5 Braves players who should be on the trade block before Opening Day

While the Braves aren't likely to make any more moves, they do have some players they could trade if the right opportunity presents itself.

Washington Nationals v Atlanta Braves
Washington Nationals v Atlanta Braves | Todd Kirkland/GettyImages
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Darius Vines

Darius Vines doesn't get the love he deserves as a pitching prospect. While he doesn't throw as hard as you would ideally want, his offspeed and breaking stuff has consistently missed bats and gotten results ever since the Braves drafted him back in 2019. He also had an impressive big league debut in 2023 when he posted a 3.98 ERA in 20.1 innings of work. The guy can just flat out pitch and it wouldn't be surprising if he was a factor in the Braves' spring training competition this year for the last spot in their rotation.

However, if it looks like Vines is going to get be out for the big league roster this spring, Atlanta should strongly consider moving him. He is already 25 years old and doesn't really have the profile of a reliever, so the best value for the Braves may be to move him to a team in need of immediate rotation help if he can't win a job this spring. That said, there are probably guys the Braves should move ahead of him as keeping Vines as insurance against injuries elsewhere on the staff is far from the worst option.

Spencer Schwellenbach

Finally, we come to Spencer Schwellenbach who quietly posted a 2.49 ERA in his first 16 starts as a pro last season. Atlanta was thrilled when Schwellenbach was still available to them in the second round of the 2021 drafted and committed to converting him from a shortstop and reliever to a starting pitcher despite the fact that he had to have Tommy John surgery shortly after being drafted.

Unfortunately, Schwellenbach's progress through the minor leagues has been weirdly slow despite his performance in 2023 as the Braves were not as aggressive with him as they have been with other pitching prospects. His blend of power stuff still has him firmly on the Braves' radar, but their handling of him does suggest that he may be a long-term project in their eyes and other teams may simply value him more highly. If that is the case, including him in a trade if needed should very much be in the cards.

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