The Atlanta Braves came into the season with some huge expectations, but seemingly everything has gone wrong for Atlanta. They've lost multiple players to injuries early in the season while also losing their biggest free agent acquisition, Jurickson Profar, for half the season and the postseason due to a failed drug test.
Despite all this, the Braves are still 25-29 and six games out of a postseason spot. With Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider back for Atlanta, the front office has no excuse to not go for broke to try to win right now, but that would require the Braves needing to buy at the trade deadline. Will they do it?
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Will the Braves be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline?
The Braves need to be buyers at the trade deadline. They have a lot of talent, but they're just not gelling right now. Acuña has returned and seems like one of the best players in all of baseball already while Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Chris Sale should anchor a very talented pitching rotation.
The Braves are a winning team that's not playing like it right now. They need to go out and add the talent to put themselves in a position to win because the fanbase might revolt if they don't do so. But who could the Braves target on the trade block? There are a lot of holes to fill on this roster.
Who could be the best trade targets for the Braves?
The Braves need to upgrade a few different positions, but it's notably the middle infield, starting pitching depth, and some backend bullpen arms that would be the best spots for Atlanta to upgrade. Luckily for the Braves, there are some talented options to look at there.
Trade target 1: RHP Ryan Helsley
The Braves have seen spotty play from Raisel Iglesias this season which could lead them to the trade market to add a star closer. If they want to go big, the biggest and best option potentially on the block is St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley.
Helsley led the league in saves a year ago and has looked good this season. There's a chance the Cardinals opt to hold onto the expiring closer, but given his value on the trade market, even the contending Cardinals could look to deal him away.
Trade target 2: RHP Felix Bautista
Baltimore Orioles closer Felix Bautista is in a similar boat to Helsley, but he might be even more expensive in a deal considering he has a few years left of arbitration.
The righty hasn't rebounded from Tommy John surgery as well as expected, but he's still been good. The issue here is the Orioles might not sell aggressively enough to part ways with their star closer. The Braves would need to give up a lot of prospects to make this potential deal a reality.
Trade target 3: INF Ezequiel Tovar
The Braves desperately need to add an infielder this season, especially following Orlando Arcia leaving for a deal with the Colorado Rockies. With Arcia in Colorado, the Braves could look to land a deal for young infielder Ezequiel Tovar.
Tovar is slashing .274/.317/.416 in his age 23 season following a Gold Glove campaign in 2024. He would be quite expensive to acquire, but the Braves would benefit tremendously from adding him to their infield. If there's one player the Braves should target at the deadline, it's Tovar.
Trade target 4: RHP Nick Martinez
At the time of writing this, the Braves are awaiting an update on the elbow of AJ Smith-Shawver, but the early indications show that things could be serious after the young righty reportedly felt a pop in his elbow.
With that in mind, a trade for Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez would make a lot of sense. Martinez has been excellent this season and sits on an expiring contract. The Braves would be able to use him for the rest of the season before potentially transitioning him back to a reliable bullpen arm if the starting rotation gets healthy.