As the Atlanta Braves continue their long-term rebuild, Erick Aybar is among a few veterans the team may move before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
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Braves Making Aybar Available
Sunday, July 24
Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal spoke to an MLB executive who said Sunday the Braves are "aggressively shopping" Aybar, along with Jeff Francoeur and their left-handed relievers.
Moving Aybar won't be an easy task. He's mired in the worst offensive season of his MLB career. He's batting .208 with one home run and 17 RBI in 288 plate appearances. According to FanGraphs, his .262 slugging percentage is the second-worst in the league among hitters with at least 250 plate appearances.
Aybar's contract situation makes trading him a little bit harder for Atlanta as well. He's set to be a free agent at the end of the year, and few teams will bite for a half-season rental whose numbers are as bad as Aybar's are.
In March, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's David O'Brien reported that Braves general manager John Coppolella "made it clear" the team wasn't going to settle for a small return in the event it dealt Aybar.
Atlanta likely banked on the 32-year-old rebounding following the 2015 season and then cashing in at the deadline. Instead, his decline has become even more pronounced, severely diminishing his trade value.
Offloading Aybar is clearly in the Braves' best long-term interests, but Coppolella will either have to get creative or accept little back in order to get any deal done.
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