Braves need to consider a reunion with this former reliever at the trade deadline
Atlanta loves adding bullpen depth at the trade deadline and one familiar face happens to also be one of the best options likely to be available.
The Atlanta Braves have a pretty defined shopping list at this year’s trade deadline. There is already word that the Braves are looking for an outfield upgrade with Adam Duvall not providing the consistency they want/need and their reunion with Eddie Rosario probably not being the answer to that problem. Adding some rotation depth also would be nice given that the Braves would prefer to manage the workloads of Chris Sale, Charlie Morton, and Reynaldo Lopez in the second half.
However, the one constant under Alex Anthopoulos has been that the Braves will always try to add bullpen depth at the trade deadline. The Braves bullpen has been very good in 2024 while ranking second in all of baseball with a 2.88 ERA and seventh in fWAR with 2.8, but maintaining that level of production requires that the Braves continue to bring in arms in the likely event that one or more of their relievers regresses or gets hurt.
There are a ton of potential relief arms available this year from rentals to guys with more team control attached who just play on terrible teams. However, one name that sticks out is a familiar one to Braves fans as Kirby Yates not only could be available but is also having an incredible year with the Rangers.
Braves reuniting with Kirby Yates makes tons of sense, but is easier said than done
The idea here is pretty straightforward. Yates pitched well with the Braves in 2023 with a 3.28 ERA in 61 appearances, is absolutely shoving this year with Texas as he made the All-Star team and boasts a stellar 0.84 ERA in the first half, and is on a very reasonable one year, $4.5 million deal. Regardless of Yates’ history with the Braves, he would be an ideal trade target for Atlanta or any contender at the deadline.
That last part is also a potential problem in trying to acquire him. Given how good Yates has been and the fact that he would be a financially cheap rental reliever, Texas is going to get calls from basically every team still in playoff contention about him. While his status as a rental will keep his price down somewhat, it is likely there is going to be a bit of a bidding war for Yates’ services if he actually is made available.
The other issue with Yates as a Braves trade target is that it isn’t immediately clear that he will actually be available. While the Rangers are five games under .500, they are also the defending World Series champs that are starting to get healthy again and their front office still thinks they can make a run. All of that said, most think Texas will end up doing some degree of selling, and with Yates, a pending free agent, Atlanta should at least try to pry him away.
