Jun 13, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
The Atlanta Braves do a lot of things that typically play up well in October. Home run ball? They’re 5th in the league in homers even after a dormant month of June. Dominant bullpen? The Braves have arguably the best group in the game, especially if Robert Suarez returns soon. Ace at the top of the rotation to lean on? Chris Sale’s been incredible.
But at the same time, despite owning one of the best records in the league, the Braves have a few glaring needs heading into the trade deadline, which is quickly approaching on August 3.
Let’s fix those needs. Here are three players (or maybe four) the Braves need to acquire before the trade deadline.
Kevin Gausman
As of this writing, it remains to be seen if the Toronto Blue Jays — who were inches away from the World Series last fall — will sell as they continue to fall behind in the American League East. But if they do, the Braves should reunite with old friend Kevin Gausman.
There will be other starting pitching options for Alex Anthopoulos. But given the presumed cost, familiarity, reliability, durability, and potential to form one of the top 1-2 punches in the game alongside Chris Sale, this would be my starting pitching addition.
Gausman’s tenure with Atlanta in 2018-2019 did not meet expectations, but he’s been as good as virtually anyone in the league since leaving town. Dating back to the 2022 season, Gausman ranks 4th in pitcher WAR with a strong 3.60 ERA and even better 3.21 FIP. He’s been a beacon of durability and reliability, making 145 starts in that time span. He also has a wealth of postseason experience, and while milage can vary on how much that actually means, he was superb with Toronto last postseason. The idea of pairing him with Sale atop the rotation is tantalizing.
Gausman will be a free agent at the end of 2026. I’ll believe Alex Anthopoulos unloads the top of the farm system when he actually does it — he’s been hyper cautious moving prospects during his nine year tenure in Atlanta — and the price for Gausman would likely not be astronomical as someone with a few months of control. The veteran righty is owed approximately $8M the rest of the season, a significant amount of coin the Braves can eat.
Gausman hasn’t been quite as good on the surface as he’s been in recent years — a 4.51 ERA won’t make anyone fall out of their chair — but he’s been better than that if you look under the hood (3.67 FIP, 3.79 xFIP, 3.87 xERA as of July 21). His velocity on his fastball and famous splitter are down a tick this season, although his fastball grades out extremely well at Baseball Savant. There’s a lot to like here, even if he hasn’t been quite as good as in previous years. Make it happen, Alex.
Spencer Steer and JJ Bleday
OK, so I’m cheating here. The headline says “three players the Braves should acquire” and I’m listing four. Take me to jail.
The Cincinnati Reds are almost certainly going to sell. They have reportedly already received calls on Spencer Steer, and I’m guessing they will be asked about JJ Bledway, too.
Here’s Steer, the 28-year-old righty who can bounce around the field.
The idea behind Steer is largely for what he can do against left-handed pitching. He is absolutely mashing southpaws this year, hitting .342 with an absurd 184 wRC+. His career numbers are obviously not quite that good — .270 average, 126 wRC+ — but he would represent a massive upgrade in the middle of the lineup against left-handed pitching and can hold his own against righties. The Braves are guaranteed to see good left-handed pitching down the stretch, and they rank 23rd in the league against them with a collective 93 wRC+.
At present, the Braves’ right-handed bench options are Eli White and Joey Bart. Sean Murphy could factor into that equation at some point, although I don’t think you can count on Murphy for anything besides superb defense. Steer would become an outstanding platoon partner with Mike Yastrzemski in left field, provide insurance in the event of another injury to Ronald Acuña Jr. (or another outfielder), becomes an impact bat off the bench when called upon late in games, and makes the Braves infinitely better against left-handed pitching.
As for JJ Bleday, he’s having an even better season in Cincinnati. You may recall he tormented the Braves earlier this year, and he’s kept up the good work outside of a downturn for a few weeks in June. Here are Bleday’s numbers:
The Dominic Smith story was a great one early in the year, but it’s time to move on. Smith has a sub-600 OPS since late April, a real cause for concern as the every day DH on the team against right-handed pitching.
Bleday would provide a significant upgrade over Smith at DH, and he could play a corner outfield spot, too. Adding an outfielder (or two) also nearly guarantees Mauricio Dubon can move to shortstop on a full-time basis. This lineup becomes so much better and deeper with the addition of a lefty and righty bat. Steer and Bleday feel like great fits, and again, neither should cost a fortune.
Robbie Ray
I won’t rehash all the issues with the rotation, but let’s hypothetically say Anthopoulos acquires Gausman. Here’s your rotation:
Chris Sale, Kevin Gausman … Reynaldo Lopez? Grant Holmes? Bryce Elder? Martin Perez? AJ Smith-Shawver? JR Ritchie? Owen Murphy? We just saw Hurston Waldrep go down with another elbow injury, and the reports on Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider aren’t exactly rosy at this point.
That’s not good enough.
Enter Robbie Ray, a pending free agent on a San Francisco Giants team guaranteed to sell. He’s owed approximately $8 million the rest of the way whenever he’s moved.
Ray owns a strong 3.33 ERA but hasn’t been nearly that good with a 4.59 FIP and 4.84 xFIP. He’s been better overall since a disastrous start in Arizona on May 18; since then, Ray owns a 2.41 ERA, 3.87 FIP and 5.05 xFIP. I would imagine teams interested in Ray won’t value him at the low-threes ERA and instead see him as a reliable innings eater to round out a rotation for two months.
Not only would a second starter help stabilize the rotation, but it would also make it easy to move Grant Holmes to the bullpen, where he should thrive only facing hitters one time. It just makes too much sense, and if my assessment of his trade value is close, it shouldn’t take a ton to acquire the veteran lefty. Noticing a theme here?
So there you have it. An impact starter, an innings eater, and at least one bat for the outfield and DH spots, ideally two.
Get it done, Alex.