Jurickson Profar is eligible to be reinstated from his PED suspension July 2 and needs to prove himself capable of being the player the Braves believed they signed to a three-year, $42MM deal in January. He\u2019s started off hot at Gwinnett, grabbing four hits and a walk in 10 PA. As I wrote yesterday, the Braves need his bat, but they\u2019re still looking to add an outfielder.<\/p>\n
After Profar\u2019s suspension, the Braves cycled through a series of outfielders before settling on a rotation of Eli White, Stuart Fairchild, and Alex Verdugo. \u00a0Verdugo started well, but was soon hitting like it was 2024, and that is not a good thing. White had a hot streak and hit three homers, but he\u2019s since tailed off, and Fairchild was sidelined with an injury.<\/p>\n
Braves\u2019 left-fielders posted a .552 OPS that ranks 14th in the NL with two homers from White, putting them ahead of only the hapless Pirates. On top of that, Michael Harris II is batting only .229\/.255\/.345\/.601 with a 62 wRC+. So, adding an outfielder who would also be a threat as a pinch hitter makes sense.<\/p>\n
The first players that came to mind for me were Orioles\u2019 DH\/ outfielder\/ first baseman Ryan O\u2019Hearn, old friend Ramon Laureano, and Cedric Mullins.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hearn turns 32 in July and in the final year of an extension with about $4MM remaining at the deadline. He\u2019s currently batting .302\/.383\/.486\/\u00a0\u00a0 .869 with 10 homers and posting a .383 wOBA, 149 wRC+, and 1.8 fWAR after appearing as DH 26 times, 1B 21 times, RF 15 times, and LF twice. O\u2019Hearn would provide cover for Olson and Ozuna, as well as playing either corner outfield slot. Teams needing a first baseman or DH will also be interested, so it\u2019s hard to predict what the Orioles might ask in return.<\/p>\n
Braves fans know what to expect from Laureano, who\u2019s currently having a great season. He\u2019s batting .269\/.329\/.522\/.851 with nine homers, a .337 wOBA, 138 wRC+, and 1.1 fWAR. Laureano is on a one-year deal and will have about $2MM remaining at the deadline. Getting Laureano back shouldn\u2019t break the bank.<\/p>\n
Cedric Mullins is a superb center fielder with slightly over $4MM left at the deadline. The combination of his defense and offense, as well as his status as a rental, will likely price him out of the Braves\u2019 budget.<\/p>\n
Every year, Taylor Ward\u2019s name pops up as a potential trade target, and every year, the Angels don\u2019t make a significant trade. Ward isn\u2019t having a great \u2013 or even good \u2013 year. He turns 32 in December and is under team control via arbitration for another year, but next year\u2019s number will be close to $10MM, and it looks like he\u2019s on a downward path.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, there is also Jo Adell to consider. It seems like Adell\u2019s been around forever, but he\u2019s just 26, earns just $2MM this year, controlled via arbitration for two more seasons, and having a league-average season \u2013 .220\/.289\/.459\/.747, 15 homers, .372 wOBA, 108 wRC+, 0.5 fWAR \u2013 for the first time in his career.<\/p>\n
Eh, the Mighty Moreno may not allow either a trade for either player because that\u2019s what he does; who knows?<\/p>\n
The White Sox and Marlins don\u2019t have anyone that excites me, and the Twinkies might trade Harrison Bader, but other than the usual aging veterans that teams hire to flip, there\u2019s not much out there unless, of course, Alex Anthopoulos makes a move with someone on the roster.<\/p>\n
Yes, I know what he said about selling, \u201c<\/strong>Will. Not. Happen. Bold, italicize it, caps.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> \u00a0Selling implies moving a player like Chris Sale for six prospects. But I can make the case that trading a Major League player for another Major League player isn\u2019t a sale. Maybe, just maybe, I\u2019m becoming a cynic.<\/p>\n While finding a shortstop worth anything at the trade deadline will be tough, the Atlanta Braves do have some outfield options on the trade market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":62867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nMore Braves from House That Hank Built<\/h3>\n