With the top starting pitching free agents off the board this offseason, the Atlanta Braves will have to work a trade to upgrade that area.
It came as a bit of a surprise that the Atlanta Braves were at least showing interest in Hyun-Jin Ryu before he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Ryu didn’t seem like a great fit for the rotation and is a big injury risk, especially with the four-year deal that he received.
As Mark Bowman points out, if they weren’t willing to go fours for Madison Bumgarner, why would they for Ryu?
But what it does show us is that Atlanta might not be done looking for starting pitching this offseason.
Coming into the offseason I thought they needed to find two pitchers. A frontline starter to pair with Mike Soroka and a veteran to replace Dallas Keuchel.
They got the veteran when they signed Cole Hamels to a one-year deal for $18 million. But in my opinion, they still lack a frontline starter to complement Soroka at the top of the rotation.
The best free agent starting pitcher left is possibly Alex Wood. And he does come with some upside and intrigue as the former Brave has been very good when healthy.
I could see Atlanta signing him to a cheap deal with some incentives and hoping he turns it around.
But the best chance at finding a frontline starter at this point will be through a trade.
We haven’t really seen the trade market pick up yet and probably won’t until January after Josh Donaldson signs.
There aren’t many great names out there available at the moment, but there are some arms who could fit at the top of the Braves’ rotation.
On MLB Trade Rumors Top 25 Trade Candidates list they mention Matthew Boyd and Robbie Ray as the best starting pitcher candidates.
Corey Kluber and Dylan Bundy are both on that list and have already been moved.
Mike Clevinger and Jon Gray are names that have been rumored this offseason but the costs for each appear to be astronomical … and for good reason.
Jeff Samardzija and David Price are expensive options who have the potential to be frontline starters.
Later on Monday, I’ll release my top five options for the Braves to upgrade at starting pitcher this offseason.