There has been so much to parse when it comes to the Atlanta Braves at this year's trade deadline. They don't possess a ton of prospect depth that they would be thrilled to trade away and they would like to avoid luxury tax penalties, but the sheer number of injuries they are dealing with right now is forcing their hand. While much of the trade deadline rumor mill has focused on their need for an outfielder, especially with Michael Harris' delayed return, they also could really use a starting pitcher.
Losing Spencer Strider for the season was bad enough. While most of the Braves' rotation has actually been quite good, having Max Fried go down with neuritis in his throwing arm has compounded Atlanta's need for starter depth for the stretch run.
Fortunately, it sounds like the Braves are being proactive as the most recent reports suggest that the Braves are among the teams interested in trading for Zach Eflin who Atlanta fans are quite familiar with from his time with the Phillies.
Braves targeting starter Zach Eflin ahead of the looming trade deadline
Unfortunately, the Braves don't really have the trade chips to play at the top of the pitching market with guys like Garrett Crochet or Tarik Skubal. Both pitchers have crazy good stuff, but they would also probably require the Braves to dip into their big league roster depth to put together a package that could land them and Alex Anthopoulos just isn't going to do that.
Eflin fits the mold of a guy that could make sense for them, however. His 4.09 ERA with the Rays this season isn't great, but he eats innings, doesn't walk batters, and would be coming from a Tampa team that may not require a huge return given the money Eflin is owed and the Rays' ever-present financial limitations.
There are some pitfalls with Eflin, though. While he doesn't walk batters, he also doesn't get much swing and miss and relies on getting hitters to chase out of the zone and inducing weak contact when they do. The stuff is middling and his ceiling isn't particularly high, but Atlanta could decide that Eflin may be the easiest option given his likely price tag and the strength of the rest of their rotation.