Another Braves-White Sox trade that gives Atlanta the reliever it needs

Once again, the Atlanta Braves are among the best teams in baseball and once again, they're looking to be buyers before the trade deadline. As every buying team does, Atlanta will look to bolster their bullpen. The Braves know first hand just how important a deep, structured bullpen is when it comes to winning in October.

This past offseason, the Braves negotiated a trade with the Chicago White Sox to acquire reliever Aaron Bummer, in exchange for five players. Thus far, it has panned out, recording a 3.45 ERA through 16 games. Even so, it doesn't hurt to load up, especially with the team having World Series aspirations.

While 2024 will absolutely have some huge names hit the market, the Braves might not need one of the bigger names in the game to help their bullpen. They don't necessarily need a total revamp of their bullpen, as it's actual been quite good. But it never hurts to add a flamethrower with a bit of team control. The Braves could do business with the White Sox again, this time for Michael Kopech.

A potential one for one trade that sends Michael Kopech to Atlanta

The White Sox will undoubtably enter a fire sale in the coming weeks. They've already traded some of their best talent over the last few seasons. Michael Kopech, an intimidating righty, could be the next domino to fall in their full scale rebuild. USA Today's Bob Nightengale noted that Kopech could be one of many players the White Sox could trade by the July 30 deadline.

This trade is much simpler than a ton of trades in the past too. As the White Sox are losing a pitcher that they're going to lose anyway, they would likely want a pitcher in return. Good news for both parties, the Braves top five prospects are all right-handed pitchers.

The simplicity of this trade is probably as easy as a one for one, which isn't very rare when it comes to relievers being dealt.

The Braves will likely offer a deal of number five prospect Owen Murphy in exchange for Kopech. And the White Sox would be foolish to not take the deal.

Murphy, 20, projects as a starter in the big leagues with a potential four pitch mix. He'll likely never be an overpowering presence on the mound, with a fastball that will likely sit in the low 90's for good, but his spin rate and pitchability help him out here.

This season, Murphy recorded a 1.54 ERA, a 0.73 WHIP, 60 strikeouts, and 12 walks in 41.0 innings (seven starts).

With the White Sox absolutely selling on Kopech, the Braves could be the perfect team to swoop in and pick him up. It may not end up being this simple of a trade, but this is definitely an idea of something we could see in the near future.