3 possible trade destinations for Atlanta Braves to deal Adam Duvall

He was sent to AAA because he didn’t hit and couldn’t get the playing time to improve with the Atlanta Braves.  Turns out that the maneuver worked.

One of the most interesting players, and unusual trade pieces, in the Atlanta Braves system remains outfielder Adam Duvall.

Acquired via the late July trade that sent Lucas Sims and Matt Wisler to Cincinnati, Duvall was poised to provide a well-needed power bat to the Braves roster.

Now he’s killing time and killing baseballs in Triple-A Gwinnett.  Now the looming question remains: what will the Braves do with outfielder Adam Duvall?

A simple solution: make him part of another July trade.

Plan A was reasonable

Adam Duvall came to Atlanta with the promise of power and depth assistance, but never really seemed to live up to the expectations.

It seemed like an logical move for the Braves, with fleeting options on their bench and a surplus of promising, young arms with no clear path to the 40-man. Sadly, it didn’t work out that way.

Duvall played in 33 games after moving to Cobb County, and hit an abysmal .132 without hitting a single home run or driving in a single run.

His lack of production at the plate last season made his demotion to Triple-A an expected move at the end of spring training. Now, it seems he’s (finally) found his stride at the wrong time.

Over his 33 games with Gwinnett, Duvall is hitting an impressive .289 – a stat he’s never seen in his Major League tenure – with 9 home runs, 24 RBI’s and a just-as-impressive .999 OPS; not to mention his seemingly new-found consistency.

Note this break-out streak highlighted by David O’Brien of The Athletic.

It looks like he finally found his stride at the plate and can get the ball over the fence again like he did in his lone All-Star season for Cincinnati, 2016.

The problem is Atlanta doesn’t have any room for him.

• The bench is full with Culberson, Camargo, Joyce and Flowers.
• Joyce has proven himself to be a valuable bench piece,
• Camargo has his super-utility role ironed in,
• Flowers is McCann’s only backup and …
• Culberson has become the go-to guy in a comeback situation.

Meanwhile, Inciarte has improved enough at the plate to quiet any rumors of demotion or replacement and Markakis looks to be in his All-Star 2018 form.

Simply put, there’s just no room for Duvall on the Braves 25-man roster. The easy, and likely solution, to get Duvall back on a Major League roster is to send him to a new team in July.

Seems easy, right?  But which team would be the right fit for Duvall that would also yield a smart, promising return for the Braves?

2. Chicago White Sox

Team two out of the Windy City is surprising many this season, still sitting within sight of Cleveland Indians in the AL Central while getting sudden power surges from former #1 prospect Yoan Moncada and veteran superstar Jose Abreu.

While the positive numbers paint the picture of a once-written-off franchise moving in the right direction, they still have a lot of gaps to fill. Like Toronto, one of those larger gaps is their outfield.

The biggest blow to the ChiSox was the loss of rookie sensation Eloy Jimenez to the 10-day IL with an ankle sprain. With him and Jon Jay lost to injuries, the need for production on the grass is there.

Now, I’m not saying Eloy will be out forever:  James Fegan shared video on Twitter of him up and about earlier this morning.

The fact of the matter is that ‘the outfield’ isn’t just made up of one guy, unless your last name happens to be the same name of a certain type of fish… and even he has sidekicks.

Anyway, even when Jimenez comes back to the active roster, the need will still be there. It’ll be less of a need, but a need nonetheless. Enter Adam Duvall.

Why would Atlanta even think of contacting the White Sox let alone trading with them, you ask? Well, they have a piece that Atlanta needs that, while a long-shot, doesn’t seem like TOO much of one; a closer.

Carlos Rodon is still on the 10-day IL, and it was suggested that he might need Tommy John surgery, according to NBCSports Chicago.

I was thinking of another guy that would fit well with Atlanta’s young pitching staff and youthful sense of camaraderie; someone by the name of Kelvin Herrera.

With the loss of Rodon, the Sox need more pitching to fill up innings… and let’s face it:  despite early successes, 2019 is not going to be their year.

Meanwhile, the Braves have MORE than enough young arms that losing a couple in a package deal wouldn’t hurt their system too much.

Mixing Duvall with two arms in exchange for Herrera and a couple of fielding prospects would address everyone’s needs:

• the ChiSox get an extra power bat
• Duvall gets back on a big league lineup
• the Braves get substantial late-inning help

…and everyone’s happy… that is, if Anthopoulos and Rick Hahn can agree on a responsible, balanced deal. We’ll just have to see what’s planned for July.

1. Detroit Tigers

Detroit has definitely seen some better days. Ever since losing superstar pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer to greener pastures (and a ring or two), the Tigers have been lacking in the pitching department.

That need for solid rotation arms has only grown stronger, now that Jordan Zimmerman joined team ace Michael Fulmer on the IL not too long ago. Sports Insights broke that unfortunate news.

While the discernible need for a power bat in the field isn’t a burning one for Detroit, it’s easy to imagine them making room for the big bat Duvall will bring.

Shipping some young arms to the Tigers with Duvall in exchange for the late pen arms that Atlanta needs and Detroit has would not only fix Detroit’s everlasting rotation issues, but it would get Duvall back where he wants to be.

Who might Atlanta see in this possible trade? How about a guy named Joe Jimenez?

Yes, trading for one of their prominent late inning guys may seem like a longshot. But think about it for a minute.

Say someone like Bryse Wilson gets thrown in with Duvall. That would allow them to move a struggling Daniel Norris down into a long reliever position to work on mechanics while addressing their need for a little bit more power in the lineup.

Now, I know Jimenez isn’t the most consistent guy on earth, but you’ve got to remember that a change in scenery can make or break someone’s consistency.

Moving a talented closer like Jimenez out of the AL into the NL could provide the push he needs to shave that ERA down to what he would like it to be; not to mention it would give Atlanta the pitching help it’s looking for.

We are still month’s away from the ever-so-exciting trade deadline, and no one but Anthopoulos truly knows what will happen with the Braves; after all, he lives to surprise with his moves (see Donaldson signing and trade that brought Duvall here in the first place).

Given the state of our pitching staff and the no vacancy sign on Atlanta’s 25-man right now, don’t be too surprised to see the explosive Adam Duvall wearing different threads by August 1st.