The Atlanta Braves new regime of John Hart and John Coppolella love making trades. The plethora of trades made over the three seasons is only comparable to a videogame. The majority of these trades have been a smashing success for the future of the organization. While it saw many fan-favorites leave, including Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, and Craig Kimbrel, the players received in return were worth it. Dansby Swanson, Mike Foltynewicz, Ender Inciarte, Max Fried, and many others have now entered the team’s plans for World Series contention for years to come. As a result, the Braves 2017 trades should kept to a minimum.
The Atlanta Braves 2017 Trades Should be Minimal
The Starters
The starting nine on a nightly basis is good enough to compete. Currently, there is a nice mix of veterans and young, talented plyers. Older players such as Matt Kemp, Brandon Phillips, Bartolo Colon, and R.A. Dickey will not be with the Braves long after the season. This is perfect for Atlanta. They will teach the young players how to act like a professionals while trying to win every game possible. The younger generation already in the majors gets to soak up as much information as it can along the way. Then, once the older players leave, the minor leaguers who take their place can be taught by the players still on the team. Many of the acquisitions that have been made for the older players have filled stopgap positions until the prospects are ready.
The Minor-League System
Every major site has the Braves rated as the number one farm system is baseball. Many of the top prospects are pitchers, but there are very good position players as well. While they are not ready right now, many will be in just a year or two. The stopgap players the Braves have in 2017 are perfect for this scenario. Fill the holes for this season and next, and then let the young talent take over when they are ready to compete at the highest level.
Trade Possibilities
The Braves get linked to trades every year. The most notable names are Chris Archer and Jose Quintana. Archer is a fantastic pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays; however, he would cost a small fortune in terms of the amount of prospects the Braves would have to give up in return. The same goes for Quintana. While these types of major trades would excite the fanbase, they would hurt the long-term success of the team. They would either block great talent in the minors, or Atlanta would have to give up four or five prospects to get back one or two major league players.
Conclusion
Atlanta needs to stand pat this season and make only strategic trades to help here and there. Major, blockbuster trades will only hurt the long-term success of the franchise. This is something the front office has been working to increase over the past three years. The current major league team is good enough to compete this year while only having veterans on one or two year deals. While Atlanta might not win the trade deadline this season, they are setting up to contend for World Series for years to come.
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