The Braves must act quickly on the perfect trade target before his price rises

Despite losing Spencer Strider for the season, despite losing Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season, and despite Michael Harris II being out for an extended period, the Atlanta Braves are still struggling. They are eight games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, but that is a gap they have overcome in the division before, and at least the club still has a firm place in the first NL Wild Card spot.

To keep that going, Alex Anthopoulos will likely have to pull off another masterpiece at the upcoming MLB trade deadline. A fifth starting pitcher to bolster the rotation is a must, but more pressing is more depth in the outfield, not unlike the situation the Braves faced in 2021 when Acuña previously tore his other ACL.

One of the Braves’ most ideal trade targets linked to Atlanta so far has been former Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Randy Arozarena, but if Anthopoulos wants to go that route, he may have to act fairly quickly before the price rises out of the ideal range.

Perhaps the most enticing aspect of Arozarena as a Braves trade target was the perception of buying a somewhat beaten-up asset. At 29, Arozarena is in the midst of by far his worst MLB season, posting a meager .190/.302/.343 this year. Even if he has two more years of club control after this season, interested buyers will hope he can return to form and take advantage of his recent downturn as the 2024 season approaches in terms of the trade price they will pay.

However, things seem to be looking up for Arozarena. Over the last 15 days, he has a slash line of .300/.431/.525 with two home runs, three doubles and seven RBIs in 40 at-bats. And as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times ($) These numbers and the underlying metrics all suggest that the outfielder is close to (or has already) emerged from his slump.

That, as mentioned, is what a team like the Braves would look for in a trade. But if it happens a month before the trade deadline and he’s already recovered, Arozarena’s price would skyrocket, perhaps so much that he wouldn’t even be an option for Atlanta anymore.

Of course, the Braves have other options besides Arozarena. Guys like Tommy Pham, Joc Pederson, Randal Grichuk and many other veterans could step in and serve as a true mirror image of 2021, when Anthopoulos traded a whole platoon of outfielders. Of course, that worked out ideally in the end, as the end result was a World Series win for Atlanta.

However, if Anthopoulos wants to go all out with Arozarena’s upside, the Braves will have to do so sooner or later. Given the Rays outfielder’s style of play, it’s an uphill battle now, and time is running out.