The Atlanta Braves have fallen on hard times this season. There is time left to turn things around, but they are 38-45 and sit 10 1/2 games back in the National League East.
Their Wild Card outlook doesn't look much better, as they are eight games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the final spot. Most of their struggles this season have been due to their starting rotation.
Atlanta is going to need a few arms if they want to get back into the postseason race, as their rotation has been decimated.
R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports proposed the idea of Atlanta targeting Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Zack Littell in a trade.
"The Rays theoretically have the pitching depth to do something unusual at the deadline: move Littell, an impending free agent, for help elsewhere. He seldom issues walks and he's talented at inducing out-of-zone swings on an arsenal that's fronted by a slider and a splitter," Anderson wrote.
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The Rays typically make moves in both directions at the trade deadline, so trading Littell is not out of the realm of possibility. But he could be a big help for the Braves.
The 29-year-old right-hander is 7-7 with a 3.61 ERA and 1.5 WAR in 17 starts and 104 2/3 innings pitched. Without Max Fried, Atlanta's rotation has struggled a bit.
But Littell can eat innings and give them a chance to win games if they do decide to acquire him at the deadline. Even as a rental starter, he shouldn't be too expensive for Atlanta to acquire.
The veteran starter can also pitch in the bullpen if need be, but Atlanta may want to use him as a starter almost exclusively to boost the rotation.
It will be interesting to see if Atlanta decides to buy or sell at the trade deadline. Perhaps they could take a page out of the Rays book and do both.
More MLB: Braves trade pitch brings them veteran workhorse to aid decimated rotation