While the Atlanta Braves' woefully inconsistent offense has been the primary problem for the team in 2024, they have had a hell of a time figuring out their fifth starting spot in the rotation. The Braves have tried a number of guys in the spot including Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver (who got hurt), Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, and even converted reliever Ray Kerr and have little to show for it at the moment.
At this point, it has become clear that adding another starter at the trade deadline is quickly becoming a priority for the Braves. Most of the young arms that they have tried this year could still have bright futures, but the fact remains that they haven't shown they are ready to be big league starters just yet and Atlanta can ill-afford to wait around for them to figure things out this season.
As a result, it isn't surprising to see that the Braves among the favorites to land starter Tyler Anderson according to some of the more recent trade rumor chatter.
Braves Rumors: Atlanta the current "best guess" to land Tyler Anderson at trade deadline
Anderson certainly fits the mold of a guy that Alex Anthopoulos would target on the trade market. He knows Angels GM Perry Minasian well from his own days in Atlanta's front office and AA has already worked with him recently in the deal that brought Raisel Iglesias to the Braves. Anderson is also a veteran starter that was not only an All-Star in 2022, but who is having a tremendous 2024 season for the Angels with a 2.58 ERA which is certainly an upgrade over what they have been getting. If they still want to continue their plans of utilizing a six man rotation to give guys rest, they can just rotate guys in and out of that sixth spot.
There are a couple complications with this plan, however. The Braves are already going to pay the luxury tax this year which is fine, but they are projected to be treacherously close to exceeding the next threshold in the luxury tax which would bump their 2025 draft pick down 10 spots which they REALLY don't want to do. Anderson also has had a bit of an up-and-down career and is under team control through next year at $13 million a season. It is possible that the Angels' asking price could exceed the Braves' comfort level as a result.
However, this does feel like a situation where the pros outweigh the cons. Atlanta should be able to make a move or two to shed a little salary to give them some breathing room if they really need to while also adding Anderson if that is the direction they choose. Moreover, adding Anderson would give the Braves more rotation clarity heading into an offseason where they could easily lose both Max Fried and Charlie Morton and where they are very likely to have to start the 2025 season without Spencer Strider.
At some point, the Braves are going to have to figure out who is going to be pitching for this team in the short and long-term and Anderson feels like as good a starting point as any.