JUST-IN: the top trade pieces for the Atlanta Braves have been revealed

How much capital would Atlanta be willing to give up if it wanted to make a deal on the trade market?
I think the Atlanta Braves deserve a good late season swing.

Looking back over the last three years, Atlanta added pitchers Charlie Morton in 2020, Matt Olsen in 2021 and Sean Murphy in 2022.
Morton signed as a free agent, but the other two were trade acquisitions (both from the same team, the Oakland Athletics).

Between moving young players and frequent trades to improve major league rosters, Atlanta’s farm system is believed to have fallen into the bottom third of baseball in terms of quality and quantity, but it still has components that work.
I think it will be good for other teams as well.
If Atlanta wants to make a deal on the trade market (eg Mitch Keller of the Pirates or Tyler Glasnow of the Rays), who would be the most attractive trade chip?

Linebacker Vaughn Grissom is a possible replacement candidate.

Grissom, 22, was a bit of an emergency call-up last August when injuries to Ozzie Albee and the ineffectiveness of four other backups forced Grissom to be promoted directly from AA Mississippi to Atlanta (when he played in only 22 matches).
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In 41 games in 2022, he hit .291/.353/.440 with five home runs at second base and continued to play in the rotation in 2023 while Orlando Arcia was sidelined with a microfractured wrist.
But his production dipped at the plate (.280/.313/.347, no home runs) and defense (six errors in just 158 ​​innings), and he was eventually replaced by Brayden Shoemaker before regaining his most of it. AAA Gwinnett time.
Regular season remaining.
In postseason commentary, Alex Anthopoulos called Grissom a hitter and said that while getting playing time is a top priority in 2024, Atlanta’s talent on the field combined with Grissom’s success at AAA Gwinnett could make him an attractive trade target.
To another team.

You can bet Grissom will be one of the first names mentioned when Atlanta discusses a trade deal.
Could Atlanta move Michael Soroka?

The right-hander survived multiple Achilles tendon injuries and eventually returned to the MLB, but it wasn’t the season he was statistically expected to have. Combine that with the fact that he’s facing his fifth year on the disabled list and could now walk away from a minor league assignment, and Atlanta might not offer Soroka and hold an arbitration hearing.
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Swapping and swapping with her.

Expected to be owed $3 million in his final year before free agency, it’s easy to see the team asking Soroka back in a trade and hoping to recoup at least 80% of it to acquire the NL rookie.
This is the form for year II 2019.
Catcher Drake Baldwin is talented but deep.

Baldwin, a third-round pick by Atlanta in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Missouri, was promoted from High-A Rome to AAA Gwinnett in his first full season in the minors, hitting a combined .270/.385/ .460. 14 home runs in 109 games.

Baldwin stole 23 percent of his bases and allowed just three hits in nearly 630 innings behind the plate, showing he can be a versatile package as a catcher.
But with All-Star Sean Murphy locked up for five more years through 2023 (and a club option for a sixth season at age 34) and backup Travis d’Arnaud for two more seasons, Baldwin may no longer can play a lot.
It is currently one place in the Premier League.

Atlanta has long been known for its good catching game, not only with its backstops (Brian McCann and J.B. Lopez), but also with traded prospects such as William Contreras (current Milwaukee pitcher) and Shea Rangeliers.
(current Oakland pitcher) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (played for 12 years for six different teams).
The talent pool in the organization is enough to give confidence to the teams they provide.

Baldwin is ranked No. 13 in the organization’s prospect rankings released this week, and MLB Pipeline ranks him No. 28.
Atlanta’s depth could be used in a trade

As we saw last year when Atlanta used 13 traditional starters (16 different starters if you include the opener), the Braves had a lot of rotation in AAA.

There’s a chance the organization could fall in love with Jared Shuster, Allan Winans, Dylan Dodd, or Darius Vines and ask if any of them would like a deal in 2024.
Over the past three years, we’ve seen potential starters traded for Atlanta, including Patrick Weigel (Milwaukee), Bryce Wilson and Ricky DeVito (Pittsburgh), Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes (Oakland), Andrew Hoffman (Kansas City) and Tucker. Davidson (Oakland).I saw .
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Los Angeles Angels).

Atlanta’s rough drafts in recent years mean the Braves have plenty of non-Rule 5 arms to deal with.
Atlanta would have plenty of weapons if they wanted to avoid trading AJ Smith-Shaver and 2023 Rep. Hurston Waldrep (that’s a smart move, I wouldn’t budge either).

There’s always Jesse Chavez.

I don’t know why, but Atlanta traded the 40-year-old Chavez twice and got what they wanted each time.
The most recent trade was in August 2022, when Chavez returned to the Los Angeles Angels for Rayzel Iglesias along with starting pitcher Tucker Davidson. Chavez was fired a month after the trade and immediately joined the Braves, where he has remained ever since.
He spent half a year in IL with a broken tibia, but had his best year since 2018 in 2023, posting a 1-0 record and 1.56 ERA in 34.2 innings.
If healthy, Atlanta will bring him back into the league.
minor.
A major league contract seems like an easy decision for a team that will lose five relievers to free agency this offseason.