The Atlanta Braves entered this offseason with a clear-cut desire to add arms. Though they have a plethora of young pitchers, the only hurler from the 2016 staff guaranteed a rotation spot in 2017 is Julio Teheran. They acted quickly on that desire, already signing a pair of veteran free agent righties (R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon) and traded for Jaime Garcia. However, despite these additions, reports still suggest that general manager John Coppolella wants to land an ace.
During this search for top shelf pitching, the biggest name connected with the Braves has been Chicago White Sox lefty Chris Sale. Atlanta’s interest was first reported back in July following Sale’s bizarre jersey-cutting incident. However, five months later it seems that the teams have reached an impasse. The reason for this stall in talks is rookie Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson. Chicago has insisted that any return from the Braves must include the 2015 number one overall pick while Atlanta has deemed him their only “untouchable” young player. The most recent reports still suggest the team is involved in talks for Sale but the Washington Nationals are now the favorite to land him.
In addition to Sale, Atlanta is also rumored to have interest in Tampa Bay Rays righty Chris Archer and Sonny Gray of the Oakland Athletics. Though neither has Sale’s track record of dominance, both would represent an improvement over their current rotation options. Atlanta has made a formal offer for Gray but thus far the asking price is “prohibitive.”
Meanwhile, Braves beat writer Mark Bowman has suggested that Archer is the likeliest of the three for Atlanta to actually acquire.
During the Winter Meetings, rumors seem to come and go at light speed. Just today, the Baltimore Orioles went from presumptive favorites to sign Mark Trumbo to out of the running to still interested in him but at a lower price to looking at other options. It remains to be seen whether or not these Braves rumors will pan out but at the moment it does sound like the team is still toying with the idea of making a major trade for a top of the rotation pitcher.
Scott Ferris covers the Braves as a Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottHFerris.
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