3. Taylor Clarke/KC
The Royals probably would require some serious “convincing” to let Taylor Clarke go. He’s 29, but still under team control for the next four seasons after this… and is making just under $1 million.
The flip side is that his numbers are solid, though some are unspectacular, and thus they might be “convinced”: 3.83 ERA and a 1.157 WHIP among them.
He’s not a strikeout machine, per se (8.1 per 9IP), but only walks 1.3 per game equivalent. At 42 innings so far (40 appearances), he’d be good to call upon a lot.
Maybe if the Braves are really after Michael A. Taylor, a package deal could be arranged here?
More on the Braves’ pursuit of an outfielder: according to a source, Atlanta has Michael A. Taylor on its radar. Taylor is in the first year of a two-year, $9 million deal with the Royals.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 30, 2022
2. Victor Arano/WSH
Here’s another case of a reliever who’s 27 and still has a ton of team control available. In this case it’s 3 seasons beyond this year… but it’s the Nationals and how much would they really hold up the Braves given a decent offer?
Victor Arano is actually a sleeper pick here since his core numbers (4.61 ERA, 1.207 WHIP) don’t look particularly great… and he’s only logged 27 innings.
But let’s look beyond that and his 28/6 K-to-BB ratio… let’s check his game logs.
First off, Arano was on the injured list from June 6 to July 22 with an inflamed knee. That accounts for the lower innings total.
In 28 appearances, there were 3 hiccups where opponents scores 3 runs or more. 21 times he allowed none, walking only 3 during those scoreless outings.
It would be an interesting play, but Arano does deserve some consideration.
1. Joe Mantiply/ARZ
Conveniently, Joe Mantiply happens to be in Atlanta right now. He’s the oldest of this group at 31½ and has gotten himself to the major despite being dissed by many teams in the draft (48th round/Mets, 28th round/Phillies, 27th round/Tigers).
Mantiply came around slowly as you might therefore have expected, and thus he’s still got four years of team control despite his age.
This year, though: 2.35 ERA in 42 appearances (38.1 innings) and a 1.017 WHIP. The point of this list, though is about walks and he’s handed out just two free passes against 38 strikeouts.
His game logs show 6 times — out of the 42 — where he allowed any runs at all: 3 on two occasions; 1 each for the rest. As his WHIP might suggest, he’s allowed no hits in 32 outings.
I have no idea how to valuate (is that a word?) an older reliever with that much team control who seems to have blossomed this year (3.40 ERA/1.56 WHIP last year… not much MLB time prior to that), but the Braves might do well to ask.
The other obvious downside? He’s a southpaw, and the Braves could probably use a right-hander… though Kirby Yates might fulfill that requirement.
As we say, though: this guy is already in the house.