It’s probably time the Atlanta Braves give up the whole Bryce Elder schtick and try to find a trade partner that is willing to take him on. Elder might be the Braves’ fifth starter, but let’s be honest, he’s probably not posting an ERA below 4.50 in extended innings, and Atlanta could opt to call up top prospect JR Ritchie or give Didier Fuentes another shot due to their more dominating pitching arsenal.
A recent MLB mock trade idea by SI.com’s Ryan Shea has the Braves acquiring St. Louis Cardinals‘ outfielder Lars Nootbaar in exchange for starter Bryce Elder and SS prospect John Gil. Gil is the attractive piece in this deal for the Cardinals, but Bryce Elder would be able to help eat up innings for St.Louis this season. Does this trade idea make sense for the Braves?
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Braves Trade Pitch Lands Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar.
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In terms of trading Bryce Elder, yes, this trade pitch makes sense for the Braves to make, and Atlanta could afford to add another productive bat after losing Jurickson Profar to a year-long suspension.
Lars Nootbaar isn’t exactly the best bat of all time, but he has consistently hit 12-14 home runs over the past four seasons, and hit 13 home runs in 2025 over 130 games in 2025. Aside from a more productive 2022 season, Nootbaar has been a pretty league-average hitter, but considering the Cardinals have pretty much traded away all their serviceable assets, it doesn’t make sense why Nootbaar hasn’t been dealt yet.
He has two more years of team control, and would allow manager Walt Weiss to get other Braves outfielders like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mike Yastrzemski off their feet during the regular season.
St. Louis likely won’t compete this season, so they need to start thinking about the future, whereas for the Braves, the future is now.
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Will the Braves Actually Trade Bryce Elder?
Unfortunately, due to several injuries to the starting rotation, the Braves likely won’t trade Bryce Elder, or at least until Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep return from injury.
However, Elder is a former All-Star in his own right, and maybe he can improve his trade candidacy if he posts a good start for Atlanta, but the Braves will need Elder’s innings, regardless of how unproductive they are.
As for trading for Lars Nootbaar, it’s something the Braves should look into, and they could try and offer another trade piece from their current roster instead of Elder, because let’s face it, few teams want a starter who has a ERA north of 5.50 in their last two seasons, and one who doesn’t have a fastball that eclipses 91 MPH.
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Braves Trade Pitch Lands Cardinals’ 13-Home Run Outfielder for Bryce Elder