Potential Atlanta Braves Trade Targets from the Chicago White Sox

The Braves will definitely make deadline acquisitions, but the real question is who and how many

What the Atlanta Braves have been able to do this season, if you really think about it, is nothing short of miraculous. 

The number of injuries the Braves have had to deal with is almost laughable at this point. 

Rotation stalwarts Max Fried and Kyle Wright, who combined for sixty starts and 365+ innings last year, are out for multiple months, with Fried about halfway through his absence (his return date is projected to be just after the All-Star Break) and Kyle Wright still unable to throw a baseball and tracking towards an August return, at best. Closer Raisel Iglesias started the season on the injured list and missed a month, promoting the bullpen to not only cover three entire games in lieu of those starters but also bumping everyone up a role to replace the closer. 

At different points this season, you lost starting shortstop Orlando Arcia for multiple weeks, your starting centerfielder Michael Harris, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, for multiple weeks for a back strain (and almost lost him again to a hyperextended knee), and one of your two catchers, Travis d'Arnaud, for a month with a concussion suffered after he was run over at home plate by Padres infielder (and noted bum) Rougned Odor.  

And yet, you're still in first place, and have always gotten someone to step up in the lineup and rotation when pieces were missing. Catcher Sean Murphy went NUCLEAR during Travis d'Arnaud's absence - he batted .302/.429/.698 with 9 homeruns and 26 RBIs while playing 25 of 26 games during the stretch. Outfielder Sam Hilliard played most everyday in the absence of Michael Harris and not only contributed plus defense in centerfield, but went .283/.353/.565 from the plate with 3 HRs during the seventeen games he played out of eighteen that Harris missed. 

But we know that Atlanta's going to need reinforcements at the trade deadline. Our own Jake Mastroianni recently talked about this on Locked On Braves - here's who he is looking at for the trade deadline, starting with the Chicago White Sox: 

RHP Dylan Cease

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

2023: 11 GS, 3-3 w/ 4.60 ERA in 58.2 IP with 60 Ks (9.2 K/9), 25 BBs (3.8 BB/9), 7 HRs allowed

Last year's AL Cy Young runner up is the most attractive of the three starting pitcher options from Chicago. He's in his first year of arbitration, making $5.7M this season, and has two additional years of team control. Whether or not he ever returns to last year's Cy-Young contending performance (14-8, 2.20 ERA) or not, he'll definitely be the most expensive option and it's hard to see how Atlanta's #29-rated farm system would have enough pieces to pry him loose from the Southside.  

RHP Lance Lynn

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

2023: 11 GS, 4-5 w/ 5.83 ERA in 63.1 IP with 72 Ks (10.2 K/9) to 24 BBs (3.4 BB/9), 12 HRs allowed. 

The 36 year-old righty is in the second year of a two year, $38M deal with a $18M club option for 2024. He struggled to start the season, going 1-5 in his first eight starts with a 7.51 ERA, but has rebounded with three straight quality starts, all White Sox wins. If he continues to take the ball every fifth day and pitches like he's shown he can in May, the price is going to go up, but he's a known workhorse who can give you quality innings and can mentor some of the young rotation pieces, with the possibility of one additional year of control. 

RHP Lucas Giolito

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

2023: 11 GS, 3-4 w/ 3.98 ERA in 63.1 IP with 64 Ks (9.1 K/9) to 19 BBs (2.7 BB/9), 9 HRs allowed

Jake admits this is his least favorite of the three pitchers, but he's having the best year out of the three from a statistical standpoint. He's making $10.4M in the final arbitration year of his team control, meaning he'd be an unrestricted free agent next offseason, so this is purely a rental. There's always the upside of issuing him a Qualifying Offer (a one-year deal for the mean salary of the top 125 players, which was $19.65M for 2023), and if he declines, you'd receive a compensatory draft pick at the back of the Competitive Balance Round B in the 2024 draft if he signs elsewhere. 

RHP Joe Kelly

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

2023: 1-1, 1SV w/ 2.51 ERA in 14.1 IP, 19 Ks (11.9 K/9) to 1 BB (0.6 BB/9), 1 HR

There's lots of relievers that would theoretically be available in the White Sox bullpen, but my preference would be Joe Kelly. The 36 year-old veteran has one year and $9M remaining on his deal, with a $9.5M club option for 2024 that Atlanta would almost certainly exercise. 

He's dominated this season with a two-seamer that averages 99 mph with an insane twenty inches of armside run, and all but scrapped his curveball for a deadly slider that sits in the low 90s (!). Opponents are batting .111 on the sinker and .071 on the slider.

Joe Kelly, Sick 99mph Two Seamer with 22 inches of Run 😯 pic.twitter.com/ignS7IBQWI

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 18, 2023

Other options out of the White Sox pen would be Kendall Graveman (1-2, 4 SV, 3.10 ERA) or Aaron Bummer (1-1, 8.82 ERA) but Kelly would be the best choice as far as stuff, contract status, and fiery personality that would improve the Braves bullpen. 

But you can't make these deals yet

It's so rare for teams to make significant trades in May, with late July being the standard timeframe for meaningful pieces to be moved. But I do think it'll happen eventually. 

Even if we see Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd (or Michael Soroka) settle into the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation, a trade acquisition for pitching feels likely simply because you can never have enough pitching, especially given how thin the margin is now for Atlanta with those two rotation stalwarts out and numerous IL stints in the bullpen. 

I like the idea of Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly - yes, Lynn has a larger financial hit to your bottom line, but the two veterans can not only be stabilizing presences in the pitching staff, they have the ability to mentor some of the younger arms AND you have exercisable options on both for 2024, if you decide the kids aren't ready and/or want more veteran depth. 

In the meantime, Atlanta's going to continue trying to fill rotation holes from within until we get closer to the trade deadline. 

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