A new Braves-Blue Jays trade to steal one of the Dodgers’ top targets

The Atlanta Braves have a few big holes to fill on their roster. If we're noting the big three holes, it's outfield, shortstop and starting pitcher. The idea that Atlanta needs a shortstop could seem crazy to some, but Orlando Arcia has taken such a giant step back in production that Atlanta can't expect to win with him in the lineup every day.

In his Tuesday trade deadline primer, ESPN senior writer David Schoenfield wrote on this, discussing how Atlanta needs to replace Arcia and mentions Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette as a potential replacement.

"Arcia has regressed in a big way, hitting .211 with a .245 OBP," Schoenfield said. "He does provide good defense, but Bichette could be an impact player for 2024 and 2025."

An updated Braves-Blue Jays trade that pushes both teams where they want to be

Earlier this week, I proposed an offer for the Braves to acquire Bichette before the Dodgers can that seems fair on both sides. Find that proposal here. But let's take it a step further and make the deal more enticing for both sides of the trade. We can push this deal to the point where neither side can say no.

Note: The Braves may have to throw in a player to be named later to get the deal done, but for now, this seems like a realistic hypothetical.

Let's discuss the key differences between this deal and the one from a few days ago.

The first thing is the addition of Chris Bassitt to the Braves and Spencer Schwellenbach to the Blue Jays. Drue Hackenberg also replaces Cade Kuehler on his way to Toronto.

On the Braves side of the deal, adding in a win-now pitcher in exchange for a prospect with potential makes a ton of sense. Next season, Atlanta will have Spencer Strider back, as well as the continued development of Bryce Elder, Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver. Bassitt helps them win now in a way that Schwellenbach doesn't, while Bassitt will also be back in the rotation in 2025 as well.

Atlanta also gets to keep Cade Kuehler, sending Drue Hackenberg instead. Hackenberg is talented, but Kuehler is the much higher potential prospect and has an MLB ETA that lines up better for Atlanta.

For Toronto, if they're committing to the rebuild and dealing Bichette they would need to deal Bassitt too. Both contracts expire after 2025 and it wouldn't make sense to hold onto one and not the other.

They would be receiving three MLB-ready prospects including Schwellenbach to immediately replace Bassitt and Alvarez to immediately replace Bichette. Obviously, Schwellenbach and Alvarez are still prospects, so their careers are hard to accurately predict and judge at this stage, but the idea now is that both will be regular big leaguers over the course of the next few years. Vines has that outlook as well.

Toronto isn't looking to completely destroy their team and start from scratch in the way that the Chicago White Sox are. The White Sox have been vocal that their attention is on young, high-potential prospects. The Blue Jays can sit more comfortably with the MLB-ready guys proposed in the trade above.