Braves hypothetical trade for Gunnar Henderson

The Braves have had a couple of glaring holes in the lineup for around a half-decade, none more damaging than shortstop.

Mauricio Dubon was serviceable at the position in 2025, but he’s a free agent and is undoubtedly better served as a super-utility piece than a full-time starter at shortstop. The Braves should be looking to upgrade. The problem is that the free agent market at the position is essentially non-existent. The trade market, however, features some really intriguing names that could fix shortstop in Atlanta for the foreseeable future.

This continues a series where I focus on some of those marquee names, moving on to a former MVP candidate with multiple years of control, Gunnar Henderson.

If you missed the first part of this series, follow the link below:

• Braves hypothetical trade for Jeremy Peña

Braves hypothetical trade for Gunnar Henderson

Braves receive: Gunnar Henderson

Orioles receive: Tate Southisene, Eric Hartman, AJ Smith-Shawver, Alex Lodise, and Briggs McKenzie

Two years ago, Henderson finished fourth in the AL MVP voting with a remarkable 8.8 WAR at just 23 years old. He was expected to be one of the faces of baseball for the next decade, a talent who could finally make the Orioles legitimate contenders every season.

However, his production has dropped considerably since then. Henderson recorded just 3.2 WAR this season to go along with a .225 batting average and a .712 OPS — all career lows. With that, the Orioles have continued to underachieve, and now they are reportedly listening to offers on just about all of their players, including their star shortstop. But if you’re looking at this as a buy-low situation, you’re fooling yourself.

The only way the Orioles trade away Gunnar Henderson is if they get a massive package in return. He’s recorded at least 5.0 WAR in three of the last four seasons, is still just 25 years old, and comes with two more years of team control. Baltimore isn’t going to be coerced into selling him for anything less than a king’s ransom, which is what I have the Braves giving up in this hypothetical trade.

A move of this magnitude doesn’t even get off the ground without at least two top 50-ish prospects — Eric Hartman and Tate Southisene. A.J. Smith-Shawver brings some more upside to the table with his big arm, and would undoubtedly have a much longer leash to develop as a starting pitcher in Baltimore. Then I added two more of the Braves’ top 10 prospects in Alex Lodise and Briggs McKenzie — two guys who could be top 100 prospects in the not-too-distant future.

Too much? Maybe, maybe not. But this is the type of absurd offer it would take for the Braves to land an elite talent at shortstop with multiple years of team control. It would completely deplete the farm system, which is why Alex Anthopoulos has been hesitant to complete these types of deals, despite being involved in a lot of conversations.

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