The Move to Make to Overtake
The Braves are coming off a sweep of the Colorado Rockies, the first sweep of the season for Atlanta. The 3-game sweep also makes up the majority of the five game winning streak the Braves are riding right now. Even so, the Braves are sitting 8.5 games behind the New York Mets.
Trailing the Mets is a familiar spot for the Braves, as they’re currently mirroring last season; the only problem is that New York is capable of holding that lead unlike last year when they were as fraudulent as a contending baseball team can be. Not only are they for real, they’re playing without Jacob deGrom & Max Scherzer, two of the game’s best pitchers.
Moves?
In order for Atlanta to creep up on New York & eventually overtake them, there will need to be impact moves made. The first, if I was the decision-maker, would be moving Marcell Ozuna for a starting pitcher. Marcell’s defense is exactly what we all knew, putrid. So to avoid being a liability, he needs to DH; problem there is that he’s not the best DH on the team. That man is William Contreras.
Marcell needs to go.
Now Step 2: find a starting pitcher.
The first name that comes to mind is Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have spent the offseason trading away all but two of their desirable pieces. BUT, Marcell’s contract is a little rich for the contracts that Cincinnati’s been receiving in exchange for their exports.
So we look toward a team that was looked at as a World Series contender but I’d currently third in their division. If they pick it up before the trade deadline then there’s no chance they’ll deal this guy I’m about to say. But if they maintain their current play or regress, they’ll be sellers at the deadline. That team & that pitcher is Lucas Giolito from the Chicago White Sox.