The Braves head into the second half at 55-40, still very much in the postseason mix despite some recent uneven play. And with the trade deadline only a couple of weeks away, Atlanta looks primed to be one of the more aggressive teams on the market.
That’s not just speculation. General manager Alex Anthopoulos has already made it clear the Braves expect to be involved.
“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.
One name that has surfaced in a major way is Tarik Skubal. CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa floated Atlanta as the team he believes could land the Detroit Tigers ace in a bold deadline prediction.
“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.
The idea of Skubal ending up in Atlanta is notable because the Braves were not originally seen as a top contender for the left-hander. But the market appears to be tightening around a small group of clubs with the resources and prospect capital to make a real run at 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 pulled it off, the ripple effect would be enormous. Skubal would slot in at the top of the rotation and instantly raise the Braves from a team chasing a playoff spot to one with real National League title aspirations.
Of course, a deal like that would come at a steep price. Skubal’s contract and status as a two-time Cy Young winner would make him one of the most expensive names available, and any trade would require Atlanta to decide just how much future talent it is willing to move. Still, if the Braves do land him, it would rank as one of the defining deals of the season.
In Other News...
Michigan States Rebuild Has One Surprising Edge For Pat Fitzgerald
Michigan States rebuild is taking a different shape than the usual long-view project, and Pat Fitzgerald can see the appeal in it. The Spartans head into the upcoming season with one of the oldest rosters in the FBS, a group built less around waiting on freshmen to mature and more around stocking the roster with players ready to help now.
That approach shows up most clearly in the transfer-portal haul, where Michigan State added 32 newcomers and leaned heavily on upperclassmen to speed up the turnaround. It is a roster construction trend that has become more common across college football, but for the Spartans it also creates a potential edge that does not always show up in the usual returner counts, especially up front where experience can change the tone of a rebuild. [Read more 🡒]
Draymond Green Took Another Shot At A Michigan Rookie
Draymond Green has a way of turning even the smallest basketball exchange into something bigger, and his latest back-and-forth with Yaxel Lendeborg is no exception. The Warriors rookie has already found himself in the middle of a strange little public tug-of-war with the veteran, after a conversation that was supposed to stay simple instead became another example of Green weighing in on a young players place around the league.
What makes it notable is the contrast between how the two sides have described it. Lendeborg said he had not heard back after reaching out, while Green pushed back on that version of events, adding another layer to a feud that has not needed much help getting attention. For now, it is less about the substance of the exchange than the fact that Green keeps choosing to answer, and the longer he does, the easier it becomes for a rookie to keep him in the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
MSU Faces An Urgent AD Decision Fans Have Wanted For Years
Michigan State is back in the market for an athletic director after J Batts departure opened up a job that has been on the schools radar for weeks. With the search now underway, one familiar name is already hanging over the process: Mark Hollis, who ran MSU athletics from 2008 to 2018 and remains a figure many around the program know well.
Hollis past in East Lansing gives this opening a different kind of weight, especially for fans who have long wanted the university to revisit how his tenure ended. The boards handling of that chapter still lingers in the background of any conversation about the hire, and it makes this search about more than just filling a vacancy. It is also about whether MSU is ready to make a move that would say something meaningful about where the athletic department wants to go next. [Read more 🡒]