Proposed Trade Swaps Atlanta Braves DH for Outfield Prospect

The Atlanta Braves could benefit from trading one of their designated hitters for a prospect

The Braves could set themselves up better for the now and the future with this one-for-one swap / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves have a bit of a jam at the designated hitter position. They have all-star Marcell Ozuna and deadline acquisition Jorge Soler. One of them could be dealt over the offseason to clear salary and roster space. 

One potential move has been suggested as beneficial to the Braves and their “natural rival,” the Boston Red Sox. 

The proposed trade on FanSided would send Soler to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Jhostynxon (Juh-stix-in) Garcia. If you have trouble with his first name, even after seeing the pronunciation, you can always call him by his nickname. According to Baseball Reference, it is “The Password.” I’d say that’s pretty fitting. 

Garcia is the Red Sox's No. 12 prospect and their fourth-best outfield prospect overall. He finished last season as a member of the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. His strongest performance game in High-A. In 53 games, he slashed .311/.371/.627 with 16 home runs in 53 games. 

He needed more of a challenge, but he isn’t quite ready to go beyond Double-A yet. In 30 games with Portland, he slashed .263/.320/.386 with two home runs. He needs more time to adjust, but the potential is certainly there based on the numbers from the previous level. 

The argument as to why the Braves would benefit from this trade is because of the reason already mentioned. It clears the jam.

“For the Braves, they're going to be better off trading Soler anyway. Soler was a bad defender last season (though we admire him for trying) and Atlanta just doesn't have a place to put him.”

This would also help the Braves diversify their prospect pool. They currently have just two outfielders in their top 30 prospects. We’ve seen how hard it was to get outfield bats into the lineup last season. They need more options in the pipeline. 

If they were to trade Soler, this is the kind of move they need to make, even if it is not this exact trade in particular.