Braves: 3 trade deadline targets from surprise sellers

3) Potential Braves trade deadline target: Taking a chance on Johnny Cueto

From two current Giants to someone who pitched for them very recently, Johnny Cueto has found a home with the Chicago White Sox this year—ironically enough the team Rodon played for prior to heading to San Francisco.

Cueto has been surprisingly good for a White Sox team that has been anything but. While they haven’t waved the white flag yet, their season has been one where fighting to even get to .500 has been a great challenge. Knowing that all three wild card teams could easily come out of the American League East, their only hope is to catch the Cleveland Guardians and more importantly, the Minnesota Twins.

Cueto is a veteran that the White Sox need to flip at the trade deadline if buying isn’t on the agenda. They took a chance on him and he has become a trade chip rather than a solution.

The White Sox don’t have a whole lot of trade candidates on their roster because of how they were built to compete this year and into the future. Cueto might be the only guy they reasonable sell. The Braves, potentially in need of some starting pitcher depth even on a temporary basis, have little to lose. Cueto might not be in the prime of his career but he can certainly eat up a few starts and give Atlanta more than some of the other options out there.