It’s been a slow Trading Deadline for the Atlanta Braves…
…but things got a little bit more interesting today. As many news bits get passed along in the world of sports, Twitter was the holding place of all things on the Braves trade front today. Here’s the first Braves’ related tweet:
"David O’Brien @DOBrienAJC 8hAm hearing now that #RedSox lefty Andrew Miller is indeed available. #Braves are still on him, have scout following team."
Ok, so now instead of speculating that the Red Sox lefty reliever is available, we can now conclude that the answer is YES!
Here’s the 2nd tweet of relevance, from Jon Heyman:
"Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS 8hbraves looking at andrew miller and other pen lefties; even bigger moves probably unlikely."
A little more of what we expected, but it sounds like the national media is in the know that the Braves are tight on cash and prospects. However, in my opinion, the following tweet is the money tweet.
"Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal 2hAlso on #RedSox: Team had top scout at #Braves’ Triple A game today. Braves seeking LH reliever, known interest in Miller."
The best news of the day, if you ask me…well, guess it’s how you look at it. AAA Gwinnett is, without a doubt, where the prospects of least impact dwell. That’s the good news. If the Braves, on the information that was provided today, were to trade for Andrew Miller, none of our Top Prospects would be involved. Now, for the bad. Aaron Northcraft pitched today, and while this is total speculation, could have been the player that the Red Sox were scouting. It didn’t go well. Aaron pitched 5 innings, gave up 7 hits, 2 of which were doubles, and 1 being a home run. The positives were that he only walked 1 and struck out 7. So, it’s not all bad.
Guessing the Trade Package
If the Braves do decide to pull the trade trigger on Andrew Miller, the price would likely be a a top-10 prospect and Aaron Northcraft fits that description. However, what if the Braves really want to go after Boston? Mike Carp has requested a trade! Jonny Gomes could be available. What about a David Ross reunion? Buy low on Stephen Drew and have him be a LH super-sub? In a post the other day, we discussed the Braves and how they like acquiring 2-for packages in trades, fixing multiple things at once. While I still like the Cubs for fixing multiple holes, if the Sox sell, the Braves could do worse.