Last night Jon Morosi of the MLB Network tweeted that the Atlanta Braves are looking to add a starting pitcher before Tuesday’s trade deadline. In the tweet Morosi also reported that Atlanta has checked in with their division rival, New York Mets, regarding veteran ace Justin Verlander.
Now, Morosi did also go on to say in the tweet that Atlanta and New York are not currently engaged in negotiations, but the fact the the Braves made a call about Verlander should peak the interest of Braves fans. Earlier today The Morning Shift reacted to the report and gave their thoughts on the idea of the Braves trading for Verlander.
Beau Morgan doesn’t believe the Mets would trade their ace saying “I tend to think the Mets are not going to do a trade”. However, the Mets did just trade Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers, so for the right price Justin could be on the move as well.
Speaking of the right price, Beau’s next point is that if the Mets do make Verlander available the Braves should be cautious of not giving up guys who are going to continue to help you now and in the future, for a guy who is possibly just a rental player.
“Unless you’re getting a top of the line starter with two or three years of control you’re not going to trade AJ Smith-Shawver for a rental.” Beau also says “If you trade away a [AJ] Smith-Shawver or maybe a [Dylan] Dodd and a [Jared] Shuster both, now who’s making these spot starts for you?”
Beau finished his thought by saying “You have to be very careful with who you go get and how you give up for them, it's just got to be done carefully.”
It’s the great debate of do you give up some of your future to increase your chances of winning a championship now? In this particular case for Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves it all comes down to how long do you think you will be able to keep Verlander for, and is he worth your top young pitching prospects?
Time will tell very soon what the answer to those questions are as the MLB trade deadline is at 6 p.m. eastern time tomorrow.