Braves Rumors: Sean Murphy update, Cardinals trade target, emergency plans
Braves Rumors: Jordan Hicks trade with Cardinals is a worthwhile gamble
As trade season begins to heat up, every Atlanta Braves fan is ready to see some action and new faces coming to Cobb County. And though no one would’ve predicted the scenario unfolding coming into the year, the St. Louis Cardinals might be one of the best teams for Alex Anthopoulos to work with in order to help the Braves fill their biggest needs.
No, this isn’t a contender-to-contender trade — it’s the Cardinals bottoming out and selling off pieces they’re willing to part with in order to get younger and reshape the future of the roster.
While there have been ideas for Atlanta concerning Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Carlson, Jack Flaherty and a variety of others (all of which could make sense in the right deal, to be sure) there’s one reclamation project that was mentioned as potentially being on the block by MLB insider Bob Nightengale of US Today that could be highly intriguing to Atlanta: Jordan Hicks.
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Hicks, the 26-year-old flamethrower with all the juice in the world in his right arm, has been a frustrating presence for St. Louis. His ups and downs have been extremely high and equally low throughout his young career.
That being said, the stuff is there for him to be an elite bullpen presence. For a team like the Braves that would be well-served to upgrade the ‘pen at the MLB Trade Deadline, Hicks could represent a relatively low-cost dice roll for the club to take. They have a great track record of pitcher development within their current staff and Hicks already has the baseline tools to be great.
Hicks will be a free agent after this season, a big motivating factor for the Cards wanting to move him at the deadline. If the Braves are enticed by the stuff, he could be a relatively cost-effective option for them to address a need.