Breaking down more possible Braves trade targets that Atlanta should be eyeing from sellers at the MLB Trade Deadline, this time from the Tigers.
On the heels of an electric series sweep of the Mets in which they came from behind to win each game, the Atlanta Braves are riding high. That's nothing new, to be sure. They have maintained the NL East lead virtually all season and have run out to the best record in the NL.
It's clear the Braves are a bonafide contender — and what do contenders do at the MLB Trade Deadline? They buy. And where the Braves trades could come from is the fascinating question in all of this.
The best place to start to look, obviously, is the teams that could be willing to sell. You know, the clubs that are falling out of contention and could be looking to either hit a reset button or to get something in return in a trade for pending free agents instead of losing them this offseason for nothing. In that regard, the Detroit Tigers — a team that's 2-8 in their last 10 and is still 3.5 games out of first place in the AL Central despite no one in the division having a winning record — are a prime candidate to sell.
So what kind of talent and trade options do the Tigers have that should interest the Atlanta Braves? Let's take a look at three prime Braves trade targets who are currently in Detroit, a situation that changed dramatically after the Eduardo Rodriguez injury.
Braves Rumors: 3 trade targets Atlanta can steal from the struggling Tigers
3. Matthew Boyd could be a cheap Braves trade target to round out rotation
Let's get this out of the way — the superficial numbers for Matthew Boyd in Detroit this season are not all that good. He has a 5.57 ERA on the season to go with a 1.35 WHIP (obviously the much more acceptable of the two numbers) while posting just one quality starts in the 11 that the 32-year-old has made this season.
It's important to note all of that, without question, in addition to the fact that the Braves going after a trade for Boyd would not be trying to land a star to add to the rotation.
Having said that, the underlying numbers say that Boyd has actually been much better than his season-long stats indicate. For the season, he has an xERA (expected ERA) of 4.02, per Fangraphs, which indicates that his stuff has been much better than the results it has ultimately produced. With better defense and better protection from the offense like what the Braves could offer, his stats could undoubtedly improve a great deal.
More importantly, Boyd is in Detroit on just a one-year contract, which means that he could ultimately leave this offseason and leave the Tigers just empty-handed. As such, the quickly-falling-farther-from-contention club could be best served to try and offload him in a trade for even a mid-tier prospect.
That's a great market for the Braves to be shopping in at the MLB Trade Deadline, which makes Boyd a terrific target overall.
2. Jason Foley as a Braves trade target would be a big-time bullpen upgrade
As they say, the reports of the Braves bullpen's demise were greatly exaggerated.
Early in the season, key relievers in Atlanta like A.J. Minter and Riasel Iglesias were struggling pretty immensely with consistency, which is the last thing you want from the closers and set-up men coming out of the 'pen. But over the past few weeks, that has been turned on its head as both have been absolute shutdown options at the end of games.
Having said that, bullpen depth is vital for contenders and, while the overall unit in Atlanta has been quite impressive this season, as they look toward the postseason and a possible World Series run, they could still be using the trade deadline to look for ways to deepen and upgrade the stockpile of relievers.
Subsequently, 27-year-old Jason Foley might be one of the most underrated possible Braves trade targets that could be had leading up to Aug. 1. Unlike Boyd, he's not going to be as cheap because he has at least four years of club control remaining after this season. But when you have a guy pitching as well as he has in the 2023 season, it's hard not to take a look.
In 27 appearances for Detroit this season, Foley has quietly been one of the most reliable relievers in baseball, posting a 1.37 ERA and 0.99 WHIP on the year. He's been absolute nails for a team that hasn't really taken full advantage of what he's given them.
The Braves would not be that same situation, though. Moreover, Alex Anthopoulos has proven over the years that he has an affinity for trade targets with ample club control remaining so that he can lock them into early extensions. That could make Foley enticing while also giving Atlanta an elite bullpen trifecta of Foley, Minter and Iglesias to work in and close out big games together.
1. Michael Lorenzen should be one of the top Braves trade targets
The more I look at all of the pieces involved, the more I've convinced myself that the Atlanta Braves trade target that makes the most sense for them is veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen, obviously of the Tigers.
Lorenzen has been a solid if unspectacular veteran in his career with seven seasons in Cincinnati before signing with the Angels in 2022 and then landing in Detroit on a one-year deal this season. But what he's done with the Tigers has been putting together the best year of his career to this point.
Through nine starts this season, Lorenzen might only have a 2-2 record but he's posted a 3.21 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. More importantly, after getting a late start to the season in mid-April with injuries in the spring, he's been nails since then posting a 1.95 ERA across five starts and May and giving up just two hits and one run over 7.0 innings in his lone start for June.
On that one-year contract, he should be a player that the Tigers should be looking to sell off in order to just get something. The price will be slightly higher than it would be for Boyd just because the pitcher is simply better, but it could be worth it. Lorenzen being added to the Braves rotation to round out the back end of it would be huge.
Max Fried is coming back, but there are still some concerns about if or when Kyle Wright will be back and, if the Braves are aggressive at the trade deadline, then Jared Shuster could potentially be moved. Thus, going after someone like Lorenzen, even as a rental, would do wonders for solidifying the top five in the rotation as the Braves look to achieve their World Series goals.