MLB Rumors: There are various open doors and questions regarding the Braves trade rumors.
Now that 2024 is quickly approaching, the question that remains is if the Braves still have a huge thing going on, especially in light of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are also NL competitor, willing to pay a high price for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Would they pursue a deal for Shane Bieber or Dylan Cease? Will they go after well-known figures like Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, or others?
Speaking with Jeff Schultz of The Athletic ($), Anthopoulos provided some semi-optimistic updates on the Braves’ current progress:
Anthopoulos stated, “We pursued Aaron Nola (who re-signed with the Phillies). Beyond that, we have made inquiries about deals and engaged teams. We didn’t need to deal away key players from our squad in order to make room for the starters that were moved, one in particular. We had the potential to proceed with the acquisition, but we decided against it because it would have been prospect-based. Naturally, we’ll find out whether or not it was the proper decision in three, four, or five years.
It’s comparable to the times when Michael Harris and Spencer Strider were still prospects and we decided to hold those players as well. We’re happy we did. Since you’re attempting to predict what guys will be like, it’s difficult to make judgments. Thus far, I’ve chosen to decline.”
More crucially, even though AA pointed out that the Braves would need to win all the cards, he didn’t rule out a deal.
It is December and we are seated here. It remains fairly active, according to Anthopoulos. “Many conversations continue to take place. Additionally, there are dominoes that fall; a player gets signed, and another player is traded away. You have two weeks left before reporting, therefore we still have at least six weeks left. So time is still on your side.”
Concerning the team the Braves could trade for, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report suggested a one-for-one deal for No. 6 Braves prospect JR Ritchie in exchange for southpaw Paul Blackburn. It was a bit of a dark horse name from a familiar dance partner, the Oakland A’s.
In the last two seasons, Blackburn has only appeared in 21 games and has had mediocre performance, with a 4.35 ERA and 1.395 WHIP. Given the recent surge in output from the bats Atlanta received from Oakland, would it really be worth it to give up a top prospect in the farm system for that arm? We’ll find out in due course.
Still, whether it’s for Cease, Blackburn, or someone else entirely, it’s beginning to feel more and more imperative that the Braves make a significant move.