Atlanta Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos will keep his eyes open at the trade deadline for impact players to improve his roster, but one particular type of player would be higher on his wish list.
"As much as we all like to say, 'I need to get this, I need to get that,' sometimes you just have to take what might be available to you," Anthopoulos said during an appearance on MLB Network Radio. "I think it's been pretty obvious, if there's a playoff-caliber starter out there, we would jump at that. If there's a reliever (out there), we would jump at that."
The Braves sit atop the National League East standings, with the Philadelphia Phillies trailing by three games. Atlanta has managed to keep hold of top spot in its division despite missing key rotation pieces like Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, and AJ Smith-Shawver due to injuries.
While Smith-Shawver is close to returning and Schwellenbach and Strider could possibly come back later in the campaign, Anthopoulos plans to stay engaged with the rest of the league.
"I think timing and being able to close on a deal, it's challenging," Anthopoulos said. "It's challenging in the offseason, but at least the stats stay permanent. They don't move. As the train is on the move and performances are changing, things move. So I think timing is very important, in my experiences at least. We're just going to stay engaged with the other 29 clubs."
The Braves have been connected to Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize of the Detroit Tigers, but the two pitchers' availabilities remains in question with the Tigers playing winning baseball in July.
