Atlanta Braves: are there too many problems to solve with trades?

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 29: Peter Moylan #30 of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch in the sixth inning during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 29, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves won 10-1. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

RELIEF PITCHING. This actually hasn’t been terrible. For the last month, there are 7 members of the relief corps sporting ERA’s below 4.00… though these include two different guys named ‘Luke’. Shane Carle and A.J. Minter have both struggled lately, and they are in the cringy 4.00-6.00 range.

SECOND BASE. I look at the .257 average for Ozzie Albies (again: just the past 30 days) and should be thinking ‘that’s not bad… he’s holding his own.’

Yet this is our designated lead-off batter and one who normally hits a lot better. His May (and now early June) smacks of a situation in which adjustments have been made by the opponents to better deal with him. Now it’s up to Albies to figure that out and counter their counter-actions.

So far that hasn’t happened… not enough, anyway. But he is the key: Albies is the disruptor that needs to get on base for the Braves to be successful.

But in assessing the current problems, it’s evident that Albies isn’t going anywhere – though a day off would probably be a good idea – so this one is up to him to get resolved.

CENTER FIELD. Ender Inciarte isn’t going anywhere, either, but here it’s the same issue as with Albies – a lack of substantial hitting, but I have to wonder if there isn’t a different reason for this (warning: speculation coming).

Ender Inciarte hasn’t routinely started quickly, but once he finally gets going, he’s streaky-hot for a while. Let me explain:

2015 batting avgs by month, April+: .316, .273, .275, .339, .310, .317
2016: .250, .216, .260, .273, .371, .314
2017: .230, .336, .336, .269, .362, .272
2018: .276, .239, .120

2018 hasn’t found that happy zone for him … not yet, leastwise. But his absence from offensive support is certainly being felt.

So What to Do?

So let’s enumerate the problem areas that won’t be changed: second base, center field.

Of the others: Acuña will be back soon. That leaves pitching, the bullpen, and third base.

This is the quandry: the Braves have managed to grab 1st place – and more-or-less keep it – while these problems have developed. But can enough quality trades be made to take them to the next level?

Austin Riley isn’t going to be striding through the clubhouse door any time soon. So Alex Anthopoulos – with his philosophy of not taking opportunities to win for granted – is going to have to make some hard calls:

More from Tomahawk Take

Trading “early” in the Summer to get the most out of a deal is often not an option. Even tanking teams want to keep their fans’ hopes up as long as possible. Fortunately, the Braves still do have a fairly easy schedule (especially after this week) to navigate for the rest of June, so that buys some time.

If you try for starting pitching, there will be the issue of figuring out who to part with… and how to do so.

A strong reliever would make everybody better in the bullpen… if you can find one for a reasonable price.

Any third base option you’d look for needs to be a noticeable upgrade. Trouble is, most of these are named ‘Machado’ or ‘Moustakas’. Awfully expensive for a rental.

Among others for 3B, the name Eduardo Escobar has popped up recently, but you might have to determine if the Twins are selling, and/or whether a mutually-beneficial swap is possible. As of today, they are still just 5.5 games back.

So the bottom line is this: how much can you do for 2018 without significantly harming 2019 and beyond? (I’ll hang up and listen, thanks – love the show)

Next: 1 in the books... 39 to go.

There’s the rub… if none of these key problem areas resolves itself over the next 30 days or so, there may be too many issues to fix.

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