Braves Rumors: Great sign for Michael Harris II, no more bullpen games, Rockies trade target

Braves Rumors: Kyle Freeland is trade target Atlanta should be all-in on

Going back to the rotation, though, if the Braves are going to move away from the bullpen, then they could undoubtedly look to start trying to upgrade their starting pitching, especially with things around Kyle Wright’s potential return sounding like it could be a while for the 20-game winner from last season.

Even when Max Fried returns, the rotation would look like Fried, Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder and Charlie Morton with the likes of Soroka, Dodd and Jared Shuster vying for that fifth spot. But the Braves could also hit the trade market to make a splash to shore things up for the remainder of the season and a possible postseason run. And the plummeting Rockies could be an easy seller with a prime southpaw to target in a trade: Kyle Freeland.

The 30-year-old Freeland has been extremely impressive this season and over the past few years as well. He has a 3.88 ERA and 1.24 WHIP on the season in spite of playing his home games at the hitter-friendly haven known as Coors Field.

Though his road ERA has oddly been higher this season — undoubtedly impacted by getting shelled in Arlington on Saturday, by far his worst road start of the year to this point — this is a pitcher who posted a 3.08 and 1.30 WHIP away from Coors last year and has a sub-4.00 ERA and sub-1.40 WHIP for his career on the road.

Perhaps the biggest complication is that the Rockies have long resisted trading Freeland and recently signed him to a five-year, $64.5 million contract. Even still, that’s a deal the Braves could afford given that it’s relatively modest. More importantly, with Colorado once again falling out of contention and the lefty now 30 years old, maybe this is the time when the look to deal him, especially with him being under contract now on a solid deal for any team.

Put simply, the Braves should be leaving no stone unturned when it comes to trade targets to upgrade their pitching staff. So if there’s a chance they could go after Freeland, there’s no way Alex Anthopoulos shouldn’t be making some calls.