The Atlanta Braves have not been having the best offseason after losing both Tim Hudson and Brian McCann and while the announcement of a new stadium has excited fans, that won't be ready for years and as the winter meetings move along, the team could be in the mix for some trades, as they want to get rid of Dan Uggla and some pitchers they could go after includes Jeff Samardzija, David Price, Homer Bailey, Max Scherzer and Kyle Lohse.
The Braves went 96-66 last season and cleaned up in the NL East as division winners over the Washington Nationals with a 47-29 record and now they have to retool to get back into things, as they lost McCann and Hudson and will need to replace that production. The team has plenty of talent with Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman as well as a stacked bullpen with Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel, but the team needs more arms and that is why those names will come up in regards to deals for Atlanta. Last season the team got 27 home runs from Justin Upton and they pulled off a big trade for him from the D-backs and this could be the second season in a row they pull off a big offseason trade.
The team got over 100 RBIs from Freeman and Chris Johnson led the team in hitting, but the Braves could not get past the Dodgers in the playoffs and they went home early once again in the postseason. David Price likely will cost too much for the Braves, as the Rays will only give him up for a top prospect, while Samardzija and Lohse could be more realistic options. Samardzija was one of a few pitchers to go over 200 innings with that many strikeouts and he could be a good fit on the team, as could Homer Bailey, but now reports from Hardball Talk say that the Reds are not trading him.
The Reds possibly could be shopping Brandon Phillips and the Braves have a fit there, as they are looking to trade Dan Uggla and that's a swap that both sides could want. The Reds have been looking to deal Phillips and while he is owed a decent amount of money, the Reds may be willing to take on Uggla and his contract since it's for two years instead of four and that could free them up money wise, while the Braves would love to get rid of Uggla after he hit under .200 last season and was left off of the playoffs roster. Uggla has two years and $26 million coming his way, so that could hamper things, but a deal may end up going down for one of these dudes.
Lohse is an interesting option after he had a solid season for the Brewers and while he has $11 million coming to him average over the past two seasons, he could make for a great number two or three starter. Samardzija is likely getting traded to someone and while he had a plus 4.00 ERA last season, that was more about the Cubs and he seems like he could be a nice fit for the Braves, as he has controllable years and is just 28 years old.
