Well, this is certainly a development I would like for the Atlanta Braves to explore. The Cleveland Guardians are reportedly listening to offers on their closer Emmanuel Clase.
Now, this does not mean they are actively shopping Clase, just seeing if the market is willing to overpay for his services. He is also controlled through 2028, meaning it is very unlikely a team is going to offer enough to pry him out of Cleveland just now. Especially not a team like the Braves with limited trade chips to get a deal done.
However, that is not the attitude to have right now as I have a word count target to reach and quite frankly I am not close yet. So what would it take for the Braves to pull it off?
A lot. Probably more than the Braves have.
Clase is one of the best closers in baseball. He currently has a 3.02 ERA, 2.98 xERA, 2.78 FIP, 3.32 xFIP, and 3.32 SIERA. A really great year but it is actually down from his previous two seasons. Yes, you read that right, it is somewhat of a down year for Clase. Those numbers are great but it is not what he put up in 2021 and 2022.
2021: 69.2 IP, 1.29 ERA, 2.17 xERA, 2.11 FIP, 2.60 xFIP, 2.52 SIERA, and 24 saves.
2022: 72.2 IP, 1.36 ERA, 1.97 xERA, 1.98 FIP, 2.18 xFIP, 1.95 SIERA, and 42 saves.
He has been one of the best relievers in baseball over the last three years. Now that we have established that, we understand that it makes sense to unload the farm for this type of player.
It would have to start with Vaughn Grissom, AJ Smith-Shawver, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Owen Murphy. Even then, that probably is not close enough. The Braves would have to most likely consider adding in a major league arm like Bryce Elder to get the Guardians to even listen.
While Clase certainly demands that type of package, do the Braves need to make this type of move?
I don't think they would. It is fun to think about, but I do not think this is something we should hold our breath for ahead of the trade deadline on Tuesday.