Under-the-radar trade candidate with big potential could interest Braves

The Braves have been one of the more active teams this offseason, even if they haven’t made a blockbuster acquisition.

They traded for Jarred Kelenic to fill the left field void while inking free-agent deals with Joe Jimenez, Pierce Johnson, and Reynaldo Lopez. Instead of trading prospects for Kelenic, Ray Kerr and Aaron Bummer, Alex Anthopoulos took on the salaries of less desirable pieces.

There’s still speculation that a starter is coming down the pike with most Braves fans hoping it will be one of the frontline variety.

Atlanta has been linked to Corbin Burnes, who is expected to be traded from the Brewers and would give the Braves the best rotation in baseball bar none. For a group that has dealt with a ton of injuries in recent postseasons, Burnes would be a breath of fresh air. The 2021 Cy Young winner has made more than 28 starts in each of the last three seasons, averaging nearly 190 innings.

Atlanta has also been considered a finalist for Dylan Cease as the White Sox look to move the Georgia native for a haul of prospects considering he’s under two years of team control. Though he’s represented by Scott Boras, a patented Alex Anthopoulos trade-and-extension could be on the table, given he’s from Milton.

Another name that has surfaced in the rumor mill, according to Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com, is a 25-year-old righty that isn’t at the level of either of those guys but has tremendous upside — Edward Cabrera.

The Dominican has pitched nearly 200 innings over the last three seasons, posting a 4.01 ERA, 4.78 FIP, and 1.34 WHIP. They aren’t the most exciting numbers, but he wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg like Cease or Burnes and has some filthy stuff if Atlanta’s pitching coaches think they can harness his raw power.

It’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever be a high-level major-league starter because he’s thrown nearly 200 innings and has a 14% walk rate, but again, there’s tremendous upside and he has five years of team control.

Now, to his stuff, the Marlins starter has a career average changeup velocity of 92.7 mph, and opponents have hit just .180 with a .288 slugging percentage against it since 2022. The “off-speed” pitch is only separated by about 3 mph from his four-seamer and sinker, but they all look alike coming out of his hand.

His underlying metrics also show that he’s hard to hit, ranking in the 83rd percentile in whiff rate and 77th percentile in strikeout rate. And when batters do make contact, it’s usually of the weak variety. He ranked in the 75th percentile in hard-hit rate and 91st percentile in ground-ball rate. Cabrera also had a solid 3.77 xERA in 2023.

He’s wicked talented with filthy stuff that just needs to reel it in. As Harrigan points out, there’s precedent. Randy Johnson had a 14.5% walk rate over his first five seasons; Tyler Glasnow had a 14.4% walk rate in 2017, and now that number is under 8%.

Obviously, those are the best case scenarios for Edward Cabrera, but he wouldn’t be the first project that Alex Anthopoulos brought into the organization in hopes of helping him realize his full potential.

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