2 affordable trades Braves can make for NL East run

Mychal Givens can upgrade the bullpen without the long-term commitment

As with the Orioles, the Colorado Rockies are going nowhere this season. With the Rockies being obvious sellers at the deadline, it is interesting that the bulk of their best assets are on the pitching staff and not in the field. While guys like Daniel Bard, German Marquez and Jon Gray have gotten a lot of attention as potential trade pieces, keep an eye on right-hander Mychal Givens to be moved, too.

In 24 games for the Rockies, Givens has a 2.78 ERA and a 1.279 WHIP in 22.2 innings pitched. He is averaging more than a strikeout per inning and continues to be a solid relief pitcher wherever he goes. The seven-year big-league veteran is in a contract year ahead of his age-32 season out of Tampa. He is the perfect cheap bullpen option a team like the Braves would love to acquire here.

Givens’ trade value may climb in the coming weeks with more and more teams in need of bullpen help somehow convincing themselves they have what it takes to make the postseason this October. This gives a team like Colorado a ton of leverage, who is totally playing for next year and beyond. It might be just a rental, but Givens satisfies a lot of what the Braves could be looking for.

Ultimately, the Braves will be adding to its bullpen if they are buyers this deadline. While Atlanta could be sellers if they struggle against the Fish and the Buccos for some reason over the next two weeks, we know what this club’s bottleneck is. They have to address the bullpen if they want to move forward towards an outside shot at a postseason berth. Atlanta has big decisions to make.

What other team-friendly deals should the Braves look at making in the next few weeks or so?