The next six days are some of the most exciting of the entire year for baseball fans. Some expect this season to be different because there are so many buyers and so few sellers, thanks to the expanded playoffs, but I’m not so sure about that. Ever since Major League Baseball switched to one firm trade deadline, moves have been aplenty. Even if it means contending teams dealing with other contedners across leagues, I’m expecting action, and Alex Anthopoulos has assured us he will be busy attempting to improve the Braves roster.
Despite the fact the Braves seem to promote young player after young player to the major-league roster, the rumors are true. They do have one of the worst farm systems in baseball, and they don’t possess much prospect capital to swing blockbuster deals. However, that doesn’t mean they have no promising young players outside organizations would be interested in.
The Athletic recently went through all 30 MLB teams and named the player most likely to be traded, and I couldn’t agree more with who they chose for the Braves.
Atlanta Braves: Vaughn Grissom, IF
Seen as a possible replacement for Dansby Swanson at one point, Grissom has fallen behind both veteran Orlando Arcia and fellow prospect Braden Shewmake in the pecking order. He’s also, obviously, behind Ozzie Albies. Grissom played second for an injured Albies last season and put up a 118 OPS+ in 41 games. He struggled in his big-league stint this year but is thriving at Triple A.
I don’t necessarily agree with the point about Shewmake. He’s three years older than Grissom and has shown very little offensively, but that’s not the point.
There are questions about Grissom defensively at shortstop. I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to play the position at the major-league level, which is the real issue. Outside of shortstop, the Braves infield is locked up for the foreseeable future, and Grissom doesn’t have the power profile to play left field. Not to mention, he hasn’t played the position before. If Grissom can’t play shortstop, he’s not playing for the Braves, and there’s no better time to trade him while his value is still high.
I like Grissom. I think he has plenty of talent to start every day at the major-league level. I also think he’s a tremendous fit in the clubhouse. He’s going to make it in this league, which means he has value, and if the Braves are going to significantly upgrade this roster, it’s Grissom that is most likely on his way out.
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Photographer: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire
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