An emergency Braves-Red Sox trade to give Atlanta offense life

The Atlanta Braves have been left with a massive void in their lineup ever since their best player, Ronald Acuña Jr. went down with a torn ACL. To this point, Atlanta has opted to try to handle this in house, but that doesn't seem to be working at the World Series level that they intend on competing at.

So, the Braves could look to the Boston Red Sox, a team who could find themselves in prime position to sell if they don't skyrocket up the American League standings.

Baseball Reference gives the Red Sox just a 10 percent chance to make the postseason, largely in part to just how loaded the American League is this season. If the Red Sox find themselves out of contention, they would be foolish to not trade expiring contracts such as outfielder Tyler O'Neill.

A Braves-Red Sox trade that begins to fill the Ronald Acuña Jr. void

You can't replace Acuña with one player. Instead, the last time the Braves lost him for the season, they replaced him with multiple platooning outfielders.

Tyler O'Neill would be perfect as a platoon option for Atlanta. He plays great defense and currently has an OPS+ of 157 against southpaws in 2024.

The Braves could get this deal done in a simple one for one trade offer, offering their eighth ranked prospect, pitcher Cade Kuehler in exchange for O'Neill.

Kuehler is a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher who currently throws in Low-A. While he's the Braves eighth ranked prospect, he's their sixth highest ranked pitching prospect, leaving him a bit more expendable in trades than one may think. The Braves farm system is loaded with pitching talent.

The 22-year-old has looked solid in 2024, holding a 3.60 ERA in 30 innings. He has an impressive four pitch arsenal and a developed approach at getting hitters out.

The Red Sox would take this trade because the righty gives them an instant boost to the farm system. Tyler O'Neill likely won't be returning to Boston in 2025, so the Red Sox would be foolish to not deal him at the deadline.

The Braves can afford to lose Kuehler in order to grab an outfielder with superb defense and a bat that crushes lefties. O'Neill's defense alone makes him an option to play every day in the outfield, but his bat against lefty makes him impossible to leave out of the lineup against southpaws.

Alex Anthopoulos worked his magic to replace Ronald Acuña Jr in 2021. He'll have to do it again this year if the Braves want to win the World Series again.