Braves: 3 more trade candidates for the rotation to keep an eye on

I’m not going to harp on the obvious; with Mike Soroka on the shelf, this rotation is abysmal outside of Max Fried. Yesterday, I polled the fan base on our Twitter account to see who they would like to see the Braves go after before the trade deadline, which is just over two weeks away. 

Drop some starter names below that you’d like to see the Braves trade for. Best submissions get a shoutout in the next article (Alex Anthopoulos is an avid reader of the site, this is your chance)

— SportsTalkATL.com (@SportsTalkATL) August 13, 2020

If you see a name that you wanted me to mention, check out my first article focusing on three other guys I’d like to see Alex Anthopoulos take a look at.  I’ll be crediting anyone that helped us with these trade ideas. 

Lance Lynn

Lynn feels like he’s always in trade talks, and for a good reason. He’s super consistent and has been stable for a bad Rangers team in 2020. The Oakland A’s look like one of the best teams in baseball, but with Houston crumbling, the Rangers might believe they can sneak into the postseason. 

With two teams from each division making the playoffs, it could be tough to pry Lynn away. His career 3.54 ERA should be attractive to Atlanta, and his 1.16 ERA is one of the best in baseball. A 3.15 FIP shows he’s been a bit fortunate, but it’s on par for his career and still extremely efficient. Lynn hasn’t thrown under 100 innings since his rookie season, so he’s been dependable, and while he wouldn’t be cheap, he’s a quality starter.

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(@RobJoye10, @Mattfunk985)

 

Marco Gonzales/Taijuan Walker

I’ll lump these guys together since they’re on the same staff. Walker hasn’t been terrible, but he isn’t the frontline starter the Diamondbacks expected when he was their top prospect before being traded to Seattle. His numbers aren’t anything special, but he’s solid. Gonzales has been formidable since 2018, and he’s off to a decent start in 2020. Walker would probably cost less in terms of prospect capital, but here are the numbers for both guys.

Walker – 9 ER in 20 IP, 17 Ks, 4.17 FIP

Gonzales – 10 ER in 22.2 IP, 17 Ks, 4.52 FIP

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(@Kylefromthehood), (@james7sumner)

 

Mike Clevinger

This one’s a little out there. Cleveland recently reprimanded Clevinger for going out in Chicago and breaking quarantine, but he’s still a premier starter in this league. The Indians are currently in 4th, but they’re only two games out of 1st place. I don’t see any way they part ways with him, especially in a shortened season when teams — like the Braves — probably will be less willing to trade their top prospects, which is what it will take for any team to pry Clevinger away from the Indians.

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(@tylersmiley10)

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Photo: Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire