Atlanta Braves: Top 7 Potential Starting Pitcher Trade Targets

The Atlanta Braves have holes. With Donaldson signing with the Twins we seem to have forgotten the narrative around starting pitching. Today we look at the top six starting pitchers potentially sitting on the trade block.

When Josh Donaldson signed with the Twins for less money than we thought the Atlanta Braves had offered, we all went into an emotional tailspin. It seems many of us have forgotten the narrative prior to Donaldson’s announcement.

A primary concern for the Atlanta Braves was starting pitching.

Yes, we signed Cole Hamels to an $18 million deal but at the time, nobody thought that was enough.

Note: yes, the Braves signed ‘King’ Felix Hernandez to a minor league deal on Monday, but that doesn’t change anything that follows here.

In this article, we will consider the possibility that Johan Camargo and Austin Riley will be tasked with handling the duties at third and Nick Markakis and Adam Duvall will be sufficient in left field.

The splits are not bad for these players. Markakis and Duvall make for a nice combination of line-drives and high average from ‘Kakes and bomb blasting from Duvall.

Riley or Camargo could break out as a star this season, and now they’ll have the opportunity.

The key is that the Braves will have the luxury to test these offensive waters if they dedicate their remaining efforts to bringing in a starting-rotation-bolstering pitcher.

Would a player like Marcell Ozuna or Yasiel Puig be that big of an upgrade over Markakis and Duvall sharing time in left?

Some may argue that they would, but I don’t believe it would have the impact of a big arm being added to the rotation.

You can read up on the potential platoon between Duvall and Markakis in the link below.

I’m a pitching first guy. I don’t like holes in the rotation. Things are looking pretty thin from my vantage point. We saw last year that if one guy gets hurt it creates a massive hole. Foltynewicz didn’t get healthy until the second half. You can never have enough reliable starting pitching.

Bringing guys up from the minors and pinning all of your hopes on them is too big of a gamble for a team with World Series aspirations.

So, let’s take a look at the top seven starting pitchers on the trade block according to MLBTraderumors.com. We’ll review their performances and whether or not their price/talent would be a fit in the Braves’ rotation.