If you have missed any of our series, please check out the links below to see how we have built trade packages for the Atlanta Braves during the first four days of this series:
Braves Acquire Merrifield and Keller from Royals
Braves Trade for Angels’ Syndergaard and Adell
Atlanta Brings in Gallo, Quintana at Deadline
Braves and Rockies Exchange Contracts
I like several of these deals that I have proposed, though there are certainly those deals that I a less than enthused about. For today’s deal let’s look at the Braves bringing in a lot of salary and some expiring contracts.
Atlanta receives: RHP Nathan Eovaldi, INF/OF Kiké Hernández and OF JD Martinez
Boston receives: RHP Bryce Elder and OF Jesse Franklin
I could recycle through the same Braves prospects throughout this entire series, because, quite frankly, there are only a handful of guys who have enough value right now. But let’s try to do things a bit differently and bring up Bryce Elder and Jesse Franklin in this trade to Boston. It’s worth noting that while this feels light, the Kansas City Royals didn’t get a top 10 prospect from a very good New York Yankees farm system in the Andrew Benintendi trade on Wednesday evening. So expiring contracts fetch far less prospect capital.
It’s also worth mentioning that this trade only works if the Boston Red Sox decide to sell. They are currently last in the AL East but are just 3.5 games out of the wildcard race. There are rumors, however, that the AL Superpower might trade off pieces at the deadline and focus on 2023. So for the purpose of this exercise, let’s assume that they take on the role of sellers.
Atlanta would get a formidable designated hitter in the form of J.D. Martinez. This is needed by Atlanta since the outfield and designated hitter positions have left much to be desired in the Braves lineup. The 34-year-old currently owns a 132 wRC+ which would rank him third on the Braves behind Austin Riley (158 wRC+) and William Contreras (135 wRC+). After Juan Soto, Martinez might be the best bat on the market. But the problem is that he would be a defensive liability should he play the field, which he has yet to do in 2022. However, the bat would more than make up the difference for the Braves night-in and night-out, especially since Contreras has cooled over the past month.
Sure, Marcell Ozuna and his large AAV would have to ride the bench or split time with Rosario in left field, but I think this is worth a Braves gamble. Martinez would lengthen the lineup, which is something the Braves offense desperately needs.
Also entering the fold would be Nathan Eovaldi, a postseason star and formidable fifth starter in the Braves rotation. His statcast data doesn’t look great, but at least Eovaldi is close to his xERA (4.24). His xFIP (3.33) even suggests that he is bound to be a bit better than his 4.32 ERA indicates. This is a great buy-low and rental starter for the Braves. Plus, he has experience pitching out of the bullpen. That would be a big plus for the Braves should they get into the postseason.
Finally, Atlanta would receive Kiké Hernández who, admittedly, is having a down season offensively. Defensively, on the other hand, he has excelled. Let’s look at some advanced data for Hernandez and compare it with Ozuna and Eddie Rosario:
Hernández would be an upgrade over Rosario in every way, while Ozuna seems to hold the edge on him with the offensive numbers. But then look at how bad the defense has been for Ozuna and Rosario. If you need help, despite how much worse Hernández has been than Ozuna at the bat, he more than makes up for it in the field where he holds a higher bWAR on the 2022 season. Hernández has feasted on left-handed pitching in his career and was doing the same again in 2022. Granted in a small, 58-plate appearance sample size, Hernández owns a .828 OPS and a 129 wRC+.
Now for the bad news: he’s on the 60-Day IL and the earliest date he can return is August 7th as he recovers from a hip flexor injury. But that shouldn’t deter you. Remember, Rosario was on the injured list last year too before returning in late August and winning NLCS MVP.
Now moving to what Atlanta would give up. We wrote about Elder in one of our previous posts. He has the arsenal to be a big league starter but the stuff for a backend rotation piece.
Franklin, meanwhile, could be a hidden gem. Sure, his strikeout rate is too high to sustain success. That’s something he’ll have to improve. Frankin’s calling card, however, is his power. The approach is what is holding him back. He is athletic enough to play center but is likely better at one of the outfield corners in the long run with his plus-power tool. Franklin has not played since late April this season due to undergoing Tommy John Surgery, which has ended the season for the 23-year-old.
It is this writer’s personal belief that the Red Sox would even eat some of the money owed in this transaction to get prospects the caliber of Franklin and Elder. It could be argued that Atlanta is giving up too much in this proposal as is. Regardless, this is a trade that I don’t think hurts the farm system and it gives Atlanta some extra firepower for a playoff push with the NL East still up for grabs.
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