Atlanta Braves Must Consider Trading Erick Aybar In 2016

By Nick Vorholt

The season of 2016 is lost for the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are getting ready to move into SunTrust Park for the 2017 season and have plans to have a new combination of players in place when they do. Erick Aybar is not one of those players.

The Braves have young starters at third and second already in Adonis Garcia and Jace Peterson with franchise cornerstone, Freddie Freeman, at first. They have Mallex Smith and Ender Inciarte in the outfield. In the minors they have Dansby Swanson at short and Lucas Herbert at catcher. The difference is that Swanson will be ready before the end of this season, but Herbert won’t be at the MLB level until 2018.

In order to have short ready for Swanson the Braves need to consider trading Aybar. Not only is he blocking the top prospect of the Braves, but he can bring some value back from another team. He is a proven veteran in a premium position.

Looking into the future, the Braves need an offensive corner outfield prospect and may need someone to partner with Herbert behind the plate. There are a few teams that are in need of Aybar’s services already this season. With the injuries to Johnny Peralta and Ruben Tejada at short, the St. Louis Cardinals could use a veteran presence. Aybar could be a defensive replacement, if Peralta comes back this season. The Los Angeles Angels also need help up the middle, having just traded Aybar this offseason. They could switch him second and let him partner up with Andrelton Simmons for one of the best double-play combinations in all of baseball. The Kansas City Royals may also be interested in him as a second baseman. All three organizations have some decent outfield prospects.

Wherever they find the best deal, the Braves need to consider moving Aybar early in this season. Swansby should be in Triple-A by midseason. After that, he could be ready at any time and there is no reason to wait for the new stadium to bring him up to the majors.

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