Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: What starters are available?

It’s a fair question as teams are trying to get more pitching this Summer:  who is available?  That question is still a bit fuzzy as we come down to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

The Atlanta Braves are said to be looking for controllable starting pitching.   But just how intensely they are in that hunt is now up for question as Coppy relayed this information to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick:

How would that work, exactly?  Two possibilities come to mind:

• Coppy makes his offer in each case and then… stops bidding.  That keeps him from bidding against himself if he turns out to be the only ‘player’
• Coppy is perhaps allowing others to pick up the best pitching options and then be in play for the next tier of talent when others are satisfied with their pickups

Either would be curious results as this would have the effects of:  (a) bidding up the market in general; and (b) never getting anything.  Of course it also tends to keep the Braves from overpaying, which isn’t all bad either.

So What Pitchers are Available?

Here is a current list of starting pitching, with players more-or-less ranked by fangraphs’ pitching WAR (0.5+), and having a minimum of 60 innings.  There might be a couple of names that are ‘missing’, but this is certainly most of the ones that teams could conceivably have interest in.

Players from “contending” teams have been eliminated from the list, with a couple of exceptions:  Braves’ pitchers mentioned in rumors are included; Baltimore is the first team ‘out’ in the AL):

Michael Fulmer, Detroit
Yu Darvish, Rangers
Jeff Samardzija, Giants
Jacob deGrom, Mets
Sean Manaea, Oakland
Marcus Stroman, Toronto
Aaron Nola, Phillies
Michael Wacha, St. Louis
Sonny Gray, Oakland
Dan Straily, Miami
Marco Estrada, Toronto
Justin Verlander, Detroit
Scott Feldman, Reds
Jameson Taillon, Pittsburgh
Jerad Eickoff, Phillies
Clayton Richard, San Diego
Jesse Hahn, Oakland
Dylan Bundy, Orioles
Jaime Garcia, Atlanta
Jhoulys Chacin, San Diego
Chad Kuhl, Pittsburgh
Ty Blach, Giants
Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh
Edinson Volquez, Miami
Luis Perdomo, San Diego
J.C. Ramirez, Angels
Johnny Cueto, San Francisco
Kevin Gausman, Orioles
R.A. Dickey, Atlanta
Zack Wheeler, Mets
Jharel Cotton, Oakland
Lance Lynn, St. Louis
Ariel Miranda, Seattle
Julio Teheran, Atlanta

I’ll bet that’s a bigger list than you might have expected.  Then again, the list of actually available pitchers is quite shorter than this.

For example, figure that no starters from either the Pirates or Mets are going to be traded.  I’m a little fuzzier on the Cardinals.

So here’s the same list with those most probably available in bold type, and those that might be available in italics – irrespective of age, performance, injury or contract status.

More from Tomahawk Take

• The Paradox of Dansby Swanson
• Report: Dansby Swanson to sign seven year deal with Chicago Cubs
• Braves News: Braves add multiple new players, Max Fried extension?, more
• Ronald Acuña Jr Donates Venezuelan League Salary to Charity
• Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 21-25

Michael Fulmer, Detroit
Yu Darvish, Rangers
Jeff Samardzija, Giants
Jacob deGrom, Mets
Sean Manaea, Oakland
Marcus Stroman, Toronto
Aaron Nola, Phillies
Michael Wacha, St. Louis
Sonny Gray, Oakland
Dan Straily, Miami
Marco Estrada, Toronto
Justin Verlander, Detroit
Scott Feldman, Reds
Jameson Taillon, Pittsburgh
Jerad Eickoff, Phillies
Clayton Richard, San Diego
Jesse Hahn, Oakland
Dylan Bundy, Orioles
Jaime Garcia, Atlanta
Jhoulys Chacin, San Diego
Chad Kuhl, Pittsburgh
Ty Blach, Giants
Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh
Edinson Volquez, Miami
Luis Perdomo, San Diego
Johnny Cueto, San Francisco
Kevin Gausman, Orioles
R.A. Dickey, Atlanta
Zack Wheeler, Mets
Jharel Cotton, Oakland
Lance Lynn, St. Louis
Julio Teheran, Atlanta

Now you can see why people are thinking about the pitching market as ‘limited.’  Even though 10 names are in bold, how many of those would you actually want to acquire for your contending team?

If the Blue Jays and Rangers decide they are done pretending, then those names can join the mix, but until then… it’s kinda sketchy out there.

Hence the reason that Garcia, Teheran, and even Dickey could draw interest.  There’s no contract risk – even for Teheran – and all are decent-quality veterans.

Next: Braves acquire... 'Cash Considerations'

But how this will all work is still a good topic for debate.