The Braves are getting close to the trade deadline, and if they want to make the right kind of move, they also need to know which names to leave alone.
That starts with Mickey Moniak, a player whose numbers look a lot prettier than the underlying split does. On the surface, he’s putting together a strong season: .277 with 16 home runs and an .875 OPS.
For a Braves team trying to get more production out of left field, that kind of line is tempting. But the home-road split tells the real story.
Moniak has been a monster at Coors Field, where he’s carrying an OPS north of 1.000, while his road OPS sits at .652.
Mason Miller is another name that should make Atlanta pause. He may be the best reliever these two eyes have ever seen, but that doesn’t change the basic math of deadline deals for bullpen arms.
Giving up elite prospects for relievers has a way of looking bad in hindsight, and the Padres are already serving as the cautionary tale here after acquiring Miller. There are situations where a move like that makes sense, but only when the rest of the roster is already in place.
The Braves are not there. They have too many other holes that need attention, and their top prospects should be going toward those bigger needs.
Shortstop is another area where the Braves should resist the urge to force a splashy fix. Jeremy Peña, Zach Neto and CJ Abrams are all All-Star caliber players, but Atlanta doesn’t need to chase that kind of upgrade right now.
Ronald Acuña Jr. is back from injury, which gives Mauricio Dubon the ability to handle shortstop every day if necessary, especially if the Braves add another outfield bat. The team also likes what it has seen from Jim Jarvis, and there’s still an outside chance Ha-Seong Kim factors in when he returns from his rehab assignment.
With so many other spots still needing help, shortstop is a problem that can wait until the offseason, not one that needs to be solved at the deadline.
Brady Singer fits the same warning label, and so do a number of starting pitchers who figure to be available. He’s basically average, which puts him in the same neighborhood as Grant Holmes, Martin Perez and Reynaldo Lopez.
That’s the point: if Atlanta is going to spend prospect capital, it needs to be on players who actually move the needle. A pitcher like Singer doesn’t do that enough.
If he’s the best the Braves can land, the smarter play is to use those assets elsewhere, on the lineup and the bullpen.
In Other News...
Braves Make Intriguing Pitching Change Right Before Mets Doubleheader
The Braves shuffled their pitching staff on the eve of a doubleheader with the Mets, a move that brings a familiar arm back into the mix and adds another fresh option to a rotation that has been asked to do a lot. AJ Smith-Shawver has been activated for his season debut after working his way back through Gwinnett, while Elieser Hernndez has also been added to the major league roster as Atlanta tries to manage the strain of two games in one day.
The timing matters because the Braves needed a response after Connor Thomas was sent to Triple-A Gwinnett following a rough outing, and now they are hoping the new look gives them a better chance to navigate the matchup. Hernndez has offered some recent signs of stability, and Smith-Shawvers return gives Atlanta another layer of depth as it heads into a stretch where every inning can shape the rest of the week. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Fans Could Hardly Believe How Long Braves Let This Go
Connor Thomas night against the Mets quickly turned into one of those outings a team wants to forget, and the Braves never really found a way to stop the bleeding. In 2.2 innings, Thomas was tagged for 11 runs on 10 hits and issued five walks, a rough line that put Atlanta in a deep hole and left the game feeling out of hand long before the final outs were recorded.
What stood out even more was how long the Braves stayed with him. Rather than turning to more bullpen arms, they let Thomas keep going until his pitch count reached 78, a decision that only added to the frustration around the outing. For a club trying to piece together innings, it was the kind of night that raises questions about workload, damage control and how quickly Atlanta can move on from a performance like this. [Read more 🡒]