Atlanta Braves Trade Deadline Partners: Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves have already hooked up on one deal, but there could be more to come.
Pierce Johnson's debut didn't go as hoped with the Braves, but that doesn't mean they should shy away from acquiring more talent from the Rockies who should be sellers at the deadline, but it's a front office that is hard to figure out.
Randal Grichuk is a right-handed hitter who crushes lefties, but his defense has taken a nose-dive. He's a rental that probably wouldn't cost much, but the home-road splits are there -- although still solid on the road -- and he's not much of an upgrade over Kevin Pillar.
CJ Cron has been banged up a lot this year but is a really powerful bat when healthy. He's also provide some insurance at first base behind Matt Olson.
The Braves would only consider this type of move if they were ready to be done with Marcell Ozuna, which isn't likely to happen at this point.
Jurickson Profar might make the most sense of any Rockies trade deadline asset. While he's not having a great year offensively, he has experience at pretty much every position on the diamond.
However, he's primarily been a left fielder the past two years and the metrics suggest he hasn't been a very good left fielder. Still, it's a veteran switch-hitter who can play a lot of positions, puts the ball in play, will take his walks, and has pretty power.
Profar would be a free agent after the season so the cost would have to be really low with the way he's performed.
Brent Suter and Brad Hand are other rental options (Hand has a team option for 2024) that might make some sense to get another veteran left-hander.
Hand has a 1.07 WHIP and 20 strikeouts in 14 innings against lefties this year.
Suter throws strikes and gets a lot of weak contact. He actually has reverse splits this year -- perhaps because of the fact he features the sinker more, which is tough on righties with his low delivery.
Whether a bat or an arm, there are several viable targets on the Rockies that won't be any more "expensive" than the cost for a typical deadline rental.
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