Braves are top landing spot for trade of Giants' 240-HR All-Star despite odd fit

"The Braves are the highest scoring team in MLB, and only the Astros are getting better productivity from the DH spot." Rymer writes. "... It's been productive, but the bulk of that damage has been done by Dominic Smith... In theory, Devers would be a more solid rock at DH."

While Rymer named the Braves as the top landing spot for Devers in a trade this season, there is one issue: Devers' fit in the lineup.

Braves are top landing spot for Rafael Devers despite an odd fit

The theory of adding Devers to this Braves offense isn't a bad one. What team wouldn't want to add a slugger like Devers, who's hit 240 homers in his career and has been hot as of late?

But, the issue with the Braves, despite being the top landing spot according to Rymer, is the odd fit. Matt Olson has first base locked down, and third base isn't an option with Austin Riley manning the hot corner.

The only spot Devers could fit is at designated hitter. But, with Smith's .363 batting average and .941 OPS across 80 at-bats this season, it's hard for the Braves to justify taking him out of the lineup permanently.

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If they added Devers in a trade, then Smith wouldn't be able to factor into the lineup much, if at all, for the rest of the year.

The Braves could avoid trading for Devers and rely on Smith, or they could find a way to trade Smith for some value and add Devers as the full-time, long-term DH.

It's not a terrible idea, as Devers is the much better player than Smith for their careers. But, with Devers' .677 OPS compared to Smith's .941 OPS, trading for a worse and more expensive DH is an odd fit for the Braves this season.

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