A Braves-Blue Jays trade to buy low on Ronald Acuña Jr. replacement

Ever since the Atlanta Braves lost their superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season, they've been left with an MVP sized void in their outfield and in their lineup. While Alex Anthopoulos has a positive track record for being able to work magic at the trade deadline, this season looks to be his tallest task yet.

One place where Athopoulos has thrived is by buying what the industry calls "change of scenery" players. This means they're a talented or struggling player that could benefit from being traded to another team and getting a fresh start.

George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays is a perfect "change of scenery" candidate, as dubbed by MLB insider Jon Heyman. A trade of Springer to the Braves could make perfect sense.

A Braves-Blue Jays trade to turn George Springer's season around

Springer is slashing .196/.283/.298 on the season, good for the worst year of his career. In fact, it's not even really that close. His OPS+ has never been below 100, but this season it sits in the high 60s. To make matters worse, Springer is owed more than $50 million left on his contract.

There's a good bit to unpack here. George Springer is a former World Series MVP, what makes his value just the Braves 25th and 26th prospects in return?

Well, honestly, Springer's value isn't even that high and the Blue Jays would only be able to get two top 30 prospects in return by eating half of his remaining contract, which is why "cash considerations" is listed in the trade.

Springer's value is so low because he simply hasn't shown the ability to be the player he once was and he's attached to a massive contract. Nobody wants to pay a player $50 million to be a sub-.200 level hitter.

Atlanta would be buying him in this deal for a few simple reasons.

The Braves would be buying him on the idea that the change of scenery could kickstart him back to a positive offensive player. Surrounding him with All-Stars in the Braves lineup, with a new coaching staff and a new fan base could work wonders for him.

They're also trading two prospects that may never bring a real impact to Atlanta. Not that they aren't talented prospects, but they're on the older side and two of Atlanta's lowest floor top 30 prospects.

Getting half of Springer's contract off their hands may be enough for the Blue Jays to take this deal no matter the prospect return. It's hard to truly gauge how eager the Blue Jays would be to move him if they did start their rebuild this season.