What prospects would you be willing to trade away for J.T. Realmuto?
-- @chrisbetta69
Basically any young asset not named Ronald Acuna Jr. or Kyle Wright. The demand for Realmuto will go beyond the reality as he has established himself as the premier player at a premium position. The Phillies and Nationals will also likely attempt to acquire the 27-year-old catcher. But the Marlins' optimal return might come via the pitching depth that exists within the Braves' elite pipeline.
Looking ahead, it appears the Braves will enter 2019 with Mike Foltynewicz, Kevin Gausman and Sean Newcomb in their rotation. There will certainly be a desire to add a front-line starter to this mix. So, suddenly you're looking at possibly one or two available rotation spots.
There's also an obvious need to maintain some of this depth to address next season's inevitable needs. But when six of your pitchers -- Mike Soroka, Wright, Ian Anderson, Touki Toussaint, Luiz Gohara and Kolby Allard -- rank among MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects, you can somewhat comfortably deal from a position of strength.
Before getting too attached to a prospect, think about what happened over the past year with Soroka (missed most of the season with a right shoulder ailment), Gohara (went from Rookie of the Year candidate to potential liability) and Allard (provided immediate proof he wasn't ready for the Major League level).
Maybe Soroka's shoulder issues will be a thing of the past. Maybe Gohara will benefit from offseason conditioning and a more disciplined lifestyle. Maybe a year of physical growth will allow Allard to re-establish his potential.
The fact is we can't precisely say what the future holds for any of these pitching prospects, most of whom have not yet celebrated a 23rd birthday. Nor do we know whether Toussaint's big league walk rate (6.5 walks per nine innings) should be viewed as a concern or a product of youth.
But we know that Realmuto has established himself as one of the game's best catchers and that he would help satisfy a need to add a quality right-handed bat to the lineup. Acquiring him at a 2019 cost of approximately $6.1 million (MLB Trade Rumors' arbitration estimate) would give the Braves the flexibility necessary to be more aggressive with their pursuit to satisfy other offensive and pitching needs.
:: Submit a question to the Braves Inbox ::
John Smoltz compared Max Fried to Blake Snell during the National League Division Series. But is there room in next year's rotation for him? Seems to me he'd be one of the top names included in a deal.
-- @thisismohall
I'm certainly not ready to place Fried in the same category as Snell, who was one of the game's top pitchers this year. With that being said, Fried at least showed me something as he appeared to be more confident and aggressive when used as a reliever near the end of this past season.
If another team shows interest in Fried, he's certainly somebody I'd include in a trade. But if he doesn't get moved, I'd consider putting him in the bullpen at the beginning of next season. His curveball could prove to be a weapon in some matchup situations, and the reliever workload might lessen some of the concerns about his ability to remain healthy.
Is Madison Bumgarner a more reasonable trade target than Jacob deGrom?
-- @JustinLanceSim1
Before we had no clue who would be calling the shots for the Mets, deGrom stood as one of the most difficult players to trade. But instead of remaining closed-minded by thinking there's no way a club could offer enough for the Mets to justify trading deGrom, it's seemingly sensical to at least say if provided a significant offer, the Mets have to consider whether to make the deal or risk spending the next few years looking forward to little more than the days deGrom starts.
With that being said, it should be noted that the Mets owned the National League East's best record (45-37) from July 1 through the end of this year's regular season. The Braves ranked second with a 43-38 mark. So, during the season's final three months, deGrom was obviously not the Mets' only bright spot.
As for Bumgarner, yeah for the right price it might make sense to gamble on him for a year. But he's certainly not the same pitcher who once owned October. After intimidating hitters with a mix of four-seamers and sliders, he's become more of a sinker/cutter guy whose strikeout rate this year (7.5 Ks per nine innings) rivaled those produced by Mike Minor and Wei-Yin Chen.
Who is a player no one is talking about you could see Atlanta targeting?
-- @gaaronkirby
If the Mets are willing to start dealing some of their starting pitchers, it would be worth taking a chance on Zack Wheeler, who limited opponents to a .237 on-base percentage as he posted a 1.68 ERA over his final 11 starts.
I'm also going to throw Starling Marte out there. The 30-year-old outfielder is coming off a season in which he hit 20 homers and stole 33 bases. So maybe you'd be buying high on a guy who hasn't lived up to high expectations. But if the Pirates are willing to deal him as he enters the last guaranteed season of his contract, I'd take a gamble on him shining in 2019.