Over the next couple of months, I will have evaluated every trade target the Braves could possibly be interested in leading up to the trade deadline, and Alex Anthopoulos will land some AAA guy nobody has ever heard of that will end up winning NLCS MVP. That’s why he’s the best in the business, but like Anthopoulos, I’ll do my best to leave no stone unturned.
To this point, I’ve discussed a number of candidates from the White Sox and Rockies. If you want to check those out, follow the links below:
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Like the White Sox and Rockies, the Angels are one of the few teams that will undoubtedly be sellers ahead of the trade deadline. They have no hope of making the postseason and desperately need to replenish a barren farm system. They should be open to trading everyone, including arguably the best player of this generation in Mike Trout.
Tyler Anderson
I’ll get to Mike Trout later, but the Angels actually match up perfectly with the Braves as a trade partner. For starters, Tyler Anderson might be the most sought after starting pitcher at the trade deadline. He’s in the second year of a three-year, $42 million contract and putting together a career year, boasting a 2.37 ERA over 12 starts. Anderson makes sense as a target because he not only would help shore up the Braves rotation this year but also ease some concerns in 2025 as well, which needs to be addressed with Max Fried‘s looming free agency and Charlie Morton potentially retiring.
Luis Rengifo
Tyler Anderson would be a splendid addition to the Braves rotation, but where the Angels could really help Atlanta is in the outfield. They have a surplus of guys that make sense in some form or fashion. Rengifo might be on his way to his first All-Star Game, hitting .327 with an .843 OPS and 14 steals. He’s primarily an infielder but has played in the outfield over his career. When talking about creative ways to address the Braves holes, this could be one of them. Plus, Rengifo is under team control through 2025 as well.
Taylor Ward
If the Braves wanted to go the more traditional route for outfield help, Taylor Ward should be among their top trade targets. He’s under team control through the 2026 season and has posted an OPS+ of 134, 105, and 115 from 2022-2024. He’ll likely be one of the better outfield options on the trade block this summer.
Jo Adell
Jo Adell just feels like an Alex Anthopoulos trade target. A super toolsy former top 10 pick that hasn’t quite figured it out at the major-league level. Sound familiar? Like Jarred Kelenic, Adell is under contract for several years and probably won’t cost a ton of prospect capital to acquire. It’s a bit like playing the lottery with these guys, but it’s much easier to hit when you have two of them rather than just one.
Kevin Pillar
In hindsight, perhaps the Braves should have never let Kevin Pillar walk out of the building because he’s going absolutely insane this season, hitting .317 with six homers, good for an OPS of .939. Of course, we know what Pillar is at this point in his career. He’s not going to hit like that over the course of an entire season, but he could provide much-needed outfield depth and will cost next to nothing in a trade.
Mike Trout
Mike Trout’s career won’t go down as one of the biggest “what ifs” in sports because he’s still a first-ballot Hall of Famer with an incredible resumé. However, what could the numbers have looked like if he had been able to stay completely healthy, and how many World Series could he have had if he weren’t drafted by the Angels?
Unless you’re on the Dodgers, Los Angeles is where baseball careers go to die. Not even the two greatest players of the last decade — Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani — could change that. It is criminal that Trout is still rotting away in the cellar of the AL West, but perhaps that changes soon. The Angels have to start thinking about life without Trout. They are one of the worst teams in baseball, paying him $40 million a year, and have no worthwhile prospects to speak of. A trade has to be coming soon, one would think.
I’m writing this more because I wanted to talk about Trout’s future in Los Angeles than I actually think the Braves are a potential landing spot. They do have a need in the outfield, but his contract and injury history make a move to Atlanta incredibly unlikely.
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Photographer: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire
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