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Atlanta Braves trade rumors: making a pitch for Zach Britton

By Alan Carpenter

BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 09: Zach Britton #53 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the ninth inning during a game one of a doubleheader baseball game against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 9, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 09: Zach Britton #53 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the ninth inning during a game one of a doubleheader baseball game against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 9, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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There haven’t been many rumors out there thus far, but it isn’t terribly surprising that the Braves are checking in with the Orioles about a significant relief candidate.

The Atlanta Braves need bullpen help this Summer.  That fact isn’t exactly a state secret, and the topic has been high on our own list of reporting priorities for a while now.

The Braves got a first-hand look at the 30-year-old Britton about a month ago at SunTrust Park… twice, in fact.

In the first contest, Atlanta lit him up for 4 earned runs and 5 hits while he was only able to retire a single hitter.

In the second meeting, however, he earned a save in erasing the Braves quietly (no hits; 1 strikeout, 1 walk) during a full 9th inning shutdown.

While he’s been working back into form from Achilles surgery, Britton has continued to improve.  He now has 7 consecutive (and 9 of 10) scoreless outings, facing no more than 4 batters in 1 inning stints over all but that lone exception.

His ERA for the year is down to 3.68.  He has walked 5 in those last 10 outings, but his WHIP has dropped to 1.36 as well.  He’s also showing that he’s healthy, a fact that can’t be overlooked.

Dealing with the Orioles

You might be wondering about the Baseball Operations department for the Orioles.  In addition to field manager Buck Showalter, General Manager Dan Duquette is also a lame duck – with no assurance of remaining with the club after 2018.

Such situations often gives teams ‘pause’ when considering major changes to the organization, and thus potential trading partners can run afoul of such hesitations when they attempt to make deals.

However, the biggest deal has already been done by Duquette:  Manny Machado is a Dodger.  He so much as announced that the Orioles’ rebuild is now underway.  He’s also giving additional details about plans for his team’s future:

This doesn’t sound like a lame duck speaking.  It sounds instead like somebody who has (a) already had plans for change; and (b) now has some freedom – at long last – to begin their implementation.

Thus Duquette is going to auction off his existing short-term assets in exchanges for long-term capital gains.  Britton is likely the next to go, Adam Jones and perhaps another reliever will go as well.

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Worth the Name?

So the Braves then need to figure out if they really want a “name” relief pitcher.  They don’t necessarily need the name to go with the performance, and there is plenty of relief inventory available.

Still, having multiple options for the ‘end of the game’ scenario can’t hurt, either.  The Braves could use Britton to line up Lefty/Righty/Lefty/Righty between Minter, Winkler, Britton, and Vizcaino – which would give fits to the opposition, for sure.

What would he cost?  This is truly hard to figure:  there are a number of teams that would/should be interested in him.  Personal biases (theirs, not ours) might eliminate both the Yankees and Red Sox.  The Indians are probably out, having just acquired their bullpen bolsterers.  but there’s many more teams with needs.

UPDATE:

Next: Albies sidelined last night

This market demand is why the “name” guy in Britton might be passed over in favor of some lesser/cheaper options.  We’ll see what they opt to do.

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