With the blooming farm system of the Braves and the impending long term success of the organization, some trades need to be made to further mold the team into a consistently contending team.
There have been trade rumors all throughout the season suggesting the Atlanta Braves either sell the farm system, or stay put and build the team internally.
Internal builds have a way of being effective, but not everyone in the minor leagues is going to turn into the next Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Andruw Jones, or any other glorious player that participated in the Braves’ longest continuous postseason run in MLB history.
Sometimes you have to give up something valuable to get something valuable, and that’s what the Braves are going to have to do to a certain extent this off season.
The biggest position player weak-spot for the Braves is going to be right field. The team has already parted ways with Nick Markakis, unwilling to make a $17.9 million qualifying offer to him. The Braves are making the right decision here with no disrespect to Markakis whatsoever.
His All Star season helped the Braves get to the postseason, but the Braves have a chance to upgrade right field with pending free agency and trade opportunities.
Another weak-spot is going to be pitching. The Braves have made improvements with the acquisitions of players who will remain on the team for 2019 such as Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day, but Brad Brach and Aníbal Sánchez are going to be free agents who will be hard to just let go.
So with that in mind, here are my Top 5 trade targets for the Atlanta Braves this off season: