Atlanta Braves Trade Deadline Targets: Pitching Help From Detroit Tigers
As we get closer to the trade deadline and potential sellers become more obvious, one team the Atlanta Braves could turn to for pitching help is the Detroit Tigers.
The two teams have hooked up in recent years with the Braves getting Shane Greene at the 2019 deadline, and then this past offseason with the swap of Justin-Henry Malloy for Joe Jimenez.
While the Tigers are just six games back in the AL Central despite being 10 games below .500, they are at least likely to move some veteran rentals at the deadline.
One big target from Detroit that will draw a lot of trade interest is starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez.
He was having a Cy Young-type season in Detroit before having to miss all of June with an injury. It's been a little rough coming back in July, but overall this year he has a 2.70 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts in 76.2 innings.
The 30-year-old left-hander carries a pretty hefty contract though as he's set to make $18 million in 2024, $16 million in 2025, and $15 million in 2026.
I don't think this is the fit for the Braves, but the cost might be Owen Murphy and Cal Conley.
Michael Lorenzen makes more sense as he's a rental that probably won't cost as much and he can give you solid innings as a fourth or fifth starter.
The .251 xBA, 4.21 xERA, and just 19.5 percent strikeout rate aren't all that encouraging, but he doesn't walk a lot and has gone at least 5 innings in 15 straight starts -- he's worked into the sixth inning in 10 of those 15 starts.
Another great thing about Lorenzen is that he has experience in the bullpen, so if the need in the rotation goes away he could become a solid setup or long reliever.
Because he's a rental, he'll probably be an attractive option at the deadline. But maybe a straight-up swap for Jared Shuster or Dylan Dodd could get it done.
That would give them a solid back-of-the-rotation option with a lot of control.
Of course, in any trade speculation, it all comes down to what the team is looking for and who they like.
Alex Lange is someone a lot of people like as a reliever target, but he's still per-arbitration eligible, so he might not be as available. He has 14 saves in 17 chances for the Tigers this year with 48 strikeouts in 37.2 innings with just 24 hits and 3 home runs allowed.
The biggest issue with Lange has been the walks, with 25 of them. But the stuff is nasty with a whiff rate over 50 percent on his curveball that he throws 58 percent of the time.
Because of the control over him, even as a reliever, he might be even more expensive than Rodriguez and Lorenzen. That deal might cost you an AJ Smith-Shawver, or perhaps Murphy and Vaughn Grissom.
There isn't much needed on the position player side of things at the moment, and the Tigers don't have much to offer there.
But in the Braves' attempt to find a starter and reliever, they could potentially get both from the Tigers.
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