With Dallas Keuchel signing with the Atlanta Braves are they more suited to win the NL East? Why the NL East may be closer than you might expect it to be.
As of Friday, June 7, the distance between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies stands at only two games in the standings. Therefore, a shift in power may very well be underway.
To recap the events of the previous week or so, the Phillies have suffered significant losses to their position player corps. One of the longer tenured Phillies and the starting center fielder, Odubel Herrera has been placed on administrative leave. The Phillies appear to be distancing themselves from him after charges were brought upon him due to an arrest for domestic violence this past May in New Jersey.
Coupled with these legal issues for a fixture of their outfield, the Phillies have lost Andrew McCutchen- free agent acquisition and starting left fielder- for the entirety of the season with a torn ACL.
These misfortunes- both unlucky and self-imposed- have led the Phillies brass to act quickly and trade with the Mariners for Jay Bruce. Also, they called up a top-prospect- outfielder Adam Haseley- to assume center field duties.
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A crisis may have been averted, yet this is still likely a makeshift situation in the city of Brotherly Love. Another piece will absolutely be added to the outfield at the trade deadline, whether it is to assume a starting role or for supplementary depth time shall tell. This is not the only flaw of the Phillies roster, however.
The proactive team will likely be interested in upgrading their rotation and bullpen before the trade deadline passes. A good deal of mixing and matching has been done at the bottom of the rotation with the reemergence of Jerad Eickhoff, demotion and eventual reinstatement of Nick Pivetta. At the same time, the bullpen situation has been far from ideal.
David Robertson- a major offseason acquisition- has been MIA, as his services have not been called upon since the opening weeks of the season. He only completed just over six innings to the tune of a 5.40 ERA and has been out due to flexor strain in his elbow since this time. Furthermore, Seranthony Dominguez appears to be headed for a lengthy absence, as he may require Tommy John surgery.
Atlanta is a much different story at this point. The Atlanta Braves have a very solid lineup that does not currently need adjustment. The rotation and bullpen have been less successful this season. The obvious area of need at the trade deadline will be the bullpen, which one should expect them to invest heavily in.
The rotation is still shaking its way out, as Max Fried and Mike Soroka have proven to be reliable starters thus far. Julio Teheran has provided a consistent, veteran presence to the rotation as well, with Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman being the main sources for concern.
Folty was sidelined for a significant portion of the early season and nearly all of Spring Training, thus it has taken him extra time to round into proper form. If this process does not begin to come to fruition soon, then alarms should be signaled. Gausman does not have any such built-in excuses and the addition of Dallas Keuchel is likely to take over for him.
This move was one done not only to provide rotational depth for the stretch run in hopes of claiming the division title, but it also was intended as a means to greatly bolster the postseason rotation of the Braves given that they do indeed reach the playoffs. Keuchel, Foltynewicz, Fried/Soroka, and Teheran provides ample opportunity for them to fare better in a postseason series than was the case the season prior.
Overall, this deal improves the Atlanta Braves and constructs them in a way for late season and postseason action. However, it does not grant a sizeable advantage if any advantage at all over the Phillies.
The only thing that is certain from this deal is that the race for the NL East division title will be a very tight one. Granted the Mets may very well emerge in the second half and create an entirely different landscape. One that has been mainly dominated by these two clubs thus far.