Atlanta Braves trade targets at the forthcoming deadline could include either half-season rentals or guys to look to extend. Both could be viable options.
Under Alex Anthopoulos' guidance, the Atlanta Braves have not shied away from making substantial trades. His M.O. in doing so, particularly recently, has been trading for players still under club control so that he can then lock them into extensions — you know, exactly what he did with Matt Olson and then Sean Murphy.
Approaching the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline, though, one has to wonder if that will be the case. The most notable need for the Braves to address is shoring up the team's pitching, specifically in regards to the rotation. That's projected to be a lucrative market, though. So any potential extension candidate could be extremely costly.
Moreover, with guys like Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, Max Fried, Kyle Wright, and several other young arms returning next season, it might not also be a necessity for Atlanta. Instead, they could look at the rental options that may not only come at a cheaper cost but could also serve the organization's purpose better.
It remains to be seen which way Anthopoulos and the front office will choose to go. So for our purposes, let's take a look at both possible avenues with three rentals and two possible extension candidates that should all be early Braves trade targets.
Braves Rumors: 3 rentals, 2 extension candidates to target in trades
Braves trade targets No. 5: Kyle Hendricks is a low-risk, low-cost rental
Without question, the sexiest trade target on the Cubs is the club's ace, Marcus Stroman. However, in his early trade deadline preview, ESPN insider Jeff Passan (subscription required) mentioned a lower-cost option who is also in the final year of his contract in Chicago: veteran righty Kyle Hendricks.
Hendricks began this season on the IL for the Cubs after being shut down at the end of last season, but has returned to some middling results.
Making three starts to this point in 2023, Hendricks has lasted an average of just over 5.0 innings per outing while posting a 4.70 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. It is more important to note, however, that he's working his way back into the right groove and flashed a moment of brilliance in his second start, going 5.0 innings and allowing just one earned run against one of baseball's most dangerous lineups in the Rays on May 30.
With an ERA of 4.77 and 4.80 and 2021 and 2022, respectively, the Braves most definitely wouldn't be getting an ace in Hendricks. At the same time, though, they could simply be eyeing a reliable veteran who can fill out the back of the rotation and possibly be used in the bullpen come playoff time.
Should that be the case, the relative medicore performance and experience of Hendricks could not only be what they're looking for, but it could also make the trade cost modest enough that the Braves would still retain plenty of flexibility to make more moves at the deadline.
Braves trade targets No. 4: Marcus Stroman will cost a fortune, but would be worth it
Of course, if we're talking about the budget option the Braves could possibly trade for from the Cubs, we also have to talk about the Cadillac sitting on the lot in Marcus Stroman. The NL Cy Young candidate has been wholly dominant this season, most recently notching his 12th Quality Start of the season on June 9 in a win over the Giants.
The 32-year-old Stroman has been lights-out this season, posting a 2.42 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 14 starts for the season. Whenever he's been on the mound, he's given the Cubs a viable chance to get a win virtually every single time.
Stroman is one of the more curious trade deadline cases, though. The reason he's even being mentioned is that the veteran hurler has an opt-out in the final year of his three-year, $71 million pact with the Cubs for the 2024 season. Given his value right now, he's sure to opt-out. And while he's expressed to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, among others, that he would like to stay put, the Cubs might be in the best position to trade him and acquire more future assets at this stage of their team-building.
Because of that, if Chicago does make Stroman available for a trade, the cost is going to be enormous. The Braves would surely have to make the cupboards all but bare in the farm system to pull off the move. Having said that, with the way Stroman has performed this season, he would not only possibly make Atlanta the World Series favorite, but could also be intriguing for an extension as it wouldn't necessarily have to be a long, long-term deal, though it would be hugely expensive.
There's a lot to weigh regarding Marcus Stroman if you're the Braves. But the end results of trading for him mean that it's an option that Anthopoulos and the front office can't rightly ignore.
