What if the trade market does not heat up for the Atlanta Braves?

With so many teams still thinking they are alive for a postseason berth, there is a chance the July 31st trade deadline might not be an active one for the Atlanta Braves.

Let’s take a look at some hypothetical questions for a moment, in regards to the trade deadline and how it might affect the Atlanta Braves.

1. What if the market truly never develops and it becomes a bidding war for just a handful of impactful players?

While the Braves have a deep farm system with multiple high-end prospects on the cusp of the majors, it just doesn’t seem like this front office’s strategy is to “outbid” another team for a player who wouldn’t put them over the top.

They did not do it last year or in the off-season, so why would that change now?

It will certainly take multiple impact additions to be on the same page as the Dodgers and if the prices stay high, the price to get that done would be prohibitive.

2. What if the Braves make minor additions like they did a year ago?

Let’s say the Braves add Tony Watson or Jake Diekman to the bullpen and are content with the way the rotation currently looks, while hoping Kevin Gausman has figured things out.

I doubt the fan base would be thrilled with this and rightfully so. But let’s go back to the first question—is it worth overpaying to perhaps still not be as good as the Dodgers?

Minor additions would assure a playoff spot and a chance at winning their first playoff series since 2001, but perhaps nothing more.

3. What if what we see with the Braves is what we get the rest of the way?

If this current team (barring injury) is what we see going forward then they are probably good enough to win the division and get home field for the NLDS.

But then it becomes a crapshoot, as I don’t think the Braves would be overwhelming favorites over the Cubs, Cardinals or Brewers in the NLDS.

Certainly this team is not as good as the Dodgers.

Calendar Milestones

The next 5 days are critical

Yes, there are still 7 days until the trade deadline, but as of Tuesday morning there were still five teams in the American League and eight teams in the National League within five games of the second wild card.

One hot streak (see the Giants) and five games go away quickly.

What we have been hearing is that teams will likely fully evaluate themselves after this weekend and thus the market will take shape then.

But even if that’s the case, it could be slim pickings for teams looking to add impact players for the stretch run of the season.

In fact, in his recent piece on The Athletic (pay wall), Ken Rosenthal quoted a longtime MLB executive, who said to expect a “relatively quiet” deadline.

But if teams like Arizona or San Francisco all of a sudden lose four of six this week, then perhaps the deadline gets a bit more active than what it looks like now.

For the Braves sake, let’s hope so.