Corbin Burnes deal gives Braves risky potential Max Fried replacement

If you ever really thought that the Atlanta Braves were going to make a play for Corbin Burnes, you were probably kidding yourself. But it's of no matter now as Burnes inked a six-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks late on Friday night (or early Saturday morning, depending on your part of the country). Meanwhile, Alex Anthopoulos Braves have remained mostly quiet.

The quietness in Cobb County is rightfully concerning to many Braves fans. While Anthopoulos worked wonders a year ago in orchestrating both the Reynaldo Lopez signing and the Chris Sale trade, the job is not done. That's especially true with the now-confirmed departure of Max Fried and the unlikely return of Charlie Morton as well.

But while the Braves aren't and were never getting Burnes, the former NL Cy Young winner landing with Arizona might actually open up the door for Atlanta. In fact, the path now seems quite clear for Anthopoulos to pull off a trade that seems right up his alley for Jordan Montgomery.

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Braves opportunity to trade for Jordan Montgomery has never been better

With Burnes now in Arizona, there frankly isn't a spot in the D'Backs rotation for Montgomery after his ill-fated signing with the club after missing spring training. It was an abject disaster for the southpaw in the desert, pitching in 25 games to a dismal 6.23 ERA with a 1.65 WHIP. Now, the Diamondbacks front office has made not bones about the fact they want to move on but, after Montgomery opted in, they'll have to trade him.

But that's where the Braves could be interested. Yes, last year was a disaster for Montgomery. However, it also looks like the outlier based on his previous three seasons. From 2021-23, a run that included stints with the Yankees, Cardinals and Rangers, Monty threw to a 3.48 ERA and 1.184 WHIP over 94 starts and 524.1 innings. While that's not ace-caliber stuff, it would slot in nicely with Sale and Lopez at the top of Atlanta's rotation.

Montgomery is in the final year of his contract after picking up his player option this offseason and is owed $22.5 million. It's expected that, to move the lefty, the Diamondbacks would have to eat a good portion of that salary to get a trade done.

That's obviously where Anthopoulos would surely be intrigued. With many trades he's pulled off to this point, the Braves' top decision-maker has attacked proverbial distressed assets that are undervalued and have upside. We saw it with Sale last offseason, and Montgomery would fit into that mold as well.

It's certainly not a formality that would be the case but, with Burnes now likely leaving Jack Flaherty as the best free agent option on the market, another trade feels most likely for the Braves. And Montgomery has now emerged as an even more likely option for Atlanta when you read the room.