Braves Rumors: Kyle Wright moves to 60-day IL, Atlanta claims Dereck Rodriguez off waivers
The Braves made the long-expected move to place starting pitcher Kyle Wright on the IL, unfortunately on the 60-day variety, on Monday. Given that he's not only expected to be out for two months but perhaps longer, this wasn't all that surprising. The interesting part of the equation, though, is what the move to the IL opened up.
As Atlanta put last season's 20-game winner on the shelf, they claimed 30-year-old Dereck Rodriguez off of waivers from the Twins, moving him to Triple-A Gwinnett as part of the 40-man roster.
Rodriguez has made 54 big-league appearances over five seasons between the Giants and Twins, including 35 starts, and has posted a 4.88 ERA and 1.324 WHIP over that time. However, his time in MLB has been sporadic over the past three seasons, making only five total appearances in the bigs.
His one appearance for the Twins this year was less than desirable, though not horrendous, as he gave up one hit, one walk and one earned run over 0.2 innings.
Still, given the pitching injuries that the Braves have been forced to deal with, adding a veteran with starting and relief experience who has, overall, been passable in his career is smart business, especially at the cheap price of claiming him off of waivers.
We'll have to see if Rodriguez is any kind of answer for Atlanta by how he performs with the Stripers but, given that we've recently seen Dylan Dodd struggle in Triple-A and with the myriad of pitching injuries wreaking havoc, it's a worthwhile swing for the reigning NL East champs.
Braves Rumors: 3 slumps causing the Braves latest skid
On the whole, things are still good in Braves Country. Atlanta still holds a five-game lead in the NL East. However, after getting swept by Toronto, it's clear that the club is operating on all cylinders right now, going 5-5 in their last 10 games and seeing that sizeable lead in the division start to get chipped away at.
Obviously, injuries have played a role in this recent decline for the Bravos. But the fact of the matter is that, among the players who have been in the lineup or on the field, there have been some costly slumps.
Matt Olson is perhaps the most notable at the plate. Starting all 13 games for the Braves in May, the first baseman still leads the team in home runs on the season with 11, but he has been struggling mightily overall. Yes, he has walked 14 times for a solid .361 OBP, but he's hitting just .170 on the month and has struck out 17 times in 61 plate appearances while tallying three homers but no other extra-base hits.
The biggest slumps have been in the bullpen, though, namely on the back end with Raisel Iglesias and A.J. Minter. Iglesias' return was supposed to mark a turning point for the bullpen but, instead, he's been an issue. In four appearances, he's lasted just 3.1 innings while giving up six hits, one walk and four earned runs.
Minter has been worse, at least in terms of the span of his struggles. In seven appearances, he's been absolutely shelled, giving up 10 base runners and five earned runs, amounting to a 7.11 ERA and 1.58 WHIP over 6.1 innings.
Olson, Iglesias and Minter are counted upon to be stalwarts for the Braves and players they can rely on. So it's no shock that their recent fall from near-unbeatable has coincided with these players not doing their part.
Braves Rumors: Garrett Crochet is a sleeper trade target to consider
There have been plenty of Braves trade targets already being floated out there, especially in the wake of the Max Fried and Kyle Wright injuries as Atlanta clearly needs big-time help to weather the storm in the early summer.
One of the easiest places to look is the Chicago White Sox, a struggling team with notoriously cheap ownership who could be trending toward a fire sale. They have a ton of enticing pitching talent, including potential aces like Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease, or even someone to just be a back-end rotation guy like Mike Clevinger.
There's one sleeper target who is also on the White Sox roster that people need to consider, though: Garrett Crochet.
The fact of the matter is that general manager Alex Antopoulos has indicated that the Braves plan to ride this out and not make any trades right now. They will wait until Fried and, hopefully, Wright return, which means we should be looking further down the line for trade targets, which is where Crochet would fit perfectly to upgrade the bullpen.
Crochet was a first-round pick out of Tennessee in 2020 and made his debut at the end of that season. However, the high-octane hurler underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022 and has been rehabbing his way back, most recently getting time in Triple-A, showing he's getting closer.
In 54 appearances in 2021, though, Crochet was great for a 22-year-old with a 2.82 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 10.8 K/9 rate.
Assuming that the flamethrowing southpaw can return to that type of form after his surgery and subsequent rehab, he could be a valuable commodity for the Braves to target in a trade. He might be costly given his age and upside, but he's the type of target that Anthopoulos loves with club control, the ability to extend early, and an immediate upgrade.
This is particularly pertinent given the struggles of A.J. Minter this season. If they continue, there is a need for another shutdown lefty in the bullpen, a role that Crochet could fill.
It might not truly address the Fried and Wright injuries, but that doesn't appear to be the plan. So if we're talking about White Sox that the Braves should be eyeing for a potential trade, it's time that we start throwing Crochet's name into the mix.