Braves need to strike fast on perfect trade target before his price goes up

Despite losing Spencer Strider for the season, despite losing Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season and despite Michael Harris II being out for an extended period, the Atlanta Braves still aren't going anywhere. They are eight games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East but that's a gap they've overcome before in the division and, if nothing else, the club still has a firm hold on the top NL Wild Card spot.

Having said that, maintaining that will likely take another Alex Anthopoulos masterclass at the forthcoming MLB trade deadline. A fifth starting pitcher to bolster the rotation is a need but even more dire of a need is more outfield depth, not dissimilar to the situation that the Braves face in 2021 when Acuña tore his other ACL previously.

One of the most ideal trade targets for the Braves that has been connected to Atlanta to this point has been former Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Randy Arozarena. However, if that's the route that Anthopoulos wants to go, then he may have to act quite quickly before the price starts to rise out of the ideal range.

Braves need to trade for Randy Arozarena sooner than later

Perhaps the most enticing aspect of Arozarena as a Braves trade target has been the perception of buying a somewhat-distressed asset. Arozarena is in the midst of by far his worst MLB season at 29 years old, slashing a meager .190/.302/.343 on the year. Even with two years of club control remaining after this season, interested buyers would hope he could return to form and take advantage of his recent downturn to start the 2024 season in terms of what trade price they'd pay.

Having said that, things seem like they're turning around for Arozarena. Over the last 15 days, he has a slash line of .300/.431/.525 with two home runs, three doubles, and seven RBI in 40 at-bats. And as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times ($) noted, those numbers and the underlying metrics all indicate the outfielder is on the verge (or already) of busting out of his slump.

That, as mentioned, is what a team like the Braves would be banking on in a trade. But if it starts to happen a month before the trade deadline and he's already rebounded, the price for Arozarena would skyrocket, perhaps so much so that he wouldn't even be an option for Atlanta any longer.

Now, to be sure, the Braves have other options beyond Arozarena. Guys like Tommy Pham, Joc Pederson, Randal Grichuk and plenty of other veterans could come in and serve as a true mirror of 2021 when Anthopoulos traded for a full platoon of outfielders. That obviously worked out ideally in the end with a World Series win for Atlanta being the end result.

However, if Anthopoulos wants to swing for the fences with the upside of Arozarena, the fact of the matter is that the Braves need to make it happen sooner than later. With the way the Rays outfielder is playing, there is now a needle to thread, and time is of the essence.