How Long Until the Atlanta Braves Acquire This A's Pitcher?

Jason Burke | Apr 7, 2024

Apr 6, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Paul Blackburn (58) throws / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves announced some news on Saturday that has fans a little worried about the rest of the season.

Spencer Strider today underwent an MRI that revealed damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He will be further evaluated by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, TX, at a date yet to be determined.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 6, 2024

Spencer Strider is arguably the best pitcher on Atlanta's staff, and was considered a Cy Young contender. There is now a chance that he will need to undergo Tommy John surgery, and if he does, that would be the end of his season. Dr. Meister is the same doctor that performed Trevor Gott's TJ surgery just a few days ago.

Heading into the season, injuries were always going to be a question with the Braves rotation, but most people were focused on Chris Sale and whether or not he'd be available in October for a postseason run. Losing Strider would be a big deal, although Atlanta happened to win the World Series without Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2021, so we shouldn't count them out just yet.

This all said, it does seem like Atlanta could use some reinforcements, and just a few days ago we mentioned that the climate may be right for the A's to start making deals early this season. The only other club that may have some valuable players and could consider making trades right now are the 0-9 Miami Marlins, but they reside in Atlanta's division, so a deal between the two clubs may not be in the cards.

That leaves the A's, a favored trading partner for Atlanta in recent seasons.

The player they could be after is starter Paul Blackburn. He's not going to replace Strider (nobody is), but he's a reliable arm that can provide quality innings, and that's valuable to get through an entire season. The 30-year-old right-hander has thrown 13 innings this season and has yet to allow a run, walking one, striking out seven, and holding a 0.54 WHIP.

Blackburn is just one of five starters in MLB that has yet to allow a run this season. One is Cleveland's Shane Bieber, who is set to have Tommy John surgery himself, one is Marcus Stroman, another is Ronel Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his first start with the Astros, and the other is Houston's Cristian Javier. Blackburn is the only one of the five that's potentially available.

While he has a career 4.72 ERA, he's been hovering around league average or better the past two seasons coming into 2024. Strikeouts are not his strong suit generally, but this year he is controlling the baseball and routinely getting weak contact.

One reason for his success so far has been that he's switched up his pitch mix. Last season Blackburn relied on his sinker 24.1% of the time, making it his most-used pitch. This year he's thrown 16 of them total through two starts. He throws six total pitches, and in each start this year, five of those have been utilized at least ten percent of the time. His mixes his offerings and gets results.

If the Braves are looking for a starter to help them get through the season, then calling up the A's to see what it would take to land Blackburn wouldn't be a bad idea. He's not going to lead the pitching staff in Atlanta the way that Strider has, but he'd be a solid addition that could be a fourth starter or a bullpen option on a loaded team the postseason.