Braves Trade Resurgent Angels Outfielder for Top-5 Prospect

The Atlanta Braves, who have been plagued by injuries, urgently require an outfield upgrade.

To gain that aid, the organization could consider trading for Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward, as Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter proposed in a June 27 piece.

Reuter’s proposal would send Ward to Atlanta in exchange for the Braves’ fourth-best prospect, JR Ritchie, and right-handed pitcher Allan Winans.

With Ronald Acuna Jr. out for the season and Michael Harris II projected to spend “a long time” with a hamstring strain, the Braves’ outfield urgency is higher than it has been all season. Ward would provide some reliability, with a 116 OPS+ and 14 home runs in 76 games this season.

Ward, 30, has only played one full year in the majors, appearing in 135 games with the Angels in 2022 and hitting.281 with 23 home runs. Ward appeared to be on track to improve on his success last year, but a strange hit-by-pitch ended his season. He appeared in only 97 games after suffering face fractures off an Alek Manoah fastball.

The Angle Don’t Have to Trade Taylor Ward

Ward will be a sought-after hitter at the trade deadline, since the Angels are out of contention and in need of rebuilding. However, as Reuter points out, this does not imply Los Angeles will rush to move him.

“With club control through the 2026 season, the Angels don’t need to trade him unless they get the return they are seeking, but selling high now makes sense for a team that needs a wide-scale rebuild,” according to Reuter.

Ward earns a reasonable $4.8 million this year and has two more seasons of arbitration left. He’s not a player the Angels would likely want to build around, so Reuter is correct that now may be the moment to sell high.

Ward may continue to produce and raise his worth, but that’s a risk for a guy on the wrong side of 30 who has only played triple-digit games in a season once. With Reuter’s suggestion, the Angels would receive genuine value for him as a prospect with a lot of potential.

The Braves Would Have to Part with JR Ritchie

At the trade deadline, you have to give something to get something, and the Braves plan to shore up their outfield by selling Ritchie, the No. 35 overall choice in 2022, according to Reuters.

Reuter characterizes him as having “four plus pitches, good command, and remaining projection in his 6’2″, 185-pound frame.” He also recently recovered from Tommy John surgery, which may be good or negative depending on how you look at it.

It means he has only pitched 2 innings in 2024 and 15.1 overall in the previous two years. He has a lot of work to do if he wants to show he’s healthy. On the other side, at the age of 21, he has completed his Tommy John surgery, and with a fastball that can reach the upper 90s, he has enough of tools to work with as he plans to be a Major League starter.

In terms of Winans, the Angels have the option of quickly integrating him into their pitching staff. He has only 37.1 innings of Major League experience and hasn’t been particularly efficient for Atlanta, allowing 25 earned runs and 10.8 hits per nine innings.