8 prospects the Braves need to use as trade bait this offseason

The trade market may be the best place for the Braves to address their roster holes this offseason, but that means they are going to have to part with some minor league talent.

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Dylan Dodd

This is a tough one because Dylan Dodd's trade value isn't the highest right now. He struggled this season in limited playing time in the big leagues, had to dealt with some arm soreness issues during the course of the season, and he had trouble commanding his stuff overall in 2023. When we talk about trading a guy at peak value, that is not where Dodd sits as of today.

However, there are a lot of things that are appealing about Dodd as a pitching prospect. He has a bunch of pitches and when he is on, his changeup and slider can be absolute weapons. It also helps that throwing with his left hand certainly doesn't hurt his cause. The Braves shouldn't force a trade involving Dylan, but if there is a team out there that values what he brings to the table highly, Atlanta shouldn't be afraid to move him.

Braden Shewmake

Braden Shewmake has been a polarizing figure in the Braves' farm system for a while. After he was drafted back in 2019, there were fair concerns about whether he could be an every day shortstop and if he would hit for much power although everyone seemed to agree that he was a plus hitter. However, what has happened is that he has proven to be a very strong defender at short and hit 16 homers in 2023, but his hit tool has regressed significantly as he hasn't hit better than .259 in any of the last three seasons.

One thing that we do know is that it is hard to see him having a future with the Braves. Orlando Arcia seems to have the starting shortstop spot on lockdown and Braden is probably behind Grissom on the depth chart if something were to happen to Arcia. At 25 years old and having just finished repeating at Triple-A, both the Braves and Braden could be best served by sending him to another team that may be able to unlock more at the plate out of him.

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