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The Atlanta Braves are playing good baseball.
They currently hold a three-game lead in the National League East standings over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies are not far behind, so upgrading the roster will be the goal for Atlanta before the upcoming MLB trade deadline.
Of course, some of the motivation to make a trade or two will stem from the potential of playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs.
MLB insider Jim Bowden recently revealed that Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said the ball club's "priority" is to acquire a playoff caliber starter as well as a high leverage reliever.
The Braves are open to any move that improves the roster, but adding a starter and reliever are the priorities.
Of course, the idea of a Tarik Skubal trade has been mentioned consistently.
If the Detroit Tigers trade the ace, the Braves may be among the possible suitors.
At the moment, there are no guarantees that Skubal will be made available, though.
Other starting pitching trade candidates who could catch the Braves' attention include Joe Ryan, Freddy Peralta and Robbie Ray.
Chris Sale is the ace, but the Braves' overall pitching rotation would benefit from acquiring another starter.
Meanwhile, the bullpen is strong but bringing in another high leverage relief pitcher certainly would not be a bad idea.
Most teams want bullpen help during the trade deadline and the Braves are no different.
There may not be many star relievers available before this year's trade deadline, however.
Still, there will be some bullpen arms available who are more than capable of making an impact.
Braves Looking to Win NL East The Braves' current roster would be capable of winning the NL East.
Adding a starter and reliever would only help matters, though.
Winning the NL East is crucial, as the Braves would love to skip the NL Wild Card round in the postseason.
Having to play in the Wild Card round before facing a team such as the Dodgers would be far from ideal.
The fact of the matter is that winning the National League is going to be an immense challenge once again this year.
The Dodgers still feature no shortage of talent.
Atlanta is capable of making things interesting though.
Other ball clubs like the Milwaukee Brewers and the Phillies will also present the Dodgers with a challenge.
The Braves still have work to do.
They will be an intriguing team to follow before the trade deadline.