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Atlanta Braves: 3 trade proposals to improve the bullpen now

By Jake Mastroianni

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 06: Will Smith #13 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates after the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park on July 6, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Giants defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 06: Will Smith #13 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates after the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park on July 6, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Giants defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 01: Will  Smith #13 gets a hand shake from Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants after earning a save in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 1, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 01: Will  Smith #13 gets a hand shake from Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants after earning a save in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 1, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Will  Smith

I wrote in the offseason about the ultimate mock trade between the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants.

In that trade, the Braves got Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith. At the time, I would have told you Bumgarner was the most needed piece of that trade, but it’s most certainly Smith at this point.

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I still hope the Braves trade for MadBum before the deadline, but for now, we’ll focus on Smith.

The biggest hurdle here could be that the San Francisco Giants front office is unwilling to give up. They still think they can contend with that roster, and their off to a good enough start that they won’t part with any of their best pieces right now — certainly not their closer.

So even though this is the best option for the Braves, it’s unlikely to happen before June.

Smith is a 29-year-old lefty who is making $4.225 million this season before becoming a free agent.

Over seven seasons he has a career ERA of 3.63, a WHIP of 1.28, a K/9 of 10.4, and a BB/9 of 3.3.

The best thing about Smith is that he closed 14 games last year and already has 4 saves this season.

If the Atlanta Braves really don’t want to put up the money for Craig Kimbrel, this could be a cheap fall-back option that is just as effective.

The Atlanta Braves get half a season of a very good reliever with closer experience, and the Giants get a promising starting pitching prospect who is not far from the big leagues.

I’m not saying the Atlanta Braves need to make all three of these moves, but they need to at least trade for two veteran relievers.

Next. Braves bullpen: Who can stay, who can go. dark

And these are deals that won’t break the bank, and won’t kill your farm system. There you go AA, get it done.

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