The Atlanta Braves didn't get off to the best of starts this season. The reigning World Series champions are sitting on a 12-15 record and are just 5-5 in their past ten games.
Their offense has been competent enough, and having Ronald Acuña Jr. back on the lineup will only make them better. Their bullpen has been middle-of-the-pack, but their starting rotation has left a lot to be desired.
Once again, Max Freid got off to a slow, inconsistent start, but we all know what he's capable of when he's at his best.
Charlie Morton has performed way below the expectations, but he's also expected to regress to the mean at some point. Ian Anderson has been solid, and Kyle Wright has been lights out, yet Mike Soroka has no timetable to return.
The Braves rotation ranks 23rd in ERA (4.08), 21st in WHIP (1.26), and 26th in walks (101). With that in mind, let's look at three starters they could target before the trade deadline.
The Oakland Athletics parted ways with nearly every prominent name on their roster before the start of the season. Frankie Montas managed to survive their roster overhaul, but that's not expected to last long.
Sean Manaea had already left the premises, and Montas drew plenty of attention in the offseason. He got off to a solid start of the year and proved that he could be as consistent as he was towards the end of last season, and that consistency is what ATL has lacked this year.
In the second half of the campaign, Luis Castillo turned around his disastrous start to the 2021 season, proving again to be an ace-caliber player.
But now that he's started the year on the Injured List and with the Cincinnati Reds being the worst team in all of Major League Baseball, he might be available at the right price. Castillo will be under contract through 2023, and the Reds aren't going to compete any time soon, so they will look to trade him before he walks away for free.
The Colorado Rockies have been surprisingly good to start the year, but we all know that's not going to be sustainable. At some point, reality will come on knocking again, and they'll once again be sellers at the deadline.
Over the past couple of years, Geman Marquez has been one of the few bright spots in their rotation, even winning 12 games last year. This time, however, he's struggled vastly over five starts and is due to make $16 million next year, so they could look to part ways with him.
