3 Braves trade targets to poach from free-falling Cubs

1. Kyle Hendricks is a cheaper Braves trade target who still upgrades the rotation

So let’s say that the Braves want to upgrade at the MLB Trade Deadline, specifically in regards to upgrading the back end and depth of the starting rotation. But let’s also say they don’t want to have to go out on the market and pay top-dollar for guys like Stroman, Dylan Cease or a number of other stars that could be dealt.

Should that be the case — and it’s actually likely that is the case given how Anthopoulos has operated more often than not — then the Cubs also have an option for them to pursue in a trade: Kyle Hendricks.

The 33-year-old righty is another player who is in the final year of his contract and, given his age, that Chicago might not want to pursue keeping around beyond this season, making him a proverbial rental that they’d love to get some return for at the trade deadline.

Hendricks returned in mid-May from a shoulder injury suffered last season and has made three starts this year, posting a 4.70 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. Given that he hadn’t pitched in nearly a year, though, the signs have been promising, most notably with a 5.0-inning gem against the Rays where he allowed just one run in an eventual win.

With his age and the fact that he’s had an ERA over 4.75 in each of the past two seasons, though, Hendricks isn’t going to be an ultra-coveted commodity at the deadline. At the same time, in a situation with more protection from the offense and in the heart of a better rotation, something the Braves could offer, he could improve on that. And again, his stuff has been promising since he came back.

All of the factors at play with Hendricks mean that the trade cost should be reasonable and, if all the Braves are looking to do is find a veteran to plug the hole in the rotation, then there isn’t a better answer on the Cubs — and few elsewhere either — than Hendricks.