The trade deadline is upon us and it's been eerily quiet so far but that can change at a moment's notice. Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta Braves will likely be busy ahead of the 6 PM EST deadline.
It was announced that there were a few teams inquiring about trading for Justin Verlander and the Braves are on that list. It's no secret that the Atlanta Braves are looking for starting pitching and bullpen help.
The Astros, Orioles, Braves, Dodgers, and Padres are all seen as potential landing spots for the future Hall of Famer. Whether or not the Braves actually make a deal for the right-hander, that's another story. Trading with your division rival isn't always the best especially when you would have to give up high-level prospects to make the deal happen.
Verlander has a 3.15 ERA this season through 94.1 innings pitched for the New York Mets. The Mets' underperforming has led to them being sellers at the deadline and looking to move a player they just added in the offseason.
The right-hander is still owed around $14.2 million for the remainder of 2023 and would command a salary of $43 million in 2024. His contract also features a player option of $35 million for the 2025 season. The Mets clearly will need to eat some of his salary in whatever deal they make.
That kind of salary isn't one AA will likely be keen on but you'd be wild to not see if you can get a player of this caliber.
It does seem like the Astros, Dodgers, and Orioles (yes, you read that right) are more likely landing spots for Verlander. Jon Heyman reported not long ago that the Braves have been involved in wanting to acquire him but aren't currently strongly pursuing a deal.
While Braves checked in on Justin Verlander, they don’t appear to be very involved at the moment. They do seek pitching, however.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 1, 2023
He'd be an amazing addition to a starting rotation that's needed a bit of back-end stability and he would allow for that to happen. However, there are so many other factors to consider that lead me to believe this trade is very unlikely to take place.
The Braves did just make a move to acquire left-hander Brad Hand from the Colorado Rockies so I imagine starting pitching becomes the focus now. Stay tuned to House That Hank Built for more trade deadline news.