3 emergency Braves trades to replace Max Fried after surprising injury

The injury woes continue for this Atlanta Braves team. Not only did Ozzie Albies suffer an injury during Sunday’s loss that will result in him going onto the IL, but Max Fried suffered an injury of his own and was placed onto the 15-day IL before Sunday’s game. Chances are, he’ll be out longer than the 15 days.

This is a major blow to a Braves rotation that already needed reinforcement at the trade deadline. Spencer Strider is out for the season. Hurston Waldrep is out as well. Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, and Spencer Schwellenbach all have innings concerns. Depth options like Bryce Elder have underwhelmed. Don’t forget Charlie Morton is 40 years old as well.

With another nine days to go until the trade deadline, Atlanta has time to figure out the right trade(s) for them to make. In the meantime, any of these can make sense.

3) A Braves-Rays trade for Zach Eflin after Max Fried’s injury

Replacing Fried with a pitcher of Fried’s caliber would be ideal, but the Braves almost certainly won’t be in the market for pitchers like Garrett Crochet or Tarik Skubal, so looking at lower tiers makes sense. With that in mind, Zach Eflin could be an ideal target for Atlanta to consider.

Eflin has had a mildly disappointing season as evidenced by his 4.14 ERA in 18 starts, but his 3.65 FIP and 3.38 xERA shows that he has been getting pretty unlucky on the mound. With more luck down the stretch, he can be a vital contributor for any team if traded. The Tampa Bay Rays are tricky to read, but with how they operate, virtually anyone is available for the right price.

Eflin is a solid mid-rotation arm who has experience in the NL East dating back to his days with the Phillies. He has another year of club control, which would help if Fried departs in free agency after the year. The only thing is that Eflin’s additional year of control might result in the Braves having to give up a bit more than they’d like. A package like this could work for bot