Which Brave Is Most Likely To Be Dealt at the Trade Deadline?

The Trade Deadline is still a ways off, but which member of the Brave has the highest chance of getting traded?

Apr 16, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia (11) and right fielder / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Trade Deadline for the 2024 MLB season is still over three months away, but speculation has begun as to what moves teams will make when the time comes.

With Spencer Strider being out for the remainder of the season, it is no secret that the Atlanta Braves will be looking to make improvements to their pitching staff.

ESPN's David Schoenfield listed who he believes to be the most likely player or prospect to be dealt by each team. For the Braves, it was Owen Murphy, a 20-year-old right-handed pitching prospect currently on the Braves' High-A affiliate Rome Emperors.

Schoenfield's take: The Spencer Strider injury points to one potential trade direction: starting pitching. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel ranked the Braves' farm system just 28th entering the season, however, so any deal for a decent starter would likely be a 3-for-1 type of transaction. The team's only top-100 prospect is pitcher Hurston Waldrep, who looked like a potential midseason call-up but allowed 11 hits and seven runs in his first start in Double-A, so maybe not. Murphy was the No. 20 pick in 2022 and will likely have to improve his velocity to become an impact starter, but he came out of the gate with 6⅔ scoreless innings in High-A and was an athletic two-way player in high school.

Pitching is a position of need for the Braves and the organization will need to give it some attention to give the team the best chance to make a run in October.