What it would cost the Braves to trade for best possible Ronald Acuña Jr. replacement

Alex Anthopoulos is up to something. We don't what that is because the Atlanta Braves general manager operates in silence like a ninja. What we do know is he needs to find a way to replace Ronald Acuña Jr. before the trade deadline. He did it before back in 2021. It worked out wonderfully for Atlanta. It remains to be seen if he can do it again. In a way, he may have tipped his hand just a bit...

During Memorial Day Weekend, Anthopoulos went on 680 The Fan and said Atlanta could be looking to address its glaring need in the outfield. While Adam Duvall and Jarred Kelenic can certainly hold their own every day, it does put a ton of pressure on Michael Harris II in center to lead the way, as well as limiting Atlanta's overall outfield depth. What if Atlanta tried to trade for someone like Kyle Tucker?

The Houston Astros are having a year from hell and are probably going to be sellers. Tucker is coming into his own as a star in the outfield for the perennial AL West power. He is under contract for the rest of this year and next, hitting free agency in 2026. For as much as he would help the Atlanta lineup, outfield and everything in between, the price tag Dana Brown will command from Atlanta is too much.

Unless Brown wants to give his former Braves boss a discount, Houston isn't selling Tucker for cheap.

How Atlanta Braves can trade for Houston Astros OF Kyle Tucker

I think it starts with giving up Hurston Waldrep, probably AJ Smith-Shawver and maybe one other player in the Braves' depleted minor league system. If Atlanta wants to address the Acuña injury properly, then Anthopoulos is going to have to accept that probably both of his top two pitchers in the minor league system will be gone. That puts a ton of pressure on Spencer Schwellenbach now.

Look. The Braves are going to have to do something. Their World Series window is wide open. Although catching the Philadelphia Phillies in-division may not be in the cards, perhaps not having a first-round bye will do this team a world of good. After all, Atlanta won the World Series as the No. 3 seed in the NL three years ago. It came after Anthopoulos had to rebuild the entire outfield on the fly.

The good news this time around is Anthopoulos only needs to address one outfield position, and not all three at the same time. For as much fun as adding Tucker to the equation would be, Atlanta needs to find its next batch of Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler to get to the promised land. With Duvall already on the team, Anthopoulos may not have to give up the farm to fix the outfield.

Unfortunately, the price may be too much for the Braves to acquire a year and change out of Tucker.