Atlanta Braves: must act sooner rather than later

The Price

Now to the most important part… the cost.

Both of these players in one deal is not going to be cheap, because the Blue Jays are going to maximize returns in order to build around Vlad Jr.

The Blue Jays lack what the Braves have great strength in, pitching prospects. The first two pitching prospects in the deal are both in the Braves top 10 prospects via MLB.com.

The headliner of the deal will be Ian Anderson. I think Kyle Wright could also be placed here, but I would prefer to keep him. I think this will come down to who do the Blue Jays prefer.

Ian Anderson is the number three team in the Atlanta Braves system according to MLB.com. They had this to say about him:

"Anderson has made strides in using his outstanding three-pitch mix more effectively, starting with a fastball he can run up to 96 mph. He throws downhill and has struck out more than 10 batters per nine innings while also generating a good amount of groundball outs. His curve remains an out pitch and his changeup, which he’s worked on tirelessly, also is a plus pitch at times. In 2018, he showed an ability to pitch to all quadrants and set up hitters with all three offerings."

Clearly, Ian Anderson is highly regarded and will not be easy to trade, but the Braves won’t have a choice as they look to make major additions to the pitching staff.

The next pitcher to be included is Bryse Wilson. I think most Atlanta Braves fans were impressed when Wilson made his debut last year, pitching five scoreless innings and striking out five.

It’s hard not to be impressed with his mentality towards pitching especially at the young age of 21. I think this will draw the Blue Jays to him. That mentality is crucial when rebuilding a team because setting the right culture to build from is essential to the process.

The final player from the Atlanta Braves top 10 prospects is OF Drew Waters, the number six player in the Braves system in the same MLB.com rankings.  He is a switch-hitting outfielder and I think the Jays will target him because their farm system is infield heavy.

Atlanta may be willing to include him in the deal is more because Christian Pache and Ronald Acuña Jr. will be manning two of the outfield spots for the future, making Waters more expendable.

Now I would add in one or two more players from well outside the top 10… or perhaps Adam Duvall to fill a spot in the outfield for the Jays.

This is a trade loaded with talent from the Braves, but in general, prospects have lost their value over recent years and teams hold proven (i.e., major league-proven) commodities in higher regards.

It will take a lot to pay for a blockbuster like this, but getting something done early may well be worth it.