Atlanta Braves bargain shopping: 4 relievers to consider at the trade deadline
By Josh Mathews
Rumors have been flying, and as is the new norm, Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta Braves have been tight-lipped on their plans.
Outside of the reported names, there are quite a few options you may not have thought of as candidates to join the Atlanta Braves bullpen in 2019.
With a few deals done already, there’s no doubt that rumors are going to start to heat up, as well as actual trades themselves.
The Atlanta Braves have been linked to and trades have been suggested including players such as Matthew Boyd, Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler, and Marcus Stroman as starters, and Will Smith and Ken Giles as reliever/closer candidates.
Here are some other relief pitchers, in no particular order – some with closing experience – that the Atlanta Braves could angle for without the giant price tag that some of the ‘name brand’ players would come with.
I also played around with the baseball trade simulator for this article, and I suggest you do too if you have some spare time.
1) Tony Watson, left-handed, San Francisco Giants
2019 stats: 40 games, 2-0 record, 3.19 ERA, 37.2 IP, 29K, 5 BB
Contract situation: Makes $3.5 million this season, under team control through 2020 with a salary of $2.5 million.
At 34 years of age, Tony Watson, a left-hander has always been a successful relief option.
Over his nine-year career, he’s always been an above replacement pitcher, with some very intriguing seasons mixed in.
In 2014 he was an All-Star and pitched to a 1.77 ERA combined with his 2015 performance.
He pitched well down the stretch for the Dodgers in 2017 and has had back-to-back years of solid success with the Giants.
Over 16 appearances in the postseason, he’s pitched to a 2.25 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, including 3.2 scoreless innings vs. the Houston Astros in the 2017 World Series for Los Angeles.
Watson (7.4 value) is an effective arm with playoff experience.
The baseball trade simulator suggests that a deal containing Greyson Jenista (6.2 value), Ray Patrick-Didder (1.0 value), and Thomas Burrows (0.4 value) would do the trick.