Potential SP Trade Targets

[Enscheff]

MLBTR just did a good breakdown of most of the SPs likely to be available at the deadline: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/...is-summer.html

I spent the entire off season hoping AA would get another legit SP option. He did not, and instead elected to throw the proven Fried/Morton/Anderson trio and a collection of misfit toys out there. So far, here are how the 5 main guys have performed (by xwOBA):

Wright .277
Fried .299
Anderson .315
Morton .376
Elder .410

As of right now, the MLB average xwOBA is .329. That's the highest in the Statcast era, but not egregiously so (it has fluctuated between .310-.324 since 2015).

So the Braves have Wright and Fried performing like TOR guys (especially lately for Fried), Anderson performing like the #3 he is, Morton struggling with his breaking ball command, and Elder being not good...at all. Had the names Morton and Wright been flipped on this list it would be very close to what I would have predicted from these guys coming into the season. Either way, the Braves have 3 guys performing well as expected, even if it isn't necessarily the 3 guys we all expected.

While expect Wright will not continue to pitch like an Ace, and Morton won't continue to pitch like a AAAA guy, the Braves need to get another SP. If the Mets add deGrom and the Braves keep letting Elder pitch...well...that's not a winning strategy.

Who on that list makes sense? I suspect AA has more cash than prospect capital to spend (there is very little prospect capital left to spend), so I expect him to get a decent SP serving as a bit of a salary dump.

[Hudson2]

Snell and Darvish would be the 2 I’d be most interested in bc they’d be more of a salary dump. Snell has 1 more year after this one and hasn’t been that great since being traded away from TB but I’d take a shot on him.

[NYCBrave]

It's actually interesting. Over the past few years, I felt we had a team that was more built for the regular season than the playoffs. This season, it feels like the opposite. Our big 4 (barring injuries) and bullpen plays perfect for the playoffs. I expect AA to have that in mind when deciding who to acquire.

[thewupk]

So what SP on teams we know won’t be playoff contenders have a SP that is legit that can had?

There is literally a link to a MLBTR article that lists such pitchers

[thewupk]

It's actually interesting. Over the past few years, I felt we had a team that was more built for the regular season than the playoffs. This season, it feels like the opposite. Our big 4 (barring injuries) and bullpen plays perfect for the playoffs. I expect AA to have that in mind when deciding who to acquire.

What's funny is one of the interviews AA gave at the end of ST/start of the season said that last year his goal was to make a team that would perform well in the playoffs and got hurt with the lack of depth needed in the regular season. And that his goal was to not have that happen again this year....Whooops.

[Hudson2]

There is literally a link to a MLBTR article that lists such pitchers

Oops lol. Didn’t even notice the link.

[NYCBrave]

What's funny is one of the interviews AA gave at the end of ST/start of the season said that last year his goal was to make a team that would perform well in the playoffs and got hurt with the lack of depth needed in the regular season. And that his goal was to not have that happen again this year....Whooops.

But on this note. You see we were one of the few teams who stuck with a 6 man rotation through all of April. I'll be curious to see how injuries begin mounting for SPs over the course of the year. Especially since their was a shortened Spring Training

[thewupk]

But on this note. You see we were one of the few teams who stuck with a 6 man rotation through all of April. I'll be curious to see how injuries begin mounting for SPs over the course of the year. Especially since their was a shortened Spring Training

That's a fair point. If it leads to the rotation being healthy and pitching well late into the season then so be it. But damn has it been hard watching the likes of Elder/Muller/Ynoa back to back.

[msstate7]

What's best case for soroka?

[Hudson2]

What's best case for soroka?

I don’t see him starting this year. If he’s throwing and throwing well in rehab stints then maybe he could be an opener come the playoffs.

[Robyn1967]

I don’t see him starting this year. If he’s throwing and throwing well in rehab stints then maybe he could be an opener come the playoffs.

Have there been any updates on Soroka? I haven't seen anything

[Hudson2]

Have there been any updates on Soroka? I haven't seen anything

He’s been playing long toss I know. Not sure what else besides physical therapy.

[clvclv]

I still think the most likely scenario is that Alex stands pat - while I would agree that Wright's not going to remain THIS good, we're talking about finding a guy for the 5th slot in the rotation. Unless someone decides to just "give someone away", not only does he not have the pieces to get into a bidding war for an arm with limited control - he probably doesn't have the stomach for it either. If you can get Strider stretched out enough to give you 4 or more innings each time through - and none of the guys in Gwinnett (or Shuster) take a step forward to be someone you can count on for that - use Chavez as an Opener and follow him with Strider.

He's really under the radar, but the potential rental in that article that interests me most is probably Eovaldi - he has enough stuff and experience to allow Wright to become a number 5 if he regresses substantially. The problem with him is I don't think Chaim Bloom would take a AAAA arm and a lottery ticket for him. If Alex actually does go after another SP, I hope I'm wrong about that.

[Hudson2]

I still think the most likely scenario is that Alex stands pat - while I would agree that Wright's not going to remain THIS good, we're talking about finding a guy for the 5th slot in the rotation. Unless someone decides to just "give someone away", not only does he not have the pieces to get into a bidding war for an arm with limited control - he probably doesn't have the stomach for it either. If you can get Strider stretched out enough to give you 4 or more innings each time through - and none of the guys in Gwinnett (or Shuster) take a step forward to be someone you can count on for that - use Chavez as an Opener and follow him with Strider.

He's really under the radar, but the potential rental in that article that interests me most is probably Eovaldi - he has enough stuff and experience to allow Wright to become a number 5 if he regresses substantially. The problem with him is I don't think Chaim Bloom would take a AAAA arm and a lottery ticket for him. If Alex actually does go after another SP, I hope I'm wrong about that.

Like the article says, SD will have to may SP in a month and somebody will have to go. Darvish has 2 years and 40 million left so it probably wouldn’t take much to get him. Him or Snell would be my pick. I’d rather have Castillo but we don’t have the pieces to get him.

[Enscheff]

“Will have too many SPs” almost never actually happens.

[Hulavol]

Victor Vodnik is your man…. Just saying

[zbhargrove]

Are we still trying to develop Vodnik as a starter? He's only been a reliever this year.

[zbhargrove]

Give me Stroman, Darvish (maybe Snell), or Mahle (needs to get his slider back working again)... I'd love Montas or Castillo but we don't have the prospects to comfortably trade for those guys.

[Hulavol]

Fair question. We certainly better be- unless they think he is next kimbrel

[Buzzworm]

I still like Touki over Elder and Ynoa.
I’m sure he will end up being a BP arm but I still don’t understand why Elder got the first crack over him considering his stuff is so mediocre