This Braves-Athletics trade would give Atlanta an ideal Jarred Kelenic platoon partner

The Braves could look to make another trade with the Athletics, this time for the ultimate platoon bat.
Milwaukee Brewers v Oakland Athletics
Milwaukee Brewers v Oakland Athletics / Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages
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The Atlanta Braves have a ton to work on this offseason. Last year, they were very injured, but the front office didn't make the necessary moves to come back from all the injuries that their roster suffered.

Heading into the winter, the Braves will be looking to add an outfielder to replace Adam Duvall, who's likely to be gone in the coming months. To replace Duvall, the Braves will need to find a right handed hitter that smashes left handed pitching. This player will platoon in the outfield with Jarred Kelenic, who hits right handed pitching much better than left.

One place where the Braves could look is with the Oakland Athletics, who the Braves have a history of pulling off favorable trades with. Outfielder Miguel Andujar would fit this role perfectly for Atlanta.

Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report agrees, listing Miguel Andujar as his most likely Athletics player to be traded this offseason.

"Though they also held onto Miguel Andujar, he looks like the best candidate of the three to move this winter. Whereas Rooker (DH) and Bleday (CF) are locked into starting jobs, Andujar is slated to be more of a platoon hitter next year," Rymer wrote.

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A Braves-Athletics trade to bring the ultimate right-handed platoon bat to Atlanta

Acquiring Andujar wouldn't be very expensive for the Braves. Andujar is entering his final season of arbitration on his contract before he heads into unrestricted free agency in 2026.

Andujar Braves

The trade would be simple. With Andujar being a one year rental, the Braves could acquire him for a single prospect in the 20-30 ranked range, per MLB Pipeline. The prospect that sticks out to me is Lucas Braun for this situation. He was good enough the last two years to be a valuable piece, but he's not one of the Braves top pitching prospects, so they can afford to part ways with him.

Braun, 23, is more of a command artist than anything. He doesn't feature any specific outlier pitch, like many of the top pitching prospects in the game do. But Braun has a solid pitch repertoire, and he commands it exceptionally well. He has a 3.16 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP across 30 starts and 170.2 innings pitched in pro ball.

Andujar, 29, slashed .285/.320/.377 in 75 games last year. But, more importantly, he slashed .411/.459/.536 in 61 plate appearances against left handed pitching. To say that he smashes southpaws would be an understatement.

A move like this is exactly what both teams need. The Braves would get a beneficial player for cheap while the Athletics would be dumping an expiring player for a promising prospect. Who says no?

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