The Atlanta Braves should consider making a move soon.
With July here, the 2024 Major League Baseball trade deadline is less than a month away. Atlanta has been linked to several players, and it makes sense. Despite dealing with tough injuries, the Braves still have a chance to compete for a World Series title this season.
A strong trade deadline could push the Braves over the top, and they are reportedly targeting help for the starting rotation. One player mentioned as a potential target is Tampa Bay Rays veteran Zach Eflin, according to The Athletic’s David O’Brien and Jim Bowden.
“Braves get: (Right-handed pitcher) Zach Eflin and Rays get: (Right-handed pitcher) Garrett Baumann, (Outfielder) Luis Guanipa,” O’Brien and Bowden suggested. “If the Rays decide to trade him, there’s a lot to like about Eflin, starting with 63 strikeouts and only six walks in 81 1/3 innings, the second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the majors. While his strikeout rate is lower than it was in his best years with the (Philadelphia Phillies) through 2022, his walk rate is a majors-leading 0.7 per nine innings.”
The Braves are familiar with Eflin, as he spent the first seven years of his big league career with the rival Phillies. He would certainly bolster the Atlanta rotation with a 3.92 ERA in 15 starts this season.
