Braves eyeing their rotation near Trade Deadline

ATLANTA -- As rumors continue to swirl this week, the Braves will allow the market to take shape and continue to make the internal evaluations that will influence how aggressively they pursue either a starting pitcher or a reliever before the July 31 Trade Deadline.

At this point, the Braves are looking for any potential opportunity to improve either area of their pitching staff. But their thoughts about the rotation will be influenced by how Kevin Gausman and Max Fried fare during this weekend’s series against the Phillies.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said the plan is for Fried to be activated to start Sunday afternoon’s series finale at Citizens Bank Park. The left-hander is no longer bothered by the blister that developed during his July 15 start in Milwaukee. But Fried will throw off a mound again later this week before being cleared to be activated from the injured list.

Fortunately for the Braves, this blister was not as significant as the one that sidelined Fried for approximately three weeks when he was with Double-A Mississippi during the 2017 season. This skin ailment is more similar to the one that shut the southpaw down for two weeks last season.

“The last time I saw [the blister], you couldn’t even tell,” Snitker said.

Before Fried would start on Sunday, the Braves will get another look at Gausman, who will start Saturday’s game in Philadelphia.

Like one game will not completely erase concerns about the possibility Fried might eventually have to deal with another blister, Gausman’s next outing won’t deem whether he’ll be a reliable frontline starter the rest of the season.

But there might be a less pressing need to acquire a starter if Gausman produces a second straight strong start. The veteran right-hander, who returned from the injured list on Sunday, limited the Nationals to one run over seven innings. He recorded 63 strikes during the 83-pitch outing -- his first start since June 10.

The Braves are continuing to monitor the trade market to see whether Madison Bumgarner or another legitimate frontline starter might be available.

There’s a level of interest in Mike Minor, Marcus Stroman and Matthew Boyd. But there’s reason to question whether any of these controllable starters would be an obvious upgrade for the remainder of this season. The Braves will be able to make a more accurate assessment after spending this weekend getting a better feel for what they currently possess within their rotation.