Braves rumors: All-Star rotation solution, outfield boost, eyes on Gwinnett

The Atlanta Braves are bound to have one of the more interesting trade deadlines in all of baseball. They've been torn apart by the injury bug while also having one of the more aggressive general managers in baseball. That adds up to the perfect storm of a historic trade deadline in Atlanta.

The Braves need starting pitching and outfield help, badly. They have holes created by the injuries to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider. With these two missing for the season, the Braves will get creative in replacing them.

Braves rumors: Atlanta tabbed as potential landing spot for Angels ace Tyler Anderson

The Atlanta Braves need help with their pitching staff badly. The fifth spot in their rotation has been a revolving door of prospect after prospect following the elbow injury to Spencer Strider a few months ago.

Atlanta has tried Bryce Elder, Darius Vines, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep in that spot. All of the names listed have either struggled, gotten injured or both. None of them have shown the readiness to help carry Atlanta into the playoffs, which leaves the Braves in the spot to buy a starter at the deadline.

CJ Errickson of Braves Today pointed out a recent connection made by MLB insider Jon Heyman.

"According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves could be ideal trade partners for starting pitcher Tyler Anderson. The 34-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native has had a productive nine-year career, earning one All-Star appearance (2022) with the L.A. Dodgers.  He is having a successful season with a solid 2.63 ERA and has been the Angels’ top starter, posting a 5-6 record with 50 strikeouts in 13 starts."

This is quite an intriguing option for Atlanta to explore. Anderson would provide them with a much more stable starter in their rotation than what they have right now and the asking price wouldn't be as expensive as some of the pitchers on the market.

Braves rumors: Atlanta receives outfield help by recalling OF Forrest Wall

The Braves have desperately needed depth in their outfield ever since their superstar outfielder, Ronald Acuña Jr. went down with a season-ending knee injury. While they will need to look to replace him in the trade market, they have recalled some much-needed depth up to their major league roster.

Atlanta recalled Forrest Wall from Triple-A on Monday. Wall has spent a very limited time in the big leagues, appearing in 18 games across two seasons. This year, he's performing quite well in Triple-A though. He's currently slashing .287/.393/.415 across 171 at-bats in Gwinnett. He should provide some quality depth in Atlanta, mostly as a late-inning runner or defensive replacement.

In the long run, the Braves are going to need to find another everyday outfielder. As promising as Wall was as a prospect, he's just not the everyday option that Atlanta needs in order to make a playoff push. This solution can be found on the trade market, where the Braves President of Baseball Operations, Alex Anthopoulos, will likely be very aggressive.

While adding Forrest Wall to the roster is good for June depth, the Braves will use the next few weeks to find an impactful October bat out there.

Braves rumors: Ian Anderson set to make rehab start on Tuesday

The Atlanta Braves have seen one of their injured starters, Ian Anderson, take a massive step in the recovery process from Tommy John Surgery.

Tommy John Surgery typically carries a full recovery of 16-24 months. This puts the pitcher back at tip-top shape somewhere in that range. Ian Anderson is set to make a rehab start tonight, albeit likely a limited one.

Whatever the case may be, Anderson is 14 months removed from Tommy John Surgery and is already back to in-game action. Barring any setbacks, he could have one of the smoother, quicker recoveries from the injury in the last 20 years.

Anderson is set to make his start down in the Florida Complex league, marking the first time he's been on a mound in a game in nearly two calendar years.

If Anderson can get healthy and return to form, the Braves won't need to trade for a 5th starter. He was spectacular in the big leagues before the injury. Across three seasons, Anderson tossed 272.1 innings and held an ERA of 3.97. He's still just 26 years old and could still have quite a bright future ahead of him.