A Braves-Rockies trade was needed to get the playoff rotation ready

The Atlanta Braves have some glaring holes that they need to address on their roster. Obviously, they need to address the loss of Ronald Acuña Jr. on the field, but they have other holes to fill as well. The other big hole is in their starting rotation, left by Spencer Strider’s injury and Bryce Elder’s failure.

An interesting option lies in Colorado, at the formidable Coors Field. Cal Quantrill had a pretty impressive season, despite pitching 34 of his 84 innings in the hitter-friendly enclosure of Coors Field.

The Braves could use his reliability and consistency.

Quantrill currently holds a season ERA of 3.83, with a 3.97 ERA at home and a 3.06 ERA away. He’s been a true testament to consistency and hasn’t let the hitter-friendly park destroy his numbers or starts.

Quantrill has another year of control over his contract and he has been very consistent this season as well as throughout his career. That would significantly increase his value to the Braves, likely forcing them to pay a slightly higher price than they would like. A deal for him could rival that of other starters like Tyler Anderson and Jack Flaherty.

Acquiring more pitching is huge for the Rockies. When playing in such a hitter-friendly park, it’s extremely important to have a ton of potential pitchers who can bolster the major league staff.

This deal sends two pitching prospects to the Rockies in exchange for the Rockies’ ace.

Cade Kuehler, Atlanta’s No. 8 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, features an impressive fastball/slider combination that rivals anyone in the Braves organization, plus his superior arms. Kuehler is 22 years old and still has a lot of growing to do, but he has been very impressive in his professional career so far. He holds a 2.25 ERA over 52 innings and 12 professional starts.

Vines, Atlanta’s No. 14 prospect, desperately needs to get out of the Braves’ system. He found himself in a prospect deadlock, sitting behind several Braves arms like Bryce Elder, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep. He will never find his way back to the big leagues with such names in front of him. A fresh start in Colorado would do him good and Atlanta wouldn’t lose much by trading him.

As for the Braves, acquiring Quantrill would be huge. This solidifies their rotation for the rest of the year, barring injury, and allows them to keep their top prospects in the minor leagues where they can learn and grow, rather than being fed to the fire. Quantrill is a name to watch for the Braves in the coming weeks.