This emergency Braves-Pirates trade solves rotation woes once and for all

The Atlanta Braves are getting lapped in the early part of the MLB offseason. While guessing what Alex Anthopoulos plans to do in building up this roster is a lost cause, there are two things I know he loves more than anything in terms of roster construction: Never lose a trade and have players he trades for be either on team-friendly contracts or extended to ones immediately upon their arrival.

With Max Fried having signed with the New York Yankees in free agency and Charlie Morton well into his 40s in MLB free agency, what if the Braves called upon a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates to make a trade? Given that the Pirates are stacked in the rotation, they could rebuild the rest of their roster with lesser known commodities on the rise. Plus, it is Paul Skenes' team now and everyone knows it.

With that in mind, here is what it may take for the Braves to deal for Pirates right-hander Jared Jones.

And here is what it might take for the Braves to even trade for Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller.

Jones may not cost as much ast Keller, given that he only just completed his rookie season with Pittsburgh. Keller is a bit older with an MLB All-Star nod under his belt. I feel that some combination of prospects like Drake Baldwin, AJ Smith-Shawver or Hurston Waldrep could be dealt in an effort to help the braves win now. I would also say that Jarred Kelenic could be on the move as well for them.

To date, the only move the Braves have made this offseason is signing outfielder Bryan De La Cruz.

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How Atlanta Braves can trade for starting pitcher with Pittsburgh Pirates

Against my better judgement, I would argue that the Pirates are an ascending team. They could be like this year's Detroit Tigers next season. They have drafted well and seem to have an identity worth building behind. It is why I might be reticent to moving on from starting pitchers the caliber of Jones or Keller. Truth be told, a team like Atlanta is going to have to overspend to be able to land either guy.

What I keep going back to when it comes to Anthopoulos' plan of roster construction in Atlanta is he does not like paying premiums for good to even great players in free agency. He seems to be at his best when it comes to drafting or signing players out of school. More importantly, he tends to hit more home runs than not when it comes to making a big trade. The rest of baseball is aware of this.

While I do not know if the Pirates are the best trade partner when it comes to rounding out the Braves rotation, they are a better one than most across baseball. Again, deal within the National League could put the Pirates' tradable assets at a premium, something Anthopoulos is rarely down to take part in. For my money, I think there are better hidden gems out there to be had for Atlanta than this.

Regardless, Braves Country is starting to lose faith in Anthopoulos for being to painfully conservative.