Talking Prospects: Who are the prospects that the Braves should trade?

It doesn’t seem like these CBA negotiations between MLB and MLBPA are going to end any time soon. Don’t worry, we feel your pain. To help you get your Atlanta Braves fix while we wait for SOMETHING to happen, the Talking Chop minor league team put together a roundtable series about the upcoming minor league season cleverly titled Talking Prospects.

We have not seen Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos trade a top 10 Braves prospect during his tenure. However, the Braves have a title to defend and some roster holes to fill (especially if Freddie Freeman does not re-sign). If this is the year that AA finally makes a big trade, we talk about the prospects that we would (or wouldn’t in some cases) trade. Enjoy!

Eric: Everyone should be available if I am AA and I would be willing and able to make deals, but I only trade top talent for guys that can help the Braves repeat as World Series Champs. Guys like Cristian Pache, William Contreras, Drew Waters, and any number of starting pitching prospects need to be shopped to see if you can get a good piece back that keeps the Braves competitive during this window.

Garrett: None of them, because I love all of them. Okay, in all seriousness I think William Contreras is at the top of the list. It doesn’t seem likely that Shea Langeliers will be willing to give up enough time to make it a shared role behind the plate and at this point I think he’s done enough to pass Contreras. Some of those pitchers at the upper levels likely need to be moved, with Kyle Muller and Tucker Davidson being my top picks there. Jesse Franklin is a candidate as well because there is very likely never going to be a role for him at the major league level. Beyond that you’re mostly looking at a list of players that are not going to make a huge impact if moved and I’m all for AA completely revitalizing the major league team like he did at the trade deadline this past season.

Matt: I’d be willing to trade any prospect in the system minus Michael Harris and one of the two catchers. If I had to pick, I’d imagine one of the two catchers is moved because there just isn’t room for both Langeliers and Contreras and potentially a guy like Drew Waters considering there isn’t a spot for him in the lineup right now. I’d also think Tucker Davidson has more value to another team as a starter than he would have here when he’s on the outside looking in at a rotation spot

Gaurav: Contreras doesn’t need to be in Triple-A anymore, and a tandem of Langeliers/Contreras in the minors seems to only be taking playing time away from either one of them. Muller/Davidson are interesting names with compelling talent but there is a bit of a logjam around pitchers, and you don’t want too many unproven arms on a staff.

Wayne: Everyone, but Michael Harris. Spencer Strider or one of the catching prospects are not untouchable, but the price would have to be high. Everyone else is expendable. It is getting close to the point where a decision needs to be made on which catcher is the future (Contreras or Langeliers) as well as what to do with Drew Waters. I think with the pitching depth guys like Davidson, Muller, Tarnok and Vodnik could be on the block, but not all of them. Maybe it is time to look there and figure out which are part of the future and which can net needed pieces.