Yesterday, I came up with a wish list for the Braves as they approach the trade deadline, laying out a dream target and a backup plan at each area of need. Now, here are five guys they should be staying away from.

Mickey Moniak

This is a tale as old as time. A guy who’s struggled in the league for over half a decade goes to Colorado and magically turns into an offensive force. Moniak’s surface-level numbers are outstanding — he’s hitting .277 with 16 home runs and an .875 OPS. That’s a massive upgrade over what the Braves are currently getting out of left field. Unfortunately, one glance at his splits tells you all you need to know. Moniak is a Coors Field merchant, recording an OPS north of 1.000 at home compared to .652 on the road.

Mason Miller

Mason Miller might be the best reliever these two eyes have ever seen. However, giving up elite prospects for relievers never seems like a good idea — just look how it’s worked out so far for the Padres, who are surely regretting the move to acquire Miller in hindsight.

There are scenarios where making a trade for someone like Mason Miller makes sense, but they only exist when every other part of the roster is already set. The Braves have holes all over that need far more TLC than their bullpen. That’s what they should be spending their top prospects on at the trade deadline.

Jeremy Peña/Zach Neto/CJ Abrams

I’ve lumped all of these All-Star caliber shortstops together for a reason. I hear a lot of national writers who don’t follow the team closely talk about the Braves maybe upgrading at shortstop, and I just don’t see it. They have much more obvious areas to fix that won’t cost a king’s ransom at the deadline.

Now that Ronald Acuña Jr. is back from injury, Mauricio Dubon can fill in at shortstop every day if need be, especially if the Braves add another outfield bat at the deadline. Atlanta also loves what they’ve seen so far out of Jim Jarvis, and there’s still an outside chance Ha-Seong Kim plays a role when he returns from his rehab assignment. There are just too many other holes for the Braves to go all in on a shortstop right now. That’s something that could happen in the offseason, but not at the trade deadline.

Brady Singer

I’m going to use Brady Singer to describe a handful of starting pitchers who’ll be available at this year’s trade deadline. He’s bang-average, about the same as what the Braves already have in Grant Holmes, Martin Perez, and Reynaldo Lopez. There’s absolutely no point in spending prospects on guys who aren’t going to significantly improve the club’s chances of winning a championship. The Braves would be better off using that prospect capital to improve the lineup and bullpen if Singer is the best they can get.

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