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Atlanta Braves Rumors: Relievers to target through August

By Benjamin Chase

14 Jul 1995: Pitcher Kent Mercker of the Atlanta Braves prepares to throw the ball during a game against the San Diego Padres. The Braves won the game 6-2.. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
14 Jul 1995: Pitcher Kent Mercker of the Atlanta Braves prepares to throw the ball during a game against the San Diego Padres. The Braves won the game 6-2.. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport /
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Braves rumors
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 24: Mark Melancon #41 of the San Francisco Giants reacts after Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants picked off Justin Turner #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers to end their game at AT&T Park on April 24, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Giants galore

With a deep bullpen of well-paid arms and very little available cash for 2019, the San Francisco Giants would love to offload some of their relievers, even controllable ones. That would help them to possibly be able to extend their competitive window one more season. They could be one team where the Braves could do one-stop shopping for multiple relievers and would be a likely August target of Braves rumors.

Sam Dyson, RHP, 59 G, 57 IP, 2.84 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 15/45 BB/K ratio – Dyson had a rough opening to his 2017, which got him to San Francisco in the first place, but he’s been the tremendously difficult pitcher to square up that he’d always been before again this season. He won’t have a big strikeout rate, but Dyson is rarely going to get taken out of the yard, with less than 2% of the batters he’s faced in his career hitting a home run. His salary is ~$4.5M this year in arbitration, and he’ll be eligible for arbitration for two more seasons, so teams would be interested to get him at that level of control, but perhaps his 2017 struggles could scare off enough teams that he falls to the Braves.

Tony Watson, LHP, 57 G, 53 1/3 IP, 2.19 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 11/53 BB/K – Watson was signed for two seasons by the Giants after a solid end to the 2017 season in the Dodgers bullpen. He has pitched to his pre-2016 form, and at that point, he was considered one of the most dominant lefties in the game at that time, and he’s pitching to that level again. He could be tough to get through waivers with only $4M guaranteed beyond 2018 at his production level.

Will Smith, LHP, 41 G, 40 1/3 IP, 2.01 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 10/56 BB/K – Essentially a rubber-armed lefty for years before his arm finally popped and he missed the 2017 season, Smith has returned even better than before, trusted in the closer role due to his elite stuff. His salary is just $2.5M this year, and he’s under control for one more season, so he’s going to be near impossible to get through waivers, and if he does get through, the Giants will likely ask the moon for him.

Mark Melancon, RHP, 26 G, 24 1/3 IP, 2.96 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 8/18 BB/K – Many struggle with Melancon’s lack of strikeouts, but he has been a closer for years and done very well in that role, relying on his pristine control. From 2013-2016, Melancon posted a 1.80 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 37 saves per season, closing for Pittsburgh and then the Nationals.

While Melancon hasn’t lost any velocity on his once-dominant cutter, he has has seen the effectiveness of the pitch downgrade significantly over the last two injury-filled seasons. If the Braves were convinced that they could help him get that premium cutter back, the Braves rumors involving Melancon could begin to be much more frequent.

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