Trade Rumors: Three Late-Inning Relievers The Atlanta Braves Could Target

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Earlier today, I wrote that Atlanta Braves would like to add a top-of-the-line pitcher for the stretch run, but every contender wants to do that as well, and the market is thin. The alternative is to replicate the success of the 2011 bullpen by adding relievers with the ability to pitch in high-leverage situations.

The Mariners are listening to offers on Paul Sewald, and the Padres may wake up and trade Josh Hader, but the Braves have Raisel Iglesias and A.J. Minter. Here are some arms that would make it a six-inning game.

Adbert Alzolay – RHP Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs v Chicago White Sox / Michael Reaves/GettyImages

Alzolay is 28 and under arb-control through 2026. He relies on an 87mph slider (41%), 95mph four-seamer (26%), 95mph sinker (19%), and 91mph cutter (14%).

He’s pitched to a 2.33 ERA, 2.53 FIP, 0.95 WHIP, striking out 52, and walking seven in 4o games (45 IP), recording six holds and 11 saves in 12 opportunities. Statcast’s Percentile Rankings are a sea of red, and his Pitch Modeling statistics on Fangraphs show why,

The Cubs are hot right now but I think they’re sellers. Alzolay is currently their closer, controllable for three more years, and they’ll be competitive during that time, so I’d set the odds of a trade at 40%.

Gabe Speier – LHP Seattle Mariners

Detroit Tigers v Seattle Mariners / Steph Chambers/GettyImages

Last week I wrote about lefties the Braves might add to the pen, and Speier might have made the cut if the Mariners had indicated they were in a mood to trade relievers.

Speier’s 28 and under team control through 2027. He relies on a 94mph sinker (47%) and 84mph slider (30%) and mixes in a 94mph four-seamer (22%) to keep batters honest.

Speier’s thrown 33 2/3 innings in 43 games, striking out 35 and walking five. His 4.01 ERA is misleading because in 27/2/3 of those innings in 34 appearances, he struck out 29, walked two, and didn’t allow a run.

His Statcast Percentile Rankings aren’t eye-popping, but he’s a 58% groundball, 25.6% fly ball pitcher with a 0.95 WHIP and 2.62 SIERA.

The Mariners will selectively sell and while Speier is under control for four more years, Jerry Dipoto is the president of baseball ops and hasn’t made a trade recently. I’d set the odds of the team trading Speier at 80%.

Jason Foley –RHP Detroit Tigers

Foley is 27 and under team control through 2027. He features a 97mph sinker (72%), an 88MPH slider (15%), and what Statcast calls a 91mph changeup, mostly against lefties.

That isn’t a typo, Statcast calls it a changeup because of the spin, but it has the shape – but not the depth – of a screwball or a lefty’s slider. About 15 seconds into the video, Foley's 91mph changeup is shown in slow motion. Whatever you call the pitch, its 32% WHIFF rate is impressive.

If you fondly remember a time when the bullpen offered a righty who could coax groundballs for batters on either side of the plate, Foley is your guy.

He’s pitched to a 2.03 ERA, 2.27 FIP, 1.10 WHIP, striking out 39 and walking 10 in 44 appearances over 44 1/3 IP. He allowed more than one only once, throwing 38 1/3 of shoutout innings in 36 of his 44 games.

His Statcast Percentile Rankings have a lot of red in the right places, but at first glance, his WHIFF% and Hard-hit % are below average, but his 4.8% barrel rate and 2.1-degree average launch angle mean most of those hard-hit balls are part of his 58.6% groundball rate.

The Tigers are rebuilding, and controllable arms are important, but Foley isn’t their closer. However, because he’s effective against lefties, he has more value than most RHRPs. I put the odds of the Tigers trading Foley at 70%.

That’s a Wrap

If I had my way, I’d add Alzolay and Tanner Scott from last week’s list to Minter and Iglesias. With potential four closers in the pen, the game’s over after six.

That’s an unrealistic ask and any of the relievers from this post and the July 26th post make the pen stronger and deeper.

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