New trade candidate emerges for the Atlanta Braves

While the Jurickson Profar signing filled the Braves single biggest need in the outfield, there are still holes to patch up.

I’d argue the bullpen should take precedence over the rotation. The losses of A.J. Minter and Joe Jimenez leave Atlanta’s high-leverage facet of the relief core in short supply of reliable arms. However, I could understand how some fans would be more concerned about the starting rotation.

Max Fried and Charlie Morton parting ways leaves a massive amount of innings that will need to be assumed by someone, and the internal candidates leave a bit to be desired in one way or another. The entire pitching staff needs a little TLC, and a new trade candidate has emerged that could effectively kill two birds with one stone.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Dylan Cease and Michael King of the Padres are “among the starting pitchers who remain in play” in trade talks. Cease has been mentioned several times, but King is a new name on the trade market.

King was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees, and it worked out pretty well for the Padres. King threw 173.2 innings over 31 appearances, allowing just 2.95 earned runs per nine, with a 27.7% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. King also made a pair of starts for San Diego in the postseason, throwing 12 innings of 3.75 ERA ball en route to a seventh-placed finish in the Cy Young vote.

Now, how could King possibly kill two birds with one stone? Well, if the Braves acquired King or Cease, it could give Brian Snitker the option to have Reynaldo Lopez or Grant Holmes in the bullpen, with Lopez already a proven high-leverage reliever.

The Braves would be wise to phone the Padres to inquire about the asking price, which they’ve seemingly already done with Dylan Cease.

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