The Braves are heading into the second half with work to do, but they’re still very much in the mix. Atlanta came out of the All-Star break at 55-40 and will resume play Friday night, with the trade deadline only a couple of weeks away and general manager Alex Anthopoulos already signaling that the club plans to be aggressive.
“I fully expect and hope that we will be engaged in trades come July. I'm not trying to overly excite anybody or promise anything. But if we're playing the way we are right now, we're going to be in there,” Anthopoulos said.
That kind of posture has naturally pushed the Braves into the center of deadline speculation, and one of the loudest names connected to them is Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa floated Atlanta as the team he thinks could land the left-hander in a major deal.
“This bold prediction says that, despite their recent hot streak, the Tigers will indeed trade Skubal at the deadline. It won't be an easy choice for the front office and the fan base will be upset, but it is likely to be the ruthlessly correct baseball decision.
Where will Skubal wind up? My guess is with the Braves, though I hardly think that's a lock.
The bidding war will be intense,” Axisa wrote.
That’s a notable shift in the conversation, because Atlanta wasn’t initially seen as one of the main suitors for the star lefty. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that rival executives believe the market could narrow to four teams capable of taking on the rest of Skubal’s $32 million contract and paying the prospect price that would come with him.
“Now that it’s becoming inevitable that the free-falling Detroit Tigers may have no choice but to trade two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal at the deadline, rival executives believe the bidding will come down to four finalists that not only can afford the remainder of his $32 million contract, but will also be willing to give up prized prospects: The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote.
If Atlanta actually gets involved at that level, the ripple effect would be huge. Skubal would instantly change the look of the rotation and give the Braves a true front-line arm alongside Chris Sale. It would also push them from simply hanging around the playoff race to looking like a real threat in the National League.
Of course, a deal like that would not come cheap. Skubal would require a major prospect package, and any real pursuit would come down to how far Atlanta is willing to go. But if the Braves decide to swing big, landing the two-time Cy Young winner would qualify as one of the defining moves of the deadline.
In Other News...
Braves Get An Acuna Rehab Check And A Surprise Farm System Jolt
Ronald Acuna Jr. took another step in his rehab work with the FCL Braves on Monday, appearing for the second time as he continues to work back from a hamstring strain. The box score offered the kind of early-summer checkpoint Atlanta is watching closely: Acuna was in the lineup against the FCL Twins, while Ha-Seong Kim and Ray Kerr also got into the game as the organization keeps cycling big-league talent through the complex league level.
Elsewhere in the system, the Braves got an unexpected jolt from the DSL. Cesar Navarro delivered a complete-game shutout against the DSL Giants Orange, a type of performance that barely shows up in that league and has been scarce for Atlanta's affiliate in recent years. For a farm system that is usually tracked most closely for rehab updates and prospect development, it was the kind of pitching line that tends to travel quickly through the organization. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Sales All-Star Benching Says Everything About These Braves
Chris Sale made the All-Star team as one of the Braves most important arms, but he never took the mound in the game, a reminder of how carefully Atlanta is managing every meaningful start it can get from him. With the rotation battered by injuries, regression and inconsistency, the Braves are treating Sale less like an exhibition piece and more like a needed answer in a season that still has real stakes attached to every decision.
The urgency is easy to see with Atlantas NL East cushion trimmed to two games, which makes preserving Sale for the stretch run feel less like caution and more like necessity. The club has already lined him up to start its first game after the break against the Rangers, and that assignment says plenty about where the Braves believe their margin for error really is. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Are Being Tied To A Deadline Arm Fans Should Fear
The Braves are expected to shop for starting pitching ahead of the trade deadline, and one name that has surfaced is a familiar one for fans who have followed the market closely. The appeal is obvious on paper: Atlanta needs help in the rotation, and a veteran arm with a track record of success would fit the kind of midseason upgrade the club usually explores when it believes a run is there to be made.
There is plenty of reason for caution, though, because the pitcher in question has not looked like the same force he was a year ago. His strikeout rate has slipped, his fastball has lost nearly two mph, and he has had more trouble missing bats and limiting hard contact, which makes any deal feel far less straightforward than the name recognition suggests. For Atlanta, the question is whether the price in money and prospect capital would be worth the gamble, especially if the front office decides this is the kind of move it can only make under very specific conditions. [Read more 🡒]