Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres

A Braves trade package to finally get rid of Marcell Ozuna

The Atlanta Braves could be among the teams interested in San Diego Padres outfielder Trent Grisham. Here’s what it would cost to acquire him:

Trent Grisham had a historically-bad season from the dish last season, as he hit under the Mendoza line for a 152-game stretch. It was enough to make some Padres fans wonder if this Gold Glove-level outfielder was worth a gaping hole in the lineup.

However, Grisham did prove valuable in the field once again. He won another Gold Glove, the second of his four-year career. That makes him valuable to some extent, especially for teams that already feature a solid lineup, but could use some outfield help.

If the Atlanta Braves were smart, for one, they would trade for a player like Grisham, as it would force Marcell Ozuna out of the everyday lineup and perhaps off the team altogether.

Why the Braves should trade for Trent Grisham

Grisham is a good bounceback candidate, as he hit well under his normal numbers in 2022. Just a year prior, he slashed .242/.327/.413, which is closer to his career averages. By no means should he hit near the top of the lineup, but at that mark, Grisham is no longer a liability at the plate.

Acquiring Grisham would allow Brian Snitker to give any of his primary outfielders a day off, and push Ronald Acuña to the every DH slot, should he wish. Playing Acuña at designated hitter takes away some risk of injury, which the Atlanta star has dealt with for much of the past two seasons.

Ozuna, who is currently penciled in to that DH slot, would be relegated to the bench or off the roster altogether. Here’s how a trade might look:

Braves Get

OF, Trent Grisham

Padres Get

RHP, Darius Vines

It’s rare to see a 1-for-1 trade like this, especially when one of those players is a prospect. However, Darius Vines is a top-10 prospect in Atlanta’s system, and that’s a rather steep price for a player who, at this point, looks rather one-dimensional.

A.J. Preller should take this offer and run, as Tomahawk Take ranks Vines at the No. 8 prospect in the Braves system:

“Coming in at #8 on our list is righty Darius Vines who has continued to impress us at each level despite having some things about his profile that initially concerned us. The Braves drafted Vines thanks to his extensive array of pitches and its his offspeed stuff that has done the best work for him so far. His fastball is generally a low 90’s pitch that can go a little higher, but not very often. He has two breaking balls that get a lot of bad swings thanks to his ability to locate them as well as change speeds with them. Finally, we have his changeup which we think is going to end up being a plus pitch for him in the big leagues as it has nice fade and is very deceptive coming out of his hand.”

He’s also close to MLB-ready, as he was selected in the 2019 draft and has since moved his way up the ranks. San Diego needs pitching — and young pitching to boot is tough to come by.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *