Yep, it’s the All-Star Break, and yep, that means news on the Atlanta Braves is on the quiet front, …right?
You can’t possibly blame us if we jump on any hint of a juicy rumor or trade possibility to be made in the coming weeks for your first-place Atlanta Braves.
After all, that July 31st Trade Deadline date is getting more visible on the horizon.
For baseball fans, it’s kind of like the weeks leading up to your birthday when you were a child: the mind races at the possibilities of what shiny new present you’ll get on that special day.
In the meantime, we must satisfy our trade thirst with speculation on any legitimate trade rumors that float around.
While what was reported by the New York Post’s Joel Sherman this week wasn’t necessarily a “trade rumor” for this current Atlanta Braves team, it did serve as a clear indication that this Atlanta front office – headed by GM Alex Anthopoulos – has been drawn to an impact starting pitcher in the not-so-recent past.
That pitcher? Zack Wheeler.
From Sherman’s column:
"Wheeler was available last July, the Braves were the most aggressive pursuer, but the Mets decided no offers were enticing enough."
As stated before, that’s not an indication that Wheeler is destined (or even likely) to be traded to Atlanta, but it does give serious merit to the idea that the Braves could go hard after him again.
After all, he’d be far easier to obtain now than what he was last July.
A few days ago, Alan put out an in-depth piece on how the Atlanta Braves are currently scouting Wheeler’s starts with the Mets, and why it makes all the sense in the world for New York to eventually trade him…somewhere.
Biggest takeaways from those thoughts, and from the current situations of Wheeler and the Atlanta Braves?
- Wheeler is a rental who will reach free agency at the end of the season, meaning he could be had for less of a devastating prospect cost than a guy with multiple years of team control.
- He’s on a team that is going nowhere and will most certainly be sellers.
- He’s a Georgia boy, meaning you could be trading for him for 2.5 months, and then have a legitimate chance to extend him for the years to come.
- He’s still in the prime of his pitching career at age 29.
- He is a good pitcher (2.5 WAR) who could instantly become a great pitcher in Atlanta, thanks largely to a much better team defense and better pitch-framers behind the plate.
Are there cons to the possibility of Wheeler? Sure, there’s such a risk with any trade.
The Mets may not want to help the Braves – a division rival – win a pennant by bolstering their rotation with a high-upside starter who would be an extension candidate.
Sherman’s article also states that “as many as 10 teams have inquired on Wheeler”, meaning we’re most certainly looking at a bidding war on our hands – and bidding wars for rentals don’t usually end so well for the buyers.
Lastly, despite the high upside that Wheeler has, he’s still somewhat of a Jekyll-Hyde on the mound at times, and the Atlanta Braves rotation has enough of those already.
Having said all that…the fact that there is a legitimate report that the Braves were “aggressive” in their pursuit of Wheeler last July – and that he’s even more available this year than he was a season ago – is certainly intriguing, to say the least.
Stay tuned.