Atlanta Braves Trade Deadline Partner: Washington Nationals

While you don't normally see many big trades within the same division, the Atlanta Braves could look to the Washington Nationals for some depth pieces. 

The Nationals find themselves in a long rebuild while playing in a tough division. They're likely to trade off several pieces at this year's trade deadline to continue their rebuild. 

While none of those pieces figure to bring back anything close to what they got for Juan Soto last deadline, they might find a couple of key ingredients for some of their players close to free agency. 

One player the Braves should keep a close eye on is reliever Hunter Harvey. 

He's been one of the better relievers for the Nationals this year with a 3.12 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 40.1 innings with 45 strikeouts and just 12 walks. 

Harvey also has an opponent's average against of just .196 and picked up 9 saves. 

The 28-year-old righty features an upper 90s fastball that averages 98.6 MPH -- but it doesn't have the best spin rates (perhaps the Braves can help with that). His splitter has a whiff rate over 37 percent this year and batters are hitting .083 against his slider. 

He fits the mold as a dominant setup guy with a 28.3 percent strikeout rate and 7.5 percent walk rate. With the pitch mix, he's very similar to Kirby Yates and might be a slight upgrade with the added velocity and better walk rate. 

The Nats reliever also has two more years of club control through arbitration, which means the Nats might hold onto him, or the price might be more than the Braves are willing to pay. 

I'm not sure what the Nationals needs are, but it might take a Vaughn Grissom to get him, and that's not a price I'm willing to pay. If you could part with one of the depth arms at the upper levels like Darius Vines or Allan Winans, then it would make more sense. 

If Lane Thomas is available, that could be an upgrade on the bench over Kevin Pillar; although I like what Pillar has given the Braves this year and he mashes lefties. 

Jeimer Candelario is a switch-hitter who can play both corner infield spots, but I'm not sure there is room for him on the bench. 

Kyle Finnegan is similar to Harvey, but I like the upside potential of Harvey a lot better. 

The Braves have already made some moves for the bullpen so we'll see what else Alex Anthopoulos and the front office have up their sleeves leading up to the August 1 trade deadline. 

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