The Atlanta Braves have been the best team in Major League Baseball this year. They have the best record and sit at the top of the National League East, nine games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. They will need to make some moves at the trade deadline if they want to remain in play for the top seed.
On Tuesday night, Ronald Acuna left the game with an apparent hamstring injury as the Braves fell 6-5 to the Chicago White Sox. The trade deadline is still several weeks away, so it remains to be seen what they will actually do.
However, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN listed a couple of things Atlanta could do after Acuna exited Tuesday night’s loss.
“Even with Ronald Acuna Jr.’s up-and-down season, Atlanta has been good at just about everything in building a huge lead in the National League East,” Doolittle writes. “Looking ahead to a likely return to October, there are two keys areas to monitor and assess: shortstop and the rotation. The Braves figure to be mentioned frequently if and when the Skubal sweepstakes commence, but shortstop might be the bigger need. That really only matters if someone who is a clear upgrade — perhaps someone such as Jeremy Pena, Willy Adames or CJ Abrams — actually becomes available. A rotation addition seems more likely, even if it’s not Skubal.”
Braves Trade Deadline Needs Revealed
While Acuna is an outfielder, shortstop is a need for Atlanta. But perhaps beyond that, they just need a little bit more offense. If Acuna is out for an extended period of time, Atlanta will need to replace his presence in the starting lineup. That is where somebody like Pena, Adames or Abrams could come into play.
But at the same time, their starting rotation has taken a lot of hits due to injuries. Adding somebody like Tarik Skubal would be a good move, as it would give them another proven starter to go along with Chris Sale and Spencer Strider.
The Braves are expected to be in the postseason this year, and they could even end up being the top seed in the National League. But with Acuna possibly missing time, they’re going to need to be thinking about the trade deadline very soon. Adding a shortstop doesn’t necessarily replace Acuna’s presence in the lineup, but potentially adding another bat would not hurt. The same goes for the pitching staff.
Braves Competing with Dodgers for NL Supremacy
The Braves may have the best record in baseball right now, but they are going to still face a big threat from the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, even if they are to secure the best record before the start of the postseason.
With the right moves, they could potentially be the ones to emerge victorious over Los Angeles and dethrone them as World Series champions. There is a lot of time left until the trade deadline, so it should be interesting to see where the Braves stand on August 3 and what moves they have in mind.
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