MLB Trade Deadline: Brian McCann Injury to Affect Atlanta Braves Trades

The MLB trade deadline is looming, and teams like the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets are finalizing negotiations for the move (or moves) that they hope to make by 4:00 p.m. EDT on July 31, 2011.

I used to wonder why—if teams had a match for a trade—they didn't just make the deal when they had a rough understanding of the players that each team was willing to trade/accept. 

Why wouldn't a buyer want to make the move sooner than later, given that at the end of a 162-game season, one game could make the difference between a playoff berth and going home (2010 San Diego Padres)?

As I began to understand the business end of baseball a little better, I realized that it was all about maximizing leverage based on one's place in the standings, the players that they have to give vs. the players that they want to acquire and the relative strength of their closest competition based on the same criteria.

So I get it.

The longer you wait as a buyer, the better the chance that another team drops out of contention for the player you seek and the better the possibility that the price in prospects for that player goes down. 

It's a gamble though, because the opposite could happen. 

The team you are competing with for the available player could become desperate, as is the possible case with the Atlanta Braves and Carlos Beltran.

The Braves won a truly strange 19-inning game Tuesday night, where the winning run scored approximately four feet from home plate. 

The call by the home plate umpire—right or wrong—has somewhat overshadowed a very significant story that comes out of that game. 

Brian McCann injured himself and is headed to the DL.

McCann was placed on the DL today with a strained oblique muscle, an injury he suffered in the 10th inning of last night’s game. 

McCann is expected to miss at least 15 to 20 games, which is a blow to the Braves offense, an offense they have been looking to upgrade even with McCann in the lineup.

The implications of this injury for the final days of the non-waiver trading season are obvious. 

If the Braves feel that they need to panic based on the injury, they may give in to the demands of the Mets for a top pitching prospect and make the deal.

In the past 48 hours or so, there have been many reports that the Mets have backed off their demands of Beltran suitors for one of the top prospects in the organization. 

This could be just the thing that the Mets front office has been waiting for. 

If the Braves do panic and offer more than they need to, and the Mets come to Brian Sabean and ask for him to better their offer, I hope he takes a pass. 

Artificial inflation of the price for a veteran outfielder who is a two month plus rental due to a significant injury to a player on another team is not a price that the Giants should pay.

If the Braves blink, the Mets could benefit greatly from an injury to a star player from a contender, as it could quickly up the price tag of Carlos Beltran again, Beltran is a difference-maker, but if it goes that way, Sabean should go with Plan B.