With less than one week remaining until the Trade Deadline, the Braves ended a few weeks’ worth of speculation on Monday by sending veteran lefty Jaime Garcia to the Twins. Over the weekend, a deal between the two clubs fell through, but was eventually completed as Atlanta also sent Anthony Recker to Minnesota in exchange for Huascar Ynoa, ranked as the 22nd best prospect in the Twins system. While some fans may wonder why Atlanta didn’t get more in return, Garcia amounts to a two month rental and a guy that wasn’t part of the Braves future beyond this season.
But it leads to the big question, what’s next for the club? While the Braves do a have a couple pieces that could interest contending clubs (Phillips & Adams), I don’t get the sense the team is close to doing anything crazy at the deadline. In my opinion, Adams could fetch an even larger return this offseason while Phillips again would amount to a rental for a contender. If anything, I think the Braves are still looking for ways to improve a club that is playing meaningful games in the second half, something that hasn’t happened the last few years.
GM John Coppolella is always a busy man, but especially with just days until the trade deadline. Look for the club to continue to explore options when it comes to controllable starting pitchers. Sonny Gray seems like the biggest target on the radar at this point, but keeping in mind the price of pitching, Oakland should want a king’s ransom in return. Would the Braves be willing to part ways with some of their top prospects like Albies and others to get Gray? I wouldn’t rule anything out when it comes to finding ways to improve the club for the rest of 2017 and beyond.
@KevinMcAlpin covers the Braves for @680_The_Fan and the @BravesRadioNet
