3 emergency Braves trades to replace Max Fried after surprising injury

The injury woes continue for this Atlanta Braves team. Not only did Ozzie Albies suffer an injury during Sunday's loss that will result in him going onto the IL, but Max Fried suffered an injury of his own and was placed onto the 15-day IL before Sunday's game. Chances are, he'll be out longer than the 15 days.

This is a major blow to a Braves rotation that already needed reinforcement at the trade deadline. Spencer Strider is out for the season. Hurston Waldrep is out as well. Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, and Spencer Schwellenbach all have innings concerns. Depth options like Bryce Elder have underwhelmed. Don't forget Charlie Morton is 40 years old as well.

With another nine days to go until the trade deadline, Atlanta has time to figure out the right trade(s) for them to make. In the meantime, any of these can make sense.

3) A Braves-Rays trade for Zach Eflin after Max Fried's injury

Replacing Fried with a pitcher of Fried's caliber would be ideal, but the Braves almost certainly won't be in the market for pitchers like Garrett Crochet or Tarik Skubal, so looking at lower tiers makes sense. With that in mind, Zach Eflin could be an ideal target for Atlanta to consider.

Eflin has had a mildly disappointing season as evidenced by his 4.14 ERA in 18 starts, but his 3.65 FIP and 3.38 xERA shows that he has been getting pretty unlucky on the mound. With more luck down the stretch, he can be a vital contributor for any team if traded. The Tampa Bay Rays are tricky to read, but with how they operate, virtually anyone is available for the right price.

Eflin is a solid mid-rotation arm who has experience in the NL East dating back to his days with the Phillies. He has another year of club control, which would help if Fried departs in free agency after the year. The only thing is that Eflin's additional year of control might result in the Braves having to give up a bit more than they'd like. A package like this could work for both sides.

The Rays would receive three prospects in return for Eflin, highlighted by Drake Baldwin, Atlanta's top catching prospect and their No. 10 prospect overall. With Sean Murphy locked in long-term behind the plate, Baldwin is expendable. He's swung a great bat since his promotion to Triple-A (.946 OPS in 26 games) and can contribute to a Rays team in dire need of an offensive boost from the catcher position either late this season or early next.

In addition, the Rays would throw in a pair of pitching prospects. Darius Vines' age makes him a big unappealing since he is already 26 years old, but he also could be a back-end starter immediately. De Avila has a 3.65 ERA in 16 starts at the AA level this season, and could contribute to the Rays sometime in 2025.

The Rays would be getting three players who can contribute to their MLB team sooner than later while trading Eflin while they can still get a nice haul back.

2) A Braves-White Sox trade for Erick Fedde after Max Fried's injury

Speaking of controllable starters, Erick Fedde is under club control for the 2025 season as well, and on an extremely team-friendly salary of $7.5 million. Pulling off a trade for him would allow the Braves to add more pieces considering how cheap he is.

He didn't do much in his first six seasons with the Nationals, but he dominated the KBO in 2023 and has come back a completely different pitcher, posting a 2.99 ERA in 19 first-half starts and 111.1 innings pitched. An argument could easily be made that he was snubbed from the All-Star team based on how well he has pitched.

It'd cost a lot for any team to get him considering his extra year of control, but the Braves should be willing to spend a lot to get him considering the bang for their buck that they'd be getting.

In this trade, Atlanta would be sending two intriguing prospects to the Chicago White Sox, in Drue Hackenberg and David McCabe. Hackenberg was recently promoted to AA and is an exciting arm, but he's one of many pitching prospects in their farm system. The Braves shouldn't want to give him up, but can afford to for an arm like Fedde.

David McCabe has missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, but made it up to High-A last season and had a .835 OPS with 17 home runs overall. He's primarily a third baseman but can play either corner infield position, and can potentially help the White Sox as soon as next season if he comes back strong.

Giving up a pair of their top 11 prospects is not something that the Braves would likely be rushing to do, but to get an arm like Fedde, it'd be worthwhile.

1) A Braves-Tigers trade for Jack Flaherty after Max Fried's injury

Tarik Skubal would be the dream Detroit Tigers player for the Braves to acquire, but let's be real. That isn't happening. Detroit's No. 2 starter, Jack Flaherty, can be had, though, and he'd make this Braves team much better.

Flaherty has had an outstanding season, posting a 3.13 ERA in 17 starts and 100.2 innings of work. He has fanned 127 batters while issuing just 17 walks. Injuries are a bit of a concern, and the fact that he'd be a rental makes him less appealing, but when he's on, he's unhittable. He can be the kind of game-changer that helps the Braves win the World Series.

Is it unrealistic for Atlanta to part with a pitcher of JR Ritchie's caliber for a rental? Maybe not. However, with how good Flaherty is and how many teams need starting pitchers, the Braves would need to overpay for an arm like this. Ritchie realistically can get it done without needing anything else.

The right-hander has been limited to just four starts this season and 13 in his professional career after recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he was picked in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft for a reason. He's supremely talented, and despite the missed time, he's still just 21 years old. His last time out saw him throw five hitless innings with seven strikeouts.

The Tigers would have to wait a little while for Ritchie to make an impact at the MLB level considering the fact that he hasn't pitched much at all since he was drafted, but it'd be worth the wait. With how well they've developed pitching, there'd be a lot for them to be excited about.

Again, would the Braves consider this? I don't know. That's probably around what it'd take for them to get a pitcher of Flaherty's caliber, though. Considering how far away he is from making an impact in the majors, the Braves shouldn't shy away from dealing him, especially when they have so many other pitching prospects in the top part of their system.