Braves Rumors: Jordan Hicks trade with Cardinals is a worthwhile gamble
As trade season begins to heat up, every Atlanta Braves fan is ready to see some action and new faces coming to Cobb County. And though no one would've predicted the scenario unfolding coming into the year, the St. Louis Cardinals might be one of the best teams for Alex Anthopoulos to work with in order to help the Braves fill their biggest needs.
No, this isn't a contender-to-contender trade — it's the Cardinals bottoming out and selling off pieces they're willing to part with in order to get younger and reshape the future of the roster.
While there have been ideas for Atlanta concerning Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson, Jack Flaherty and a variety of others (all of which could make sense in the right deal, to be sure) there's one reclamation project that was mentioned as potentially being on the block by MLB insider Bob Nightengale of US Today that could be highly intriguing to Atlanta: Jordan Hicks.
Hicks, the 26-year-old flamethrower with all the juice in the world in his right arm, has been a frustrating presence for St. Louis. His ups and downs have been extremely high and equally low throughout his young career.
That being said, the stuff is there for him to be an elite bullpen presence. For a team like the Braves that would be well-served to upgrade the 'pen at the MLB Trade Deadline, Hicks could represent a relatively low-cost dice roll for the club to take. They have a great track record of pitcher development within their current staff and Hicks already has the baseline tools to be great.
Hicks will be a free agent after this season, a big motivating factor for the Cards wanting to move him at the deadline. If the Braves are enticed by the stuff, he could be a relatively cost-effective option for them to address a need.
Braves Rumors: Sean Murphy injury looking optimistic with early updates
Braves catcher Sean Murphy, en route to the first All-Star appearance of his year after a phenomenal first season in Atlanta, left the team's game on Saturday against the Rockies in the third inning after blasting a sure double to the wall, but pulling up limp at first base. He was removed from the game with Travis d'Arnaud taking over his duties.
Initially, the reports called it left hamstring tightness for Murphy, which seemed to be somewhat good news that it wasn't feared to be a tear or even a pull of anything. In the aftermath, that optimism has continued.
On Sunday, the Braves elected not to put Murphy on the IL, but did call up Chadwick Tromp from Triple-A Gwinnett while designating fan-favorite Charlie Culberson for assignment as the corresponding move.
Now, there's no guarantee that Murphy won't go on the IL. They have until Wednesday to monitor the catcher's progress and retroactively put him out going back to Sunday. Having said that, it's a good sign that the Braves aren't rushing that decision yet, indicating that there is a belief that some rest for a few days could do the trick before he returns to the lineup.
Tromp will serve as the backup while d'Arnaud takes over the catching duties in Murphy's absence. But in the long run, it seems like Atlanta may have well dodged a bullet with the injury to their All-Star catcher.
Braves Rumors: Eddie Rosario, Chadwick Tromp tabbed as emergency infielders
Speaking of the moves that happened in the wake of the Murphy injury, one curiosity that has come about as a result is that the Braves no longer have any infield depth. Culberson was the utility infielder that was capable of backing up anyone in the infield if another injury or something else occurred to any of the everyday starters.
With Culberson getting DFA'd in order to make room for Tromp on the 26-man roster, though, the Braves now don't have that depth. So if something were to happen to the likes of Austin Riley, Orlando Arcia, Ozzie Albies or Matt Olson, what would Atlanta do in that scenario?
In the case of Riley and Olson, Tromp has some limited experience playing at the corners, so the latest call-up would be the option that Atlanta would turn to in that instance. If Albies or Arcia went down, though, it would be an unconventional option taking their place for the Braves in the infield: Eddie Rosario.
Rosario has played in the outfield or designated hitter roles for the past decade in MLB. However, earlier in his career (much earlier), he did see some time and garner some minor-league experience at second base. So if Arcia or Albies went down, he could throw it way back and take up that role while Albies would likely slide over to short if it were Arcia who needed to come out.
Is that the ideal scenario? Absolutely not. The Braves are certainly hoping for a clean bill of health coming out of the next few games and with an off day on Monday. Moreover, what happens with Murphy will make this the short-term emergency plan either way. But it does create a wild potential scenario with how the organization has handled the roster in the wake of Murphy's injury.