies and, of course, the Oakland A's will be the biggest sellers on the trade market.
So looking at these clubs, which players should Anthopoulos be eyeing already? Let's take a look at the best Braves trade target from each of these teams.
Braves Rumors: 1 perfect trade target from each of biggest potential sellers
Braves trade target from the Oakland A's: OF Brent Rooker
Given Atlanta's recent history in dealing with the A's, it certainly works in the Braves' favor that Oakland appears primed for another trade deadline where they are looking to sell off assets as they sit with by far the worst record in baseball midway through May.
Though you could make the argument that pitching should be the biggest focus for the NL East leaders right now, there is still the predicament in left field. Marcel Ozuna has started to turn things around a bit recently, but is that something that Atlanta feels confident in moving forward? Or is that still an area where they could look to upgrade the lineup?
If it's the latter, then Brent Rooker has to be circled as a potential option amid the season he's having for the Athletics.
Rooker is the only player in MLB who has a better OPS than Ronald Acuña Jr. this season, posting a 1.036 mark (Acuña is at 1.024) over the 36 games he's played for Oakland this season. He's hitting .298 overall with 11 home runs, seven doubles, and 29 RBI on the year as well.
While this is an outlier season for Rooker in his career, that could work in the Braves' favor. The fact that there isn't a long track record could be a negotiating tool in order to work down the price that they have to pay to trade for the 28-year-old outfielder. In doing so, Atlanta would have the opportunity to add another dangerous bat that offers more consistency to a lineup that's already one of the best in baseball.
Braves trade target from the Kansas City Royals: RHP Scott Barlow
Because of the injuries to Fried, Wright and Ian Anderson this season, and while Michael Soroka still hasn't made his way back to the big-league roster, much of the early discussion about potential Braves trade targets has centered on starting pitchers. When you take a longer-term outlook on the situation, however, the bullpen might actually be a more pressing need.
Particularly with Tyler Matzek starting the year and being on the IL for quite some time as he works his way back from surgery, the Braves bullpen hasn't been as reliable as they'd hoped. That's been especially true on the back end with both A.J. Minter and Raisel Iglesias, who missed time in his own right, struggling quite a bit to this point in the year.
When the Braves look at the Royals, the most eye-popping potential trade target would obviously be Aroldis Chapman, who's been enjoying a bounce-back year after signing a one-year deal with Kansas City. Instead, though, Scott Barlow is the better option for Atlanta.
The 30-year-old righty has appeared in 15 games for the Royals this season, posting a 4.11 ERA with a 1.30 WHIP while accruing four saves. Those numbers actually don't tell the story of how good he's been overall, though. Outside of two outings against the Rangers in which he gave up three earned runs in each, he's only allowed one other earned run all year, including giving up no runs and just four hits and six total baserunners in his last eight appearances.
Barlow has been lights-out for the two years prior in Kansas City as well and could be a huge addition to the Braves bullpen to help bolster the back end with more depth and a high-quality veteran.
Braves trade target from the Pittsburgh Pirates: RHP David Bednar
Just looking at the standings, you're probably wondering how we're considering the Pirates sellers at the trade deadline considering they're in second place in the NL Central. However, after jumping out to a hot start and leading the division early, Pittsburgh is 2-8 in their last 10 games and has been in a freefall in the standings.
Considering that's much more in line with what people expected the Pirates to be this season, we can likely expect them to continue regressing to the mean. And while they might not be as aggressive of sellers as once thought, they could still look to get some young assets at the trade deadline for the right players.
Sticking with the Braves bullpen, that should bring 28-year-old righty David Bednar into focus for Alex Anthopoulos.
Bednar has quietly been one of the better relievers in baseball over the past few years, somewhat lost on the masses because of where he's playing in Pittsburgh. But in 2021, he posted a 2.23 ERA and 0.97 WHIP, following that with a 2.61 ERA and 1.12 WHIP a year ago. He's bettered both of those marks so far this year, however, with a 0.56 ERA and 0.75 WHIP over 16 appearanes this season.
At 28 years old and just about to hit arbitration, though, he might be a bit old for the Pirates to fully look toward the future with. Subsequently, if they want to get younger, the Braves could get an immediate upgrade to the bullpen right now in exchange for prospects and also get a player who Anthopoulos could surely work out an extension with to keep around for the long haul in Atlanta.
Braves trade target from the Colorado Rockies: OF Randal Grichuk
Everyone expected the Colorado Rockies to be one of the more aggressive sellers at last year's trade deadline but, shockingly, they chose to largely stand pat. Now sitting in the cellar of the NL West to start this season, though, there's at least a chance that the club makes a concerted effort to try and replenish their farm system and trade off any assets that they can.
Frankly, I have an issue with pursuing Rockies pitchers on the trade market because it's notoriously difficult to separate their numbers from playing Coors Field with what they would look like if they weren't playing home games in Colorado — and yes, it goes deeper than just Home/Away splits.
So we're back to looking at ways the Braves could potentially upgrade the lineup in the outfield, which lands us on former Blue Jay Randal Grichuk, who the Rockies acquired in a trade with Toronto prior to last season.
Grichuk started this season on the IL after undergoing offseason hernia surgery but, since returning to the lineup, he's looked fantastic. In 12 games with Colorado this season, Grichuk is slashing .370/.442/.543 with a home run and five doubles after posting a solid year with a line of .259/.299/.425 last season.
Part of his success is tied to playing at Coors Field, to be sure. However, he's still hitting .273 in the small sample size of away games this season. Given how bad Ozuna has been until his recent run and with the protection the Braves lineup could afford him, Grichuk could be a cheap, worthwhile option to upgrade the outfield depth.
Braves trade target from the Chicago White Sox: RHP Lucas Giolito
While I've recently championed the idea of the Braves being a bit sneaky and targeting young Garrett Crochet from the White Sox, even if there is the expected fire sale in Chicago, the fact of the matter is that the club is far more likely to trade a veteran at a decent price for Atlanta than they would be a hurler in his early 20s.
Having said that, the strength of the White Sox roster right now is indeed the pitching they could be willing to deal and there is no one better for the Braves than Lucas Giolito.
Now, to be clear, this wouldn't be a quick-fix solution to replace Fried and/or Wright in the rotation. Rather, this is a longer-term play for the rotation that would potentially be giving Atlanta one of the best 1-2-3 punches in terms of starting pitching in baseball.
Giolito has never been dominant for an entire season but he has been a clearly quality starter for every season since 2019 with the exception of last year, posting three straight seasons with an ERA of 3.53 or lower from 2019-21 and with a WHIP never exceeding 1.10. He's been on that track so far this season in a bounce-back campaign where, despite a 2-3 record, he's posted a 3.86 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over nine starts.
Still just 28 years old, Giolito is another trade target who would be a perfect extension candidate. More pertinently, though, adding the righty to the rotation would give the Braves the luxury of going Fried, Spencer Strider, and Giolito at the top of the rotation, which would be massive, particularly in the playoffs.
