SerpApi.Org
Despite some much-needed help from the New York Mets in the NL East race over the weekend, it was still a rough start to the second half of the season for the Atlanta Braves. On Sunday, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the team was "pessimistic" about the possibility of righty Spencer Strider returning at all this season — just the latest blow in a seemingly never-ending string of injuries that has ravaged this rotation since before Opening Day.
Strider has been out since mid-June due to elbow inflammation, joining Spencer Schwellenbach, Martin Perez and Joey Wentz on the shelf (not to mention Hurston Waldrep, who was removed from his latest outing at Triple-A after experiencing arm discomfort). All of which makes Atlanta's mission ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline crystal clear, so much so that Alex Anthopoulos isn't bothering to hide it.
"As much as we all like to say, 'I need to get this, I need to get that,' sometimes you just have to take what might be available to you," Anthopoulos told MLB Network Radio over the weekend. "I think it's been pretty obvious, if there's a playoff-caliber starter out there, we would jump at that."
Of course, with the landscape around the league so uncertain and teams like the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles looking less and less likely to sell, acquiring said starter will be easier said than done. Here are four possible paths forward for the Braves as they look to get their starting staff ready for October.
Braves would have to pay a Mets tax to land Freddy Peralta
Likely no Tarik Skubal or Joe Ryan on the market means there's really just one game in town when it comes to proven, frontline arms. The problem is that it just so happens to reside with the Braves' division rivals in Queens.
Which isn't to say that the Braves' hopes of landing Freddy Peralta are automatically DOA. David Stearns is nothing if not pragmatic, and if he gets significant future value in return for a rental amid a lost season, the fact that it comes from within the NL East won't matter all that much. But it does mean that Atlanta is going to have to make it worth New York's while.
Offering Murphy figures to do just that, as he's returned from injury and rocketed all the way to the Majors after an impressive stint at Triple-A. When he's right, he can really spin it, with a fastball that has tons of ride and a very good slider to boot. If that seems like a lot to give up for a free agent-to-be currently rocking a 4.66 ERA ... well, you're not wrong. But Peralta's track record still carries plenty of weight, and his underlying skills haven't eroded much at all. Plus, look around — if not Peralta, then who?
Reid Detmers would give the Braves rotation a jolt of upside
Detmers represents Atlanta's other feasible path to an ace-level outcome at this trade deadline, as well as the biggest possible swing. The Angels have signaled that they're open to moving Detmers, who comes with two more years of team control after 2026 and wicked breaking stuff that has contenders dreaming on what he could become if he were to land with an organization that actually knew how to develop pitching. His 3.26 expected ERA hints at the kind of pitcher the Braves might be getting here with better defense behind him and more competent tweaks to his arsenal.
Of course, that sort of bidding war, for a viable mid-rotation starter (and potentially more) with two and a half years until free agency, won't come cheap. The Braves will need to start off with arguably their best young arm in Ritchie, who's had a mixed first taste of the Majors this summer but comes with plenty of promise. Beyond that, the Angels are going to want bats given how few legit position players they currently have in their system. Both Southisene and Essenburg are top-10 prospects in Atlanta's system right now, per MLB Pipeline, but both come with enough question marks (power/ceiling for Southisene, contact for Essenburg) that should make Anthopoulos comfortable flipping them for a true difference-maker who could swing a playoff series.
Michael Wacha would at least give the Braves offense a chance
Of course, there's always a chance that the Braves aren't comfortable paying for the top options on the market, or that they simply get outbid for two pitchers who will have plenty of suitors over the next couple of weeks. If Atlanta is forced to go one rung lower on the ladder, Wacha could make a lot of sense: He's hardly the flashiest guy at 35 years old with middling velocity, but all he does is eat innings and give his team a chance to win. The changeup is still awesome, and he's currently rocking a 3.77 ERA while ranking among the league leaders in innings pitched.
Wacha also comes with one more year on his deal plus a team option for 2028, giving the Braves some needed rotation insurance moving forward (though Anthopoulos might not love the idea of sinking $14 million into a 36-year-old pitcher next season). He's a veteran with big-game experience who you can at least count on to take the ball in Game 3 or 4 and not lose you the game in the first couple of innings.
Can Kevin Gausman turn back the clock in Atlanta?
As the Blue Jays tumble deeper and deeper into the AL East cellar, it's seeing more and more likely that they'll wind up as sellers this summer — which puts several rentals suddenly on the block. None of whom are more intriguing for Atlanta than Gausman, who already spent parts of two seasons with the Braves in 2018-19.
Granted, he's not your older brother's Gausman; he's slumping through his worst season in ages at 35 years old, with a 4.33 ERA and a boatload of homers allowed. Still, the splitter is as wicked as ever, and while his fastball has become a bit of a liability, his command and experience should help him navigate his new normal well enough. Atlanta can likely get him while parting with nothing more than one of its many mid-tier pitching prospects, and that's a worthy price to pay in the event that Gausman can turn back the clock.
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This article was originally published on fansided.com as The Braves need to make one of these 4 trades with Spencer Strider's return in doubt.
