Atlanta Braves: Pros and Cons of Trading Away Martin Prado and Jair Jurrjens

The Atlanta Braves are willing to trade away both Martin Prado and Jair Jurrjens, as reported by MLB.com. They have already discussed their trade interests with a few teams.

The Braves may be on the edge of becoming one of the most dominant teams in baseball, and could be just one trade away.

Although Jurrjens and Prado have been key players in the past years, the Braves could benefit from trading them away.

The following slides will discuss the pros and cons of trading away these players.

Con: Jurrjens' Potential

The main reason the Braves want to hold on to Jurrjens is his huge potential.

For the majority of the 2011 season, he was a top contender for the Cy Young award.

While healthy, Jurrjens can be one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, displayed by his 12-3 record and 1.87 ERA in the first half of last season.

At the age of 25, Jurrjens has much time to improve and could become one of the best pitchers in baseball.

If the Braves are to trade him away, they will lose all that he could contribute to their team, as well as a few potential Cy Young awards.

Pro: Jurrjens' Injury Risk

A large reason for the Braves' reluctance to hold on to Jurrjens is his history of injuries.

He suffered from injuries during much of the second half of the season after dominating the prior half.

His chances at the Cy Young were demolished by his injuries last season, and much of his 2010 season was disrupted for the same reason.

While Jurrjens has the potential to become one of the best pitchers in baseball, this could be prevented by his inability to stay healthy.

Con: Prado's Defense

If the Braves decide to trade away Martin Prado, they will lose his versatility in the field.

Prado is an accomplished first baseman, second baseman, third baseman and left fielder. He has played at shortstop and right field, as well.

This is very important to the Braves' team.

With Chipper Jones getting up there in age, Prado's ability to play third base is becoming increasingly important. And if the Braves decide to play Tyler Pastornicky at shortstop, Prado may be needed there.

Also, Prado is always prepared to give backup to his teammates in case of injuries or on their off days.

Con: Prado's Offense

Along with Prado's ability to play multiple positions in the field, the Braves would lose Prado's bat in the lineup.

Martin Prado has a career batting average of .293. On a Braves team that lacks offense, this is very important.

Prado gets on base often, as evidenced by his career OBP of .341. Therefore, having him bat in the second spot of the lineup is very helpful, as he can contribute much-needed runs to the Braves.

Without Prado's contribution of offense, the Braves could struggle to score runs.

Pro: Prado's Down Season

Although Prado in his career has hit .293, last season he hit .260 and managed only 66 runs and 57 RBI.

It is possible that Prado's offense is overvalued, and he may struggle to hit as well as before. If this is the case, then he may not be too important to the Braves.

If the Braves make a trade for an outfielder or a shortstop, his contributions to the team may be unnecessary, and the Braves will still be in good shape.

Con: Hanson's Shoulder

Another con of trading away Jurrjens would be his absence from the starting rotation.

Without Jurrjens, the ace of the Braves would be Tommy Hanson, which could be an issue.

For the past few months, Hanson has had difficulty staying healthy with lingering shoulder problems.

If Hanson does not manage to stay healthy, the starting pitching rotation—aside from Tim Hudson—will be completely made up of prospects.

This would not be ideal for the Braves, and is something they should consider before giving away Jurrjens.

Pro: Frees Up Money

Neither Prado nor Jurrjens are making a large amount of money.

However, considering both players are arbitration eligible in 2012 and their skill level is becoming higher each year, keeping them around could become very expensive.

Because of this, trading them away could save the Braves a fair amount of money.

If the Braves do use Prado and Jurrjens to make a large trade, the money they would save could go towards a long-term contract for the player they get out of the deal.

Also, by getting rid of these contracts, the Braves could use this money to sign an expensive free agent.

Along with declining the option on Nate McLouth and trading away Derek Lowe, this extra money can help the Braves improve their team.

Pro: The Trade

The teams the Braves should look at most for a trade are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Kansas City Royals.

According to MLB.com, the Braves have already discussed a possible trade with the Royals, who are known to have one of the most impressive farm systems in baseball.

The Braves' farm system is also one of the best. However, while they have some of the best pitching prospects, they have a shortage of position players with huge potential.

The Royals could help the Braves in this area, as they have a few promising outfield prospects.

Another trade the Braves should look into is for Matt Kemp, a top candidate for the MVP award this year.

The Dodgers happen to lack depth in their starting pitching rotation; the Braves could offer assistance here.

If the Braves were to receive Kemp in a trade, their offense would be greatly improved.

Conclusion and Analysis

In order to complete a trade with either the Dodgers or the Royals, the Braves would probably have to give away Jurrjens and Prado, as well as a top prospect, such as Mike Minor or Randall Delgado.

It is impossible to know whether this trade would be worth it until the 2012 season has been played.

Jurrjens' and Prado's values are difficult to measure because of their young age and inconsistency.

Without Jurrjens or Mike Minor, the Braves' pitching rotation would look like this:

1: Tommy Hanson

2: Tim Hudson

3: Brandon Beachy

4: Julio Teheran

5: Randall Delgado

This could be a very dominant pitching rotation, especially with a bit more experience in the major leagues.

All of these pitchers have the potential to play just as well as Jurrjens did in the previous season.

In the batting lineup, if Prado were to be traded for Kemp in the outfield, the Braves' offense would get a huge upgrade.

If the Braves were to give up Prado and Jurrjens in a trade, their team risks losing great talent, but could be greatly improved.