3 Braves trade targets from bottoming-out Cardinals and 2 to avoid

Braves Rumors: Trade target No. 1 from Cardinals – Jack Flaherty, RHP

Early in the season, I would’ve told you that it would be a bad investment on the part of the Braves to try and land Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline. But as we head into mid-June and about 1.5 months from the deadline, the right-hander is starting to look like one of the best possible Braves trade targets who could conceivably be made available at the deadline.

For the entire season, Flaherty has made 13 starts with a 4.15 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over that span. However, those numbers are heavily influenced by some still-unexplained issues he had early on that resulted in some disastrous outings. As of late, he’s been one of the best starters in baseball.

Over his last five starts, Flaherty has given up just five runs over 30.0 innings pitched, which is good for a 1.50 ERA and 1.2 WHIP over that span. He’s been downright dominant and returning to the form that the Cardinals have long been looking for with him.

The problem for St. Louis is that the media in the city and around the team have been critical of Flaherty, which he hasn’t taken kindly to. Furthermore, he has a bit of an injury history on top of that, all of which has resulted in extension talks not being fruitful as he’s set to hit free agency this coming offseason.

As such, the Cards are in legitimate danger of losing Flaherty for nothing. That’s a situation the Braves can target to address the aforementioned pitching need and, if things work out, they could also move toward an extension or at least a short-term deal to help solidify the rotation moving forward as well.