Matthew Boyd, Detroit Tigers. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Breaking down more possible Braves trade targets that Atlanta should be eyeing from sellers at the MLB Trade Deadline, this time from the Tigers.
On the heels of an electric series sweep of the Mets in which they came from behind to win each game, the Atlanta Braves are riding high. That’s nothing new, to be sure. They have maintained the NL East lead virtually all season and have run out to the best record in the NL.
It’s clear the Braves are a bonafide contender — and what do contenders do at the MLB Trade Deadline? They buy. And where the Braves trades could come from is the fascinating question in all of this.
The best place to start to look, obviously, is the teams that could be willing to sell. You know, the clubs that are falling out of contention and could be looking to either hit a reset button or to get something in return in a trade for pending free agents instead of losing them this offseason for nothing. In that regard, the Detroit Tigers — a team that’s 2-8 in their last 10 and is still 3.5 games out of first place in the AL Central despite no one in the division having a winning record — are a prime candidate to sell.
So what kind of talent and trade options do the Tigers have that should interest the Atlanta Braves? Let’s take a look at three prime Braves trade targets who are currently in Detroit, a situation that changed dramatically after the Eduardo Rodriguez injury.
Braves Rumors: 3 trade targets Atlanta can steal from the struggling Tigers
3. Matthew Boyd could be a cheap Braves trade target to round out rotation
Let’s get this out of the way — the superficial numbers for Matthew Boyd in Detroit this season are not all that good. He has a 5.57 ERA on the season to go with a 1.35 WHIP (obviously the much more acceptable of the two numbers) while posting just one quality starts in the 11 that the 32-year-old has made this season.
It’s important to note all of that, without question, in addition to the fact that the Braves going after a trade for Boyd would not be trying to land a star to add to the rotation.
Having said that, the underlying numbers say that Boyd has actually been much better than his season-long stats indicate. For the season, he has an xERA (expected ERA) of 4.02, per Fangraphs, which indicates that his stuff has been much better than the results it has ultimately produced. With better defense and better protection from the offense like what the Braves could offer, his stats could undoubtedly improve a great deal.
More importantly, Boyd is in Detroit on just a one-year contract, which means that he could ultimately leave this offseason and leave the Tigers just empty-handed. As such, the quickly-falling-farther-from-contention club could be best served to try and offload him in a trade for even a mid-tier prospect.
That’s a great market for the Braves to be shopping in at the MLB Trade Deadline, which makes Boyd a terrific target overall.