ESPN Sees Braves as Frontrunner for Tarik Skubal

As of the beginning of June, the Atlanta Braves are the best team in baseball. A punishing offense and better-than-expected pitching have spurred them to 42 wins and one of the best starts in their 155-year history. 

With the season nearly reaching the 40% mark, attention can start to turn to the impending trade deadline at the end of July. There are still two full months of baseball to play, but the rumblings of what every team might do are starting to be heard around the league. 

While he is usually quite active in the trade markets, Alex Anthopoulos has not been one to take big cuts at the deadline or free agency. He is more likely to take a more prudent approach to these big decisions, but could that be due for a change this season? 

Assuming they maintain this ludicrous pace (109 wins right now), this could be the Braves’ best chance to bring a World Series home since their improbable run in 2021. There have been some outstanding teams in the years since, including the record-setting offense from 2023, but a lack of starting pitching depth has regularly been their Achilles’ heel in October. 

Too often, the Braves have entered postseason play hampered by some sort of injury bug, and their lack of depth has burned them. With one of the oldest teams in baseball, it could be the best possible time for an all-in move. 

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, that push could come this summer, and the national MLB writer believes it is time for the Braves to “swing big” at the deadline. 

Detroit’s Tarik Skubal is the anticipated big fish this summer, provided the two-time defending Cy Young winner returns from his elbow procedure at full strength. He is in the final year of his deal with the Tigers and will attract attention from nearly every contender in baseball as a short-term rental. 

Depending on what they would want in exchange for their ace, the Braves could use some of the money freed up from Jurickson Profar’s voided money to afford the starter. According to Passan, that list of prospects could include top prospects J.R. Ritchie (No. 60 overall prospect), Cam Caminiti (No. 48), and Didier Fuentes. 

These could be great players one day, but they are not Skubal. 

Skubal is one of the only pitchers in baseball who could supplant Chris Sale as the ace of this staff, but that duo, combined with a resurgent Bryce Elder, Spencer Strider, and a healthy Spencer Schwellenbach, would be a force come the postseason. Hurston Waldrep is also a contender to make a return at some point this season. 

That arsenal, plus a lineup capable of going toe-to-toe with anyone in baseball, would be enough to cement the Braves in the driver’s seat of the National League, even with the presence of the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers. 

Skubal is that much of a difference maker. 

If the Tigers make him available and he is healthy enough to return to full strength, the Braves would be wise to gauge the cost and make it happen. That’s what going all in looks like. 

The Braves of the 90s are remembered for their regular-season dominance but only for getting one title to show for it. The 2020s Braves could be different, and the organization owes that to its stars. Why not boost those odds with baseball’s best pitcher?

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