It's officially the deadline day as MLB's trading window will close this afternoon. Plenty of teams around the league have been active the past few days, and now it's time for the Braves to jump into the action.
We've got limited hours until the Braves 2024 roster is locked for the rest of the season. Everyone knows about the outfield help this team needs, but in wake of Ozzie Albies' wrist injury an infielder should be on Alex Anthopoulos' shopping list as well.
Top prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. hasn't lit the world on fire in his week of big league action. Alvarez Jr. has just two hits and ten strikeouts in his first seven big league games. That may signal to the Braves front office that a move is needed to find someone to plug the gap until Ozzie Albies can return late in the season. With that in mind here's some presumably available guys the Braves should be checking in on.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa
The Blue Jays have been in sell mode for the past week, and the Braves should be checking in on this infielder not named Bo Bichette. Although Toronto has been subpar this season, Isiah Kiner-Falefa has enjoyed a resurgent season in 2024.
IKF had a tough go with the Yankees, but has been a very solid player in Toronto this year. Kiner-Falefa's biggest strengths are his versatility and his premium defense. Both could serve well before and after an Ozzie Albies return.
His 89 percentile in OAA and 97th percentile in whiff% would be perfect tools in this power dependent Braves lineup. However, given IKF's versatility expect a lot of contending teams to be calling Toronto.
The #Bluejays are reportedly listening to offers on Isiah Kiner-Falefa
— Blue Jays Today (@TodayJays) July 29, 2024
IKF is having a career year at the dish, hitting .292/.338/.420/.758
With a $7.5M contract through next year and peak value, he’s a prime buy-low, sell-high candidate 👀 pic.twitter.com/cmX3iY5l0L
Luis Garcia Jr.
Braves fans should be familiar with this NL East rival player. Luis Garcia has been the Nationals second baseman for a few seasons now, but now might be the time to strike a deal. Garcia Jr. offers great bat to ball skills, and has a positive 4 OAA at second base this year.
Perhaps the most intruiging thing about Garcia is his ability to mash right-handed pitching. That of course is something the Braves desperately need. Garcia Jr. currently sports a .288/.321/.464 slash line against RHP this season. That would definitely help balance out this Braves offense a bit more.
Paul DeJong
This current White Sox was a much sexier name earlier in the year when he was rolling. Since the calendar flipped to July however, DeJong has come back to earth a bit. His rolling xwOBA over his last 100 plate appearances has dipped below league average.
The 18 homers on the season showcase DeJong has found the power stroke he once had, but other than that he's not offering much in terms of value. Should the Braves swing and miss on some more valuable options maybe then they give the struggling White Sox a call. However, let's hope it doesn't come to that.
Luis Rengifo
Perhaps the most familiar trade partner on the list is the Los Angeles Angels. Alex Anthopoulos has struck a deal or two with them before, and he could come calling again this deadline. Not much has gone right in Ron Washington's first season as manager out in Anaheim, but one infielder is enjoying a nice season.
Luis Rengifo turns a deficit into a lead with one big swing! 😤 pic.twitter.com/zKa9mBvY4N
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2024
Luis Rengifo is a switch-hitting versatile infielder who could help the Braves this season. His .300/.348/.421 slash line would slot nicely into a Braves lineup that is desperate for on-base. However, Rengifo plays abysmal defense (-7 OAA) and doesn't hit the ball hard, two things the Braves tend to lean towards when acquiring a player.
Kevin Newman
Lastly, we come to a 30 year-old right-handed hitting shortstop out in Arizona. Veteran Kevin Newman has been around for a little while and he fits the profile of a guy Alex Anthopoulos desires. He's a strong defeneder (+4 OAA) and squares the ball up pretty often.
He's also a guy that wouldn't cost a ton to trade for, and Alex Anthopoulos has been known to find some good bargains during his time with Atlanta.
However, knowing Alex Anthopoulos the Braves will probably make a deal for a guy no one has mentioned in the eleventh hour of deadline day. But until we get there it's always fun to attempt to draw these conclusions yourself. Happy trade deadline folks.