So we are past the draft and now the focus of the front office is on trades that can improve the club. The Braves as most would point out, are only a few games out of first (somehow) despite the worst bullpen in the major leagues. I, for one, am not about to go "all in" to fix this issue, however I also don't think they should become complete sellers either. So, with this in mind, what can we do in the trade market?

Trade Jose Peraza.

I love the guy as a prospect, however there is just no where for him to play. If he or Jace could play third that would be a different story, but from everything I have heard neither guy profiles there. Jose is now playing center, but with the work of Cameron Maybin and the rapid emergence of Mallex Smith, we could at least entertain the idea of trading Jose. Here's three deals we could make:

1. Trade Jose Peraza and Williams Perez to Colorado for Ryan McMahon, Tom Murphy, Wes Rogers, and Carlos Estevez.

Williams is another guy who is expendable and the fact that he has had a ton of luck means that selling now at a high point makes sense. Many of you may believe that we are not getting enough in this deal, but McMahon could be our future at third, Murphy could be our future at catcher, and Estevez could be in the pen fairly soon. Adding a toolsy outfielder like Rogers could make this a steal for the Braves potentially. For Colorado, trading Tulo seems to be all but inevitable and having Peraza makes that easier. Williams is a guy that slots in to their rotation now, so receiving two guys like this makes deal worth it for them.

2. Trade Jose Peraza, Christian Bethancourt, and Alec Grosser to Minnesota for Jose Berrios and Stephen Gonsalves

John Hart is already drooling. Minnesota is surprisingly in contention this year, but will need some additions to hold serve in a very tough division. Berrios and Gonsalves are blue chippers for sure, but to get your short stop of the future back may be enough to pry them away. Danny Santana did not do the job, and guys like Edwin Escobar can only do so much. To have Peraza and Buxton at the top of your lineup could be enough to convince Terry Ryan. The Twins also do not have a catcher of the future, so if they believe they can turn around Christian and we throw in a decent chip like Grosser we could get this done and officially have the pitching factory of MLB.

3. Trade Jose Peraza and Joey Terdoslavich to the Yankees for Luis Severino, Jacob Lindgren, and Rookie Davis.

This trade goes back a few weeks when there were rumors about the Yankees' interest in Peraza. Didi Gregorious has not been the answer and neither has Stephen Drew. Jose is a big upgrade over both and surely the Yankees still have interest here. I don't think we could get Judge, and his massive size worries me anyway, but Severino is a really good piece to get back here. Lindgren is a huge upgrade over Avilan and Eveland as a lefty in the pen and Davis is an unheralded pitching prospect. Hate to part with Joey T here, and maybe we don't have to, but there comes a time when we must admit that he is a guy without a position in Atlanta (although he probably plays left better than Jonny Gomes so there's that).

Other, less sexy trades:

As I said earlier, we are too close to contention to sell away anyone of dire need to the major league team, but that doesn't mean moves can't happen. Let's see what else we could do after Peraza:

Trade for bullpen ugrades.

I don't have anything specific in mind, as I don't see John Hart making a splash here. With Vizcaino and McKirahan on the way back, I can only envision minor moves to sure up the bullpen. No Aroldis Chapmans or the likes for us.

Trade Chris Johnson and Manny Banuelos to White Sox for Jordan Guerrero.

No matter what Braves fans may say, Chris Johnson has next to no trade value. He plays bad defense, doesn't walk, and has almost no power. Oh and he has a contract that overpays him. We would have to B.J. Upton him by attaching him to another piece to trade him and unfortunately this time its Banuelos. I like Manny, but others are down on him (like why is he not in our bullpen yet???) so maybe this is a realistic move. Guerrero is a young guy, but he is tearing up High A ball and could be worth the risk for Chicago as they are getting a more advanced lefty pitcher back and a guy that can play third for the big club. We would probably have to help in monetarily, but not too much here. Ultimately, this may look like a bad trade just to dump Chris, but we could save millions while also getting a guy that could be better than Banuelos in the long run. Not too bad.

Trade Fredi Gonzalez for a bag of baseballs.

Please? I mean they could even be used baseballs at this point. Or wiffle balls. Any takers?

I'm sure John Hart will be quite busy and who knows? I believe we have lost 8 of 12 or so, so there is a possibility we become sellers and guys like Cameron Maybin, Alex Wood, Jason Grilli, etc. get put up for sale. The offense has been too good and the starting pitching is coming around a bit so I doubt it, but with Fredi and the bullpen we may be overwhelmed.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment about how I'm an idiot or this that and the other, but let me know which trades look plausible or which ones don't. Post your own in the comments too. Go Braves!