As the Atlanta Braves near the MLB trade deadline, there's increasing chatter that a deal might be likely.
Atlanta is one of the best teams in baseball, so there's an argument to be made that standing pat, or making small deals to improve the roster, is the best bet for Alex Anthopoulos and a front office which isn't used to sitting on their hands.
However, it's a credit to Anthopoulos and management for building a team with very few holes. That hasn't stopped the increasingly-wild trade rumors from including the Braves, a natural contender which can only get better on paper by adding some of the best available players on the market.
Braves Rumors: Atlanta should trade for Adam Duvall
The Boston Red Sox have been on fire since the All-Star Break, making it a tough call for the Boston Red Sox to trade impactful players like Adam Duvall. Per The Athletic's Chad Jennings, Chaim Bloom is still considering moving Duvall, while the likes of Alex Verdugo are off the table.
"The team is at least considering trading Adam Duvall (they would commit to Jarren Duran in center field, while keeping Rob Refsnyder for right-handed balance in the outfield), and there is still some debate about whether to trade James Paxton," Jennings wrote.
Duvall would provide the Braves some much-needed outfield depth. He's a former Gold Glove-caliber player who can field the corner outfield spots and even some center field if needed. He's also expendable from Boston's perspective, while the Sox could use some pitching. If anything, this is a contender for contender trade that makes some sense.
Braves Rumors: Vaughn Grissom is their best trade asset
There are plenty of prospects the Braves should hold onto. Their farm system is depleted, but Alex Anthopoulos and the scouting department has done what they can to rebuild in the draft, all the while the major-league roster continues to produce young stars. It's rather astonishing, when you think about it — just about every top prospect Atlanta has traded away hasn't amounted to All-Star status, too.
AJ Smith-Shawver, for example, already has MLB experience at the age of 20. He entered MLB Pipeline's top-100 prospects seemingly out of nowhere. Owen Murphy, the team's 2022 first-round pick, is just 19 and on the periphery of such a list as well. These young Braves won't see big-league action regularly for some time, but they aren't lottery tickets. Anthopoulos knows what he's doing.
Vaughn Grissom, however, is expandable. As sad as it is, Grissom hasn't lived up to his end of the bargain defensively. Grissom worked out with Ron Washington this offseason with the hope he would replace Dansby Swanson at shortstop.
Instead, Orlando Arcia has done that and then some. Anthopoulos acquired Nicky Lopez just a few days ago from the Royals, who is signed through 2025 and can play three positions on the infield, including shortstop. He's be a solid backup. Meanwhile, Braden Shewmake and take the reins in Triple-A, which makes Grissom a valuable, yet expendable prospect.
Braves Rumors: Don't trade for Justin Verlander
Was it hilarious that the Braves checked in on Mets ace Justin Verlander? Absolutely. Does he make any team that acquires him better? Sure.
But that team should not be the Atlanta Braves. If anything, Atlanta should hope New York receives an underwhelming return from some team outside of the NL East.
Verlander still has at least one more year left on his deal. On the other side of 40 years old, he'll cost some top prospect capital, something the Braves have very little of. Dealing a player like AJ Smith-Shawver to the Mets, just as an example, would be tough to bear. Any prospects sent to New York have the opportunity to face Atlanta for years to come. Meanwhile, Verlander has an expiration date of 2024 or (god forbid) sooner should he suffer another serious injury.
Verlander has value for some team, but ideally that team will be outside of Atlanta's division.