Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported that the Braves may turn to Adam Duvall as a full-time starter (subscription required) if the market for outfielders continues to lie outside of their price range.
That had the heads of Braves’ Country spinning, as Duvall had a laughable .344 OPS while in Atlanta last year. Albeit, it was only 57 plate appearances, but was the Braves’ front office watching the same things we were watching?
Fast forward to Tuesday, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi has informed us that the Braves are still very much involved in the market for outfielders. However, he says talks with the Detroit Tigers regarding Nick Castellanos have stalled over the last month.
#Tigers trade talks with #Braves on Nick Castellanos have not progressed since dialogue last month around the winter meetings, source says, although Atlanta remains active in corner OF market. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 8, 2019
According to several reports, the price for Castellanos remains high even though he is under contract for only one more season. While he seems like an ideal fit in the lineup behind a bat like Freddie Freeman, the Braves are not going to dole out any of their top prospects for a one-year rental.