This Braves-Cardinals trade would help ease the blow of losing Max Fried

The Atlanta Braves made it into the postseason on the final day after a doubleheader with the New York Mets. However, they were easily dispatched of by the San Diego Padres in a two-game sweep in the Wild Card Series. With that, the Braves have plenty of questions that need to be answered this offseason.

Yes, the Braves were hit hard by the injury bug. However, their rivals in the Philadelphia Phillies and Mets will spend big money in free agency, as both are expected to be in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. Not to mention, the Braves may have a void to fill in the starting rotation with Max Fried expected to hit free agency.

If the Braves were to watch Fried leave in free agency and sign a deal with a new team, who could they feasibly replace him with? Well, Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer listed the most likely player to be traded by every team this offseason and lists Sonny Gray of the St. Louis Cardinals. That's not exactly a shock, considering the expectation is that the Cardinals will shop him this offseason. However, Rymer lists the Braves as a potential fit.

So what would it take for the Braves to acquire Gray?

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A potential Sonny Grade trade that would help Braves fill void left by Max Fried

If the Cardinals are going to want a decent return, they will have to eat some of Gray's contract. That's exactly the point that Rymer brings up.

"This is only a year after he signed a three-year, $75 million deal with the Cardinals, but that was under a different leadership structure and before the 34-year-old embarked on an up-and-down season that included some time on the injured list.

"The only question is what the Cardinals would want to accomplish with a trade of Gray. They might simply want to dump his contract. But if they also want talent back, chances are they'll have to eat some of it."

So what would a trade look like?

Since the Cardinals are focused on building towards the future, it doesn't hurt to add some young players who already have some major league experience.

Hurston Waldrep started two games in mid-June for the Braves, but it didn't pan out as expected, as evidenced by his 16.71 ERA and 2.43 WHIP against the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays. But in the minor leagues this season, Waldrep showed what he can bring after starting off the year in rookie ball all the way up to Triple-A. Waldrep has a 3.47 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP, 97 strikeouts, and 45 walks in 93.1 innings (19 starts).

Dylan Dodd logged one game this year on Aug. 7 against the Milwaukee Brewers, where he allowed two earned runs on four hits, struck out two batters, and issued one walk in 2.0 innings. This year in Triple-A, Dodd recorded a 5.35 ERA, a 1.51 WHIP, 98 strikeouts, and 32 walks in 107.2 innings (25 games, 20 starts).

Drake Baldwin would provide the Cardinals their potential catcher of the immediate future. It's clear that there were some regrets over giving Wilson Contreras that massive contract, as evidenced by his benching in 2023. Plus, there isn't much room for Baldwin in Atlanta, given the presences of Sean Murphy and Travis d'Arnaud (who has a club option).

Baldwin played in Double-A and Triple-A this season, where he recorded a .276 batting average, a .370 on-base percentage, a .423 slugging percentage, 16 home runs, 58 runs, 88 RBI, and 129 hits in 468 at-bats (124 games).

This may seem like a lot for Braves fans, but let's not forget that this is a team built to win now. They will have to give up some of their top prospects to bring in a starter to help their chances in winning a World Series. Gray is a solid starting pitcher and easily the best in St. Louis' rotation this past season.