The trade market is starting to point in one direction for Sandy Alcantara: the Yankees and the Braves.
If New York wants to chase a World Series, a big swing at the deadline feels like the kind of move that has to happen. Atlanta is in a similar spot. The Braves have been one of the better teams in the National League all season, and even with their level of play dipping a bit over the last few weeks, they still look like a club built to matter deep into the year.
That’s why the Alcantara chatter is picking up around both teams. A recent Sports Illustrated piece put the Yankees and Braves at the top of the list as possible landing spots for the Cy Young winner, and Atlanta’s fit was laid out clearly.
“Despite several injuries to key contributors the Atlanta Braves have sustained their status as one of baseball’s top teams, winning 52 of their first 88 games. The NL’s top squad has few weaknesses in its roster, but could greatly benefit from the addition of a high-volume veteran arm in the bullpen to headline the unit down the stretch of the season.
With a move to Atlanta, Alcantara’s fantasy production could take a sizable jump, taking his volume into account. With a vastly superior defensive unit behind him, the two-time All-Star projects to improve on his ERA while sustaining encouraging strikeout numbers,” Ethen Hutton wrote.
At this point, Alcantara looks like the kind of arm just about every contender will ask about. The question is how many of them are willing to pay the draft capital it would take to get him.
If the Yankees pass, the Braves should be ready. If the Braves pass, the Yankees need to be right there.
In Other News...
Braves Quietly Got Back A Bullpen Arm They May Desperately Need
For most of the season, Atlantas bullpen has looked like one of the clubs quiet advantages, but the last stretch has brought a little more unease. Raisel Iglesias has blown a save, Dylan Lee has had shaky outings and Didier Fuentes is nearing the break, which has made the relief picture feel less settled than it did a few weeks ago.
Into that mix comes Danny Young, the left-hander the Braves have quietly gotten back after his injury layoff. His early work this season has been encouraging enough to give Atlanta another option for mid-to-high-leverage spots against left-handed hitters, and perhaps a way to ease the load on some of the other arms that have been asked to carry more lately. The bigger question is how quickly the Braves lean into that role, and whether Young can turn a useful return into something more than just a temporary fix. [Read more 🡒]
Walt Weiss Decisions Just Cost The Braves A Game They Had Won
The Braves had enough offense to put themselves in position to win, but the game slipped into the kind of extra-inning mess that usually leaves a manager under the microscope. Atlanta scored six runs and still could not finish off the Mets, with the lineups missed chances and a thin bench leaving the club in a difficult spot once the game stretched beyond regulation.
Walt Weiss choices only made the margin for error smaller. The Braves were already navigating a less-than-ideal setup in extras, and the way the bullpen and lineup were handled became a major part of why a game that looked won turned into a loss, even before the final inning had fully played out. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Cant Afford Another Quiet Deadline From Alex Anthopoulos
With the trade deadline approaching, the Braves look like a club that cannot simply sit back and hope the rotation and outfield sort themselves out. ESPNs latest best-fit rundown had Atlanta attached to 17 of the top 25 deadline candidates, which is a pretty clear sign that the market sees a team with real needs and a front office that should be active. Starting pitching remains the obvious priority, and the list of names floating around ranges from Tarik Skubal and Joe Ryan to Sonny Gray, Reid Detmers, Casey Mize, Jose Soriano and Freddy Peralta.
The outfield search is a little murkier, with Taylor Ward looking like the most realistic target if Atlanta wants to add a bat without emptying the system. Shortstop is another area worth watching, but the price tag on the top names would be steep enough to make any deal complicated fast. For Alex Anthopoulos, the pressure is less about making a splash than avoiding another deadline that leaves the roster looking almost exactly the same when the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]