Rumors: The Atlanta Braves May Use A.J. Smith-Shawver As Trade Bait
By Fred Owens
Fans are demanding that Atlanta Braves president of baseball operations and GM Alex Anthopoulos wave his wand and make something happen immediately. But that’s not the way it works.
Anthopoulos moved quickly to do the possible - reinforcing the bullpen with the promotion of Daysbel Hernandez and adding discarded lottery tickets to make spot starts and put a finger in the dike until better, long-term options are available.
Atlanta Braves Starting Pitching
Strider is still Strider, Morton struggled in his last outing, but he’ll figure it out. Fried will return, but Elder has come down off the mountain to look like the fifth starter many scouts projected him to be.
The Braves bats carried them while their horses were injured but they’ve predictably slowed down after the All-Star Break.
Braves minor league pitchers struggled to fill the starting pitching void, Wright won’t return until September, and Elder’s regression makes his starts problematic at best.
In Friday’s Braves Beat newsletter, Mark Bowman opined that the future for a pitcher everyone hoped would become an ace isn’t rosy.
"“Will (Michael Soroka) ever get back to where he was before he tore his right Achilles tendon…The odds are heavily against him. Could he be an effective No. 4 or No. 5 … that's still a possibility” "
- Mark Bowman
That’s not what any of us want to hear but Soroka’s been a shadow of his former self. The Braves unexpectedly sent him down after his last start, signaling they believe he needs a lot more time.
Atlanta Braves’ Prospect Capital
Bowman also made the case that adding all the lottery-ticket arms is a way of adding bullpen depth so the Braves can trade A.J. Smith-Shawver.
"“My feeling is …(the Braves) may need to use some of their key pieces to acquire a key reliever or starter (and Smith-Shawver) is coveted by other teams…”"
- Mark Bowman
Trent wrote about a potential deal for Eduardo Rodriguez, but his contract includes a player option when the season ends. He’ll certainly exercise his option if he pitches well and declines it to earn $49M over the next three years if he doesn't.
An earlier post discussed a potential deal for Michael Lorenzen, but his 1.95 ERA in May came with an unsustainable .198 BAbip. His 5.03 ERA in June with a .302 BAbip looks more realistic. He shouldn’t cost much as he’s a rental and a lottery ticket.
We know Anthopoulos prefers to add players under long-term control when he gives up his best. With that in mind, I’ve found two pitchers who might be available, but I haven’t seen them linked to the Braves. Since rumors of Anthopolous' interest in a player are rarely accurate, not being linked to Atlanta isn’t a bad thing.