I think it’s very fair to assume that some teams around Major League Baseball are going to be sellers at the deadline, and the Atlanta Braves will have to benefit from that.
The Braves, at least throughout the first two months of the season, have proven that they’re one of the best teams in Major League Baseball at times.
It’s still tough to say the Braves should be the favorites in the National League, given what the Los Angeles Dodgers have done, but we have to give Atlanta a lot of credit for what they’ve done this season.
The biggest name to be traded at the deadline will probably come from the Detroit Tigers, with Tarik Skubal potentially available. However, CBS Sports recently proposed that the Tigers move on from other guys, including Casey Mize.
If the Braves want to get creative, there’s definitely reason to think Mize could work out in Atlanta.
“If the Tigers do go ahead and sell, other rentals like Casey Mize and Gleyber Torres could find themselves on the move as well, though both are currently on the injured list (Mize has a groin strain, Torres an oblique issue). What about Justin Verlander? He’s working his way back from a hip issue and returning to the Tigers this season felt like a storybook end to a Hall of Fame career. If Verlander wants to chase a ring, though, my guess is Detroit would do right by him and work out a trade with his preferred team,” Mike Axisa of CBS Sports wrote.
Mize obviously isn’t the same caliber of starter as Skubal, but there probably isn’t anybody in Major League Baseball who really is, especially one that will be available. That’s ultimately something the Braves will have to decide, as they might not be willing to move the assets required to land Skubal.
Mize has really good stuff, and though he might not be as good as some were expecting him to be coming out of Auburn, I think he’d be a great fit for what Atlanta is looking to do.