Breaking: Braves to trade one of their All-Stars

Due to a string of injuries to key players and an offense that refuses to hit, the MLB trade deadline has become the focus of talk around the Braves.

They need to add offensively if they want to compete this season, and another starter might help round out the rotation.

A nine-game deficit in the NL East may appear insurmountable right now, but in this sport, things can change in an instant, and as we’ve seen over the last two seasons, Wild Card teams have had more success than ever since the playoffs expanded.

The tale of the Braves 2024 has yet to be written. This is the same organization that was seated below. 500 heading into August a few years ago and went on to win the World Series, thanks to some significant additions, and they’ll need a similarly successful trade deadline this year if they want a chance in October.

I will not even discuss the option of selling. That cannot happen unless something goes horribly wrong in the next seven weeks. As of today, the Braves are comfortably ahead of the rest of the National League Wild Card race, and I don’t see them falling out of contention before August. If they get a chance, Alex Anthopoulos will take advantage of it; as one general manager described it, “Alex is always a buyer.”

However, a discussion can be had about whether the Braves want to shake things up with their core group, and there could be a couple of reasons for this.

First and foremost, this is not the same team who won the World Series in 2021. The majority of that team’s leaders have moved on, and this new core has failed to deliver in either of the last two postseasons. It could just be bad luck, or there could be something else going on. However, doing the same thing over and expecting different outcomes is the definition of insanity. The Braves tried it when winning 14 consecutive division titles from 1991 to 2005, but only won one World Series. If you don’t pay attention to history and adjust accordingly, it will tend to repeat itself.

Second, the Braves don’t have many prospects on the farm who will appeal to the top trade deadline targets, and they may be unwilling to part with the handful they do have. If they want to make a significant move in the coming months, it may be much easier to part ways with major-league players.

Alex Anthopoulos will most likely continue to operate as he did in 2021. With Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider out for the year, the Braves may not have the best chance to win this year. Therefore, he will not risk the future by focusing solely on a short-term solution.

However, since winning the World Series, there has been some thought about the path this organization is taking. If things don’t improve before the trade deadline, it may be time for a dramatic overhaul.