Braves trade target has advantage that Alex Anthopoulos will love

Things have gone from tough to dire quite quickly when it comes to the Atlanta Braves. It was a punch to the gut when young ace Spencer Strider was put on the shelf for the rest of the season with an elbow injury. But the injury bug has since delivered some haymakers to the jaw with Ronald Acuña Jr. tearing his ACL and putting out for the rest of the year and, most recently, Michael Harris II suffering a hamstring injury.

All of the injuries the Braves have been forced to endure will almost certainly inform what Alex Anthopoulos will do before the July 31 MLB Trade Deadline. Many expect the general manager to somewhat replicate what we saw in 2021 when Acuña previously injured his other knee wherein Anthopoulos added four separate outfielders via trade. Four might be a reach but Atlanta will surely have some new faces out in the grass come Aug. 1.

Pitching, however, is another matter entirely. With the way offseason additions Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez have paid off alongside Max Fried, the Braves don't need to star hunt. However, solidifying the fifth spot in the rotation could absolutely be a priority.

One name connected several times to the Braves has been Los Angeles Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson. Most recently, MLB insider Jon Heyman named Atlanta the best fit for Anderson on the current trade market. But in doing so, he also revealed why Anthopoulos could quite conceivably view Anderson as more valuable than other potential trade targets.

Braves trade target Tyler Anderson comes with major advantage

As Heyman noted, Anderson is in the second year of a three-year, $40 million contract he signed last offseason with the Angels. That would mean that the Braves would be able to not only have him for this year's playoff run but he could be a crucial cog for the 2025 season as well.

In many cases, this might not look like an advantage. An extra year of the deal, in theory, could drive up the price on any trade with the Halos. While that may be true, for the Braves specifically, that could be highly beneficial.

It's increasingly likely that Max Fried departs in free agency this offseason while Charlie Morton is all but surely heading for retirement. Even if Strider is ready to return Opening Day, that's two holes to fill still in the rotation. With Anderson, that becomes far less concerning. And it'd look even better for the Braves considering a relatively team-friendly contract with the way he's pitched this season.

Through 14 starts, Anderson has eight Quality Starts to his credit with a stellar 2.58 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. After struggling a bit last season, he's back to the form he showed with the Dodgers in 2022 and could be the veteran presence needed in the Atlanta rotation to help shore things up.

Now, there's no telling what Anthopoulos will do for certain at the trade deadline. Frankly, he's a bit notorious (in a good way) for pulling a move out of thin air. However, Anderson and the Braves have been connected enough that you have to believe there's smoke there and, when you break it down like this, it's not hard to see why.