Braves Rumors: 3 high-end rentals, 2 extension candidates to target in trades

Braves trade targets No. 1: Michael Lorenzen is ideal one-year rental for Atlanta

Another day of banging the drum that the Braves need to trade for Michael Lorenzen with the Detroit Tigers.

Lorenzen, who is on his second straight one-year deal this season after spending the 2022 season with the Angels, will become a free agent after this year. But given what he’s done for the Tigers this season, it’s hard to see him finishing the remainder of that pact in Detroit.

Make no mistake, Lorenzen hasn’t been a dominant overall force, but he’s been extremely solid overall. In 10 starts, he’s posted a 3.75 ERA, which the Braves would undeniably take at the end of the rotation. More importantly, though, he’s also posted a 1.02 WHIP on the season, an indication that he might be more successful on a roster that better protects him.

As an expiring contract at 31 years old, Lorenzen doesn’t have an enormous amount of value for the Tigers, but he is a player that a team falling further out of contention by the day could look to move in order to acquire some sort of asset.

That’s the market that makes the most sense for the Braves if they look for a rental option. And for a pitcher who has gotten it done solidly at multiple stops, if Anthopoulos doesn’t want to spend big on a singular player at the trade deadline, then Lorenzen would make all the sense in the world as the guy who fills the team’s biggest need but doesn’t hamstring them from making other moves as well.