Braves' interest in Blue Jays starting pitchers actually doesn’t involve biggest name

As the Atlanta Braves sit a full 10 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies in division, we have to wonder if general manager Alex Anthopoulos is going to do something. What if he were to orchestrate a trade with one of his former teams? Although the Los Angeles Dodgers are not in the business of doing business with the Braves right now, the Toronto Blue Jays absolutely stink, man.

In Jim Bowden's mailbag Q&A for The Athletic, one of the 30 questions he answered ahead of the trade deadline had the Braves potentially doing business with the Blue Jays. While he was prompted about the Braves' chances of trading for one of their former starting pitchers in Kevin Gausman, Bowden said it was way more likely Atlanta would be into Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios or Yusei Kikuchi.

With the Blue Jays being down bad in the deep AL East, a team desperate to get it right like Atlanta could take advantage of an impending Toronto fire sale. It seems as though the Blue Jays have hit the end of their competitive life cycle, while the Braves are in dire need of trying to reboot theirs. They are not winning the NL East this year, but all the Braves have to do is get to October and then make a run.

Let's discuss why Bowden is more interested in the Blue Jays' other pitchers more than Gausman.

Atlanta Braves have interest in Toronto Blue Jays beyond Kevin Gausman

Bowden wrote that with the way Gausman has pitched of late, combined with his salary, that could be problematic for Atlanta. The Braves may have had a previous working relationship with Gausman back in 2018 and 2019 to start their rise to prominence. Brian Snitker is still the manager. However, the big figure Gausman carries is too big of a pill to swallow. $22 million this year and $23 million in 2025-26.

As far as the other trio of pitchers are concerned, Bassitt and Berrios have had quality seasons, statistically speaking, whereas as Kikuchi is just below league average. Gausman has actually been the worst pitcher in the underperforming Toronto rotation. A lot can change with a change of scenery, but we still have to be cognizant of the fact that maybe this is not going to be Gausman's year at all.

Overall, I think with Toronto in a tailspin and plenty of starting pitching available, Atlanta could conceivably find its precious fifth starter somewhere north of the border. To me, Atlanta has a finite ceiling as a playoff team as currently constructed. The offense has been this team's biggest bugaboo. Then again, the 2021 team wasn't anything special ... until it was. We can only hope for that.

Anthopoulos will make a trade, but none of the Blue Jays pitchers are jumping off the page for me.