Braves trade targets No. 3: Alex Cobb would be a perfect veteran arm in Atlanta
Alex Cobb has certainly been well-traveled in his lengthy MLB career, having spent six season with the Rays, three years with the Orioles, one with the Angels, and now a member of the Giants since the 2022 campaign.
One of the throughlines for Cobb in his career, however, is that he's always been a solid starter who can be a key cog at the back end of a rotation. He's taken that up a notch in the 2023 season in San Francisco, though, iwth arguably one of the best seasons of his career and certainly the best run of his recent history.
In 13 starts with the Giants this year, Cobb has been wholly impressive with a 3.01 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. While he has seen his ERA rise relatively recently, he's remained extremely reliable whenever he's been the starter.
With the Giants falling out of contention, though, Cobb is in what could be the final year of his contract as he has a $10 million club option for the 2024 season left on the deal. At 35 years old, that could make him an asset that San Francisco would look to deal to try and get something in return as the franchise seemingly looks toward a younger direction.
That should be of keen interest to the Atlanta Braves and the front office. Cobb is a higher-end version of what Hendricks would be as a rental as he could still fill out the back of the rotation, but with better performances. Moreover, he also offers the club flexibility about potentially keeping him as a Charlie Morton replacement for the 2024 season if they so choose, which could be quite enticing on the trade market.
Braves trade targets No. 2: Corbin Burnes will cost the world, but is also worth it
Even with the possibility that guys like Dylan Cease or Shane Bieber could end up on the trade block in the 2023 season, the white whale of the deadline is undeniably Corbin Burnes.
It might seem strange that the Brewers would even consider trading the bonafide ace of their pitching staff, but it's a situation they might've painted themselves into a corner with. They went into a relatively ugly arbitration hearing with the former NL Cy Young winner this offseason and Burnes left not feeling any sort of love toward Milwaukee.
With just 2024 remaining with club control for the Brewers on Burnes' contract, if the pitcher indeed has no plans of staying in Milwaukee long term, then they could be in a very similar situation to the one they found themselves with regarding closer Josh Hader, who was ultimately traded to the Padres.
It's no exaggeration to say that Burnes has been one of the best pitchers in baseball in recent years. This season, he's posted a 3.36 ERA and 1.08 WHIP for the year, but even that is actually a bit down by his standards with an ERA below 3.00 and WHIP at 1.02 or below in each of the previous three seasons.
Because the Brewers don't necessarily have to trade Corbin Burnes, the Braves targeting him would be quite costly, most likely needing to include several of the team's top prospects such as Vaughn Grissom and Jared Shuster, just to begin with.
Having said that, with the flexibility to not only add another true ace to the pitching staff and also have the opportunity to work out a long-term deal over the next year and a half with the 28-year-old, it's an option that can't go unexplored for Anthopoulos and the Braves.
Braves trade targets No. 1: Michael Lorenzen is ideal one-year rental for Atlanta
Another day of banging the drum that the Braves need to trade for Michael Lorenzen with the Detroit Tigers.
Lorenzen, who is on his second straight one-year deal this season after spending the 2022 season with the Angels, will become a free agent after this year. But given what he's done for the Tigers this season, it's hard to see him finishing the remainder of that pact in Detroit.
Make no mistake, Lorenzen hasn't been a dominant overall force, but he's been extremely solid overall. In 10 starts, he's posted a 3.75 ERA, which the Braves would undeniably take at the end of the rotation. More importantly, though, he's also posted a 1.02 WHIP on the season, an indication that he might be more successful on a roster that better protects him.
As an expiring contract at 31 years old, Lorenzen doesn't have an enormous amount of value for the Tigers, but he is a player that a team falling further out of contention by the day could look to move in order to acquire some sort of asset.
That's the market that makes the most sense for the Braves if they look for a rental option. And for a pitcher who has gotten it done solidly at multiple stops, if Anthopoulos doesn't want to spend big on a singular player at the trade deadline, then Lorenzen would make all the sense in the world as the guy who fills the team's biggest need but doesn't hamstring them from making other moves as well.