Offseason speculation: Blockbuster trades the Atlanta Braves should pursue

Out of Left Field

At this point in the offseason, I still have hope that the Atlanta Braves will resign Josh Donaldson. However, in the chance that he signs elsewhere, the team will need a new starting 3rd baseman.

I like Austin Riley, but I don’t believe that he is ready to start at 3rd base quite yet. So, I have an interesting proposition.

The Oakland A’s are one of the more limited teams in the league when it comes to payroll, that is certainly no secret. They bailed on Josh Donaldson after he emerged as a star, because his price tag was going to be outside of their comfort zone – even during the arbitration years.

What if, just if, they could be convinced to trade Matt Chapman before his price gets too high? I know it’s a longshot, but who thought the A’s would trade Donaldson at roughly the same point in his career (just as his arbitration years began)?

This trade would certainly be much costlier for the Braves then the Betts trade, as Chapman will be under team control for a longer time period – 4 seasons.  According to the trade simulator, Chapman would have a value of 126.10.  As a point of comparison, the new NL MVP Cody Bellinger has a ‘value’ of 126.5.

This is going to be expensive.

I decided that a suitable package for the A’s would consist of Riley, Drew Waters, and Kyle Muller. That total package would be valued at about 120 points in the simulator. The simulator says that the deal would be accepted, and I agree with that assessment.

Riley flashed tremendous potential early in his debut last season, as he broke several Braves rookie records. However, after his hot start the league adjusted to him, as it usually does to hot new rookies.

His 18 home runs were impressive, but the .226 average and the .291 OBP tell a different story. I do think he will be able to iron out his issues in the long run, but the Braves would not get to see this improvement if the was traded.

Personally, I would hate to see Drew Waters get traded. He is a great person, and a really talented hitter. However, you don’t get talent like Chapman without parting with quality assets. Waters hit a stellar .309 with a .819 OPS across 2 levels of the minors last year in 134 games.

The only wart in Waters’ offensive game that I can see currently is a lack of power (only 7 homers between double-/triple-A). The current major league ball would certainly inflate that.

Muller would be a bit of a throw in, like Davidson in the previous deal. He is certainly a good prospect (7th in the system), but it’s hard to predict how pitchers will do at the major league level.

Matt Chapman is an incredibly talented player. He is basically the AL version of Nolan Arenado. He has won the gold glove the last 2 seasons, and while he hasn’t quite been Arenado’s equal in offensive production, he does have a solid .841 career OPS in his young career.

Last season he only hit a pedestrian .249, but he had 36 home runs with an OPS of .848. That solid production combined with being the second best defensive third baseman in the league makes him a very valuable cornerstone for any team.