Braves could guarantee themselves NL East title, and chance to beat Dodgers, by making this one trade originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Right now, the Atlanta Braves are the best team in the National League by a wide margin, holding the best record at 37-19. Already 8.0 games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies in the division, the Braves are definitely in a position to win the NL East, so long as they continue playing the type of baseball they have been playing to start the season.
It’s still very early in the year, and Atlanta will have to keep this pace, and it will probably go through a slump at some point, but the early returns have been promising.
Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Braves are the best team in the National League, or even close to the team to beat, because of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
If they want to change that, however, there will probably be a slugger available in Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, who could potentially put them over the top.
“The most intriguing player in Houston by far is Yordan Alvarez, one of the game’s preeminent hitters who has reasserted himself after being limited to 48 games last season. Astros general manager Dana Brown probably is inclined to hold onto Alvarez, who will turn 29 in June and is owed a very manageable $53.66 million between 2027 and 2028. But the Astros could probably get a bounty for the three-time All-Star, which might be the right course of action if they feel the greatest run in franchise history is over,” Tim Kelly of BR wrote.
The Braves’ farm system isn’t considered elite by any means, and the Astros will definitely be in search of a few top prospects.
However, if the Braves are willing to move on from some of the top guys in their system, there’s really no excuse why they can’t get a deal done. The cost would be a ton, but he’d be worth whatever the price may be.
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