ESPN: Braves’ player that could be traded

With so many players on the IL, the trade deadline is already a popular topic among Braves fans.

Will this be the year Alex Anthopoulos aggressively chases a frontline starter during the season? It has not happened yet, but losing your ace in early April affects everything.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield has already started the trade deadline talk for all 30 teams, with his first article concentrating on the players most likely to be traded from each club. Owen Murphy is the Braves’ 2022 first-round pick.

Atlanta Braves

Trade candidate: Owen Murphy

The Spencer Striderinjury 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.

When it comes to the trade deadline, the Braves must decide what they are prepared to give up to win now. Graduations, trades, and past foreign signing limitations have left the Braves’ farm system one of the poorest in baseball. They have all taken their toll. The Braves have enough prospect capital to make almost any move they want, but I doubt they’re interested in trading AJ Smith-Shawver or Hurston Waldrep.

That’s why transferring Owen Murphy might make sense if it resulted in the return of a key contributor, but even that may not appeal to Alex Anthopoulos. As it is, the Braves roster is capable of competing in the World Series, and Murphy, despite his youth, remains a top-five prospect in the organization. The 20-year-old is off to a strong start this season, with a 0.75 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 12 innings for High-A Rome.

There is almost no skill in the Braves’ minor league system. Moving Murphy would exacerbate the situation, but it is the cost of doing business if Alex Anthopoulos wants his club to have the best chance of winning right now.