Braves linked to longtime rival as option to bolster starting rotation

Braves linked to longtime rival as option to bolster starting rotation

The Atlanta Braves should be considering a move in the near future.

With July officially being here, that means the 2024 Major League Baseball trade deadline is less than a month away. Atlanta already has been linked to a handful of players and it makes perfect sense. The Braves have dealt with some tough injuries but still can compete for a World Series title as soon as this season.

A strong deadline could help put the Braves over the top and it seems like they will be targeting help for the starting rotation. One player who was mentioned as an option is Tampa Bay Rays veteran Zach Eflin by 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 said. "If the Rays decide to trade him, there's a lot to like about Eflin, beginning 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 significantly lower than it was in the best of his seven years with the (Philadelphia Phillies) through 2022, so is his walk rate, a majors-leading 0.7 per nine innings."

The Braves have some familiarity with Eflin as he spent the first seven years of his big league career with the rival Phillies. He certainly would help the Atlanta rotation with a 3.92 ERA in 15 starts so far this season.

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