Nobody has been more of a surprise for the Atlanta Braves this season than veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski. He was brought on to provide instruction and veteran support for the young everyday catcher Christian Bethancourt. When Bethancourt bombed, Pierzynski was there to not only take up the slack but insert himself into the role of unquestioned everyday catcher. For a team seven games out of first, this can mean only one thing: It’s time to trade him.

As great as Pierzynski has been this season, the Braves cannot reasonably expect him to continue at the same level all season or to be able to stay in the everyday role for a long period of time. He was a bargain buy and the front office looks like a bunch of geniuses for making the deal, but they will look even better if they flip the bargain veteran for yet more improvements to the minor league system.

Recently, the Minnesota Twins have been rumored to have interest in Pierzynski among other teams. It really doesn’t matter where the Braves send their veteran leader. They just need to take advantage of his amazing comeback season before something happens to take away his value. The injury to closer Jason Grilli stands as a glaring reminder of the fact that the front office cannot assume the resurgent value assigned to Pierzynski will remain.

They cannot afford to get cute or nitpick with who they want in return. What they need to do is trade him for a good return right now. Pick a team with a decent offer; don’t play the game of back and forth and just get the deal done. Every single game they delay makes the risk go up that much more. Here’s hoping the veteran catcher can play at this high level for four more seasons, but the Braves cannot afford to assume. We all know what happens when one does that.

David Miller is an MLB Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google