The Braves could be without veteran reliever Jesse Chavez for a substantial time after a scary exit on June 14. Who could Atlanta trade for to replace him?
Jesse Chavez has been one of the most pleasant surprises for the Atlanta Braves this season. The 39-year-old reliever was signed to a minor-league deal this past offseason. He made the major-league roster, though, and emerged as arguably the most reliable presence out of the bullpen, posting a 1.55 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over 30 appearances before Wednesday and looking like he was on track for his first All-Star Game appearance.
But in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Tigers, Chavez took a hard liner off of his shin and was forced to exit the game. In fact, he had to be carried off the field. Though the initial X-rays were negative for the veteran righty, the scene was quite worrisome and Chavez could still miss significant time.
With trade season heating up, if Jesse Chavez is out, the Braves need to add another bullpen arm to step in and fill that role as one of the top relievers on the roster. These three Braves trade targets as replacements would make a lot of sense if that does indeed wind up being the case.
Braves Rumors: 3 Jesse Chavez replacements to get in trades
3. Jason Foley, Detroit Tigers
Incidentally, the first potential Jesse Chavez replacement for the Braves plays for the team against which the Atlanta reliever was injured against, the Tigers.
Jason Foley might not be a household name, but that is largely a product of him coming out of the Detroit bullpen on a struggling team overall. As for his bonafides, though, the 27-year-old right-hander has proven he is a highly reliable presence in relief.
In 28 apperances with the Tigers this season, Foley has posted a 2.63 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, both of which are the best marks in his three MLB seasons to this point. Having said that, he's been consistently good for Detroit in those three seasons, so this isn't an outlier that the Braves would be banking on.
What's more fascinating about Foley, but also could drive up the price in a potential trade, is that he's still not even eligible for arbitration, which won't happen until 2025. That means there are four years of club control left on his deal after this season, which could be enticing for Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves.
Not only has Foley proven that he could step into the role that Chavez would leave vacant should the veteran miss a substantial amount of time, but he could possibly also be a long-term replacement beyond this season given that Chavez is 39 years old and could be looking to hang it up sooner rather than later.
That's a win-win for Atlanta in keeping them in a good spot for the 2023 season and for the future as well.
2. Scott Barlow, Kansas City Royals
Not that many expected the Kansas City Royals to be good this season, but the club is now shockingly the worst team in baseball by record thanks to the recent and unexpected surge by the A's as of late.
That's surely going to set the Royals up to be sellers and their bullpen is the easiest place to target. The Braves, however, don't necessarily need to go to the proverbial Rodeo Drive of the reliever trade market by pursuing Aroldis Chapman. Instead, a veteran like Scott Barlow, particularly in terms of a Jesse Chavez replacement, would be perfect for Atlanta.
When you look at the numbers for Barlow this season, they aren't going to blow you away. The 30-year-old has a 4.38 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 24 appearances this season and has not been good in his last two outings, admittedly. Having said that, 18 of his appearances this season have been scoreless outings, including a run where he produced a scoreless outing in 14-of-15 appearances from April 22 to June 4.
In the previous two seasons over a combined 140 appearances, Barlow had a sub-2.40 ERA and a WHIP below 1.20. He's been a quietly dominant force out of the Royals bullpen but, at this stage of his career, he might no longer be part of their future plans.
As such, they could look to offload him for pieces that would help in the future. With one year of club control left after this season, the Braves could add a great veteran arm to the bullpen to help serve as the buffer while Chavez is out and core piece beyond that too.
1. Kendall Graveman, Chicago White Sox
Sure, you could make the argument that the Chicago White Sox are now only six games back in the AL Central and might not be as inclined to sell at the MLB Trade Deadline as previously expected. At the same time, though, does a club that is 29-39 overall this season really have high hopes for keeping the band together?
One lesson that the in-division Guardians should've taught the White Sox is that there is immense value in dealing players at the trade deadline with 1.5 years remaining on their contracts. Subsequently, Kendall Graveman is one of the most likely candidates among the Southsiders to be dealt this year.
Graveman, who has bounced around a bit recently between Seattle, Houston and now Chicago, has been good at every stop. This season in 29 appearances, the 32-year-old veteran has posted a 2.86 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, absolutely looking dominant out of the White Sox bullpen.
More importantly, he's on a contract that pays him just $8 million per season for 2023 and 2024, so it wouldn't be a huge ask of the Braves to take all or the majority of that salary on in a trade. Bringing the veteran right-hander into the fold would strengthen the overall bullpen in Atlanta but, perhaps as an added advantage, would also give Brian Snitker more flexibility at the back-end of the 'pen given the inconsistency of Raisel Iglesias of late, should that continue.
