Rumor: Braves Trades For Bullpen & LF Help In The Works

The NL East is there for the taking, the Atlanta Braves are scuffling, and their general manager is Alex Anthopoulos. That all adds up to a busy trade deadline for the Braves. 

Coming off three consecutive NL East titles, the Atlanta Braves seemed like a good bet to keep building on their recent success.

But things haven’t quite worked out that way for Atlanta so far in 2021. https://t.co/UqnWUnIQ3E

— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) June 18, 2021

Anthopoulos, never one to shy away from making big deals, admits he has the go-ahead from ownership to "add payroll at the deadline". For a team with World Series aspirations this season, there are some critical needs to address, and AA is out to address them. 

Not the least of which, the bullpen and left field. The team didn't really address their bullpen needs in the offseason, and they recently lost left fielder Marcell Ozuna after his arrest for domestic assault. 

For this, look no further than the Pittsburgh Pirates. One rumor has Anthopoulos working to put together an attractive prospect package for closer Richard Rodriguez and outfielder Bryan Reynolds. 

A team that's rebuilding as the Pirates are, can afford to trade a high-end bullpen arm like Richard Rodriguez. 

Reynolds is having an all-star type season, batting .302 with 12 HR and a .963 OPS. The Braves have some top prospects they could package in this sort of deal, satisfying the Pirates' needs to build their system, while giving the Braves a big boost both on offense and on the mound. Look for Anthopoulos to try to work some magic here. 

The Braves GM has been known to swing for the fences come the trade deadline. In 2015, while with the Toronto Blue Jays, Anthopoulos pulled off the motherlode of all trade deadlines, bringing in Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, among others, to boost the contending Blue Jays all the way to the ALCS. 

Braves fans are hoping for some of that deadline deal goodness in Atlanta. 

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