Braves rumors: A Dansby Swanson replacement no one has thought of yet

The Atlanta Braves have an in-house replacement for Dansby Swanson in 21-year-old Vaughn Grissom, but another option was just made available via trade.

Dansby Swanson signed for $177 million in Chicago, which was an offer Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos was never going to match.

Swanson is a solid player, but he is coming off a career-best offensive season, and most advanced statistics project a regression to the norm in that department. Dansby is great defensively, but that alone doesn’t make him worth $177 million.

So, where do the Braves turn from here? 21-year-old shortstop, Vaughn Grissom, has been preparing for this moment all offseason with Ron Washington. Washington liked what he saw from Grissom in their New Orleans training session.

However, a veteran to hold down the fort might make more sense than throwing a 21-year-old into the fire.

Braves rumors: Padres’ Ha-Seong Kim is available

We’ve already seen Alex Anthopoulos swing for the fences once this offseason when he acquired catcher Sean Murphy, previously of the Oakland Athletics, and signed him to a lucrative extension.

Ha-Seong Kim has been made available by the San Diego Padres. Kim has experience at shortstop and second base, and is an elite defender at both positions. The former KBO star slashed .251/.325/.383 last season as well, and won’t come cheap for any fellow contender. San Diego signed Xander Bogaerts to a lucrative contract this offseason, which makes a player like Kim expendable. Trent Grisham, a center fielder, was also reportedly made available by A.J. Preller, per The Athletic.

San Diego needs starting pitching, which is what they prioritize as they consider dealing these two expendable assets. The Padres have an excess of up-the-middle talent, which surely isn’t a bad problem to have.

Should the Braves take another swing, Kim will be slotted in as the starting shortstop come Opening Day.