Nobody anticipated the loaded Braves to be eight games back in the division as June began. Atlanta’s early season has been hampered by injuries and an uneven offense. To be taken seriously come October, they need to add at the trade deadline. Key injuries to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider are out for the season.
Over the previous few days, I’ve explored various targets from the Chicago White Sox, who appear to be planning a fire sale this summer. They are one of the few teams that are fully prepared to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline, so I thought it would be amusing to go through all of the clubs that appear to be dumping players over the next two months.
There aren’t many. That’s what happens when the league expands the playoffs to 12 teams. Everybody still feels like they have a chance at postseason glory, even if it is slim. However, the Colorado Rockies fall in a similar boat as the White Sox. They should sell everything they can, and there are a couple of arms that could intrigue the Braves.
Cal Quantrill
Once a top prospect in baseball, Quantrill came up with the Padres after being selected 8th overall in the 2016 draft. He was eventually traded to the Guardians and had a lot of success early in his career. However, that success was brought to a screeching halt last year. He was eventually designated for assignment and traded to the Colorado Rockies.
Quantrill still has one more year left on his deal after this season and has put together a pretty good year out west, boasting a 3.84 ERA. He’s not much of a strikeout pitcher and isn’t going to be a frontline guy that’s going to have a massive impact in October. But for a team like the Braves that have been searching for a fifth starter for as long as I can remember, Quantrill could certainly help weather the storm.
Austin Gomber
Gomber is another starter who’s having a ton of success early on this season, and like Quantrill, he’s also under team control through the 2025 season. The lefty owns a 3.06 ERA over 11 starts, but his 5.03 FIP and 4.37 xFIP suggest some pretty severe regression could be in line. He’s another arm that’s not going to blow anybody away with his stuff and punch out a ton of batters, but as a fifth starter, the Braves could do a lot worse.
