With the trade deadline a little less than three weeks away, the Atlanta Braves are rumored to be involved with several starting pitchers, the latest of which is a Detroit Tiger.
Starting pitching appears to be the biggest need for the Atlanta Braves as the trade deadline approaches and we have already heard a few names as possible targets: Madison Bumgarner, Marcus Stroman, and Zack Wheeler.
Add a new name to that mix and that is Detroit Tigers’ ace, Matthew Boyd.
According to Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, Boyd is drawing interest from not only the Atlanta Braves, but the Dodgers and the Astros as well.
Boyd is having his best season as a big leaguer, as he is 6-6 with a 3.87 ERA for the putrid Tigers. He has 142 strikeouts to 20 walks in 107 innings and carries a WHIP of 1.121.
The 28-year old southpaw is under team control through the 2022 season and becomes arbitration eligible next offseason.
Why trade him now?
The Tigers made a huge mistake not capitalizing on the trade value of Michael Fulmer, who is now hurt and has been so for nearly two years.
They could have gotten a king’s ransom for Fulmer after the 2017 season, but decided to hold on to the talented right-hander and now are suffering the consequences of doing so.
Is there a connection?
It would make sense for the Atlanta Braves to be interested in Boyd, due to him being drafted by Alex Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays in the sixth round of 2013 draft.
He was subsequently traded to the Tigers that summer in the deal that brought David Price to Toronto.
The cost?
Since Boyd has three seasons of control left, it will take a significant amount to acquire him.
According to Baseball Trade Values, Boyd carries a value of 34.4, which is by far the highest value of any Tiger at the major league level.
Of the Tigers’ top 10 prospects, according to FanGraphs, only three are starting pitchers, so that would seem like a good match with the Braves.
While those in the industry can value players differently, a package including Kyle Wright would make sense, for the sake of this rumor.
So the hypothetical deal would look like this:
The verdict?
Boy, that is a lot to give up for somebody who has a career ERA 4.84 and has pitched no more than 170 innings in a single season.
If it were up to me, Boyd would not be somebody I would pursue.
The Atlanta Braves are in a position to go to the World Series IF they make the right acquisition(s) at the deadline. Those players should have postseason experience, not a one-year career year like Boyd.
There is also the reality that while McCosky only lists three teams in the mix for Boyd, there is going to likely be more, which will make this a bidding war.
The Braves need to upgrade the rotation, and will have to part with good prospects to do so, but I think they can find the answer somewhere else.