The Braves are getting closer to the August 3rd trade deadline, and all eyes are on Alex Anthopoulos. Atlanta still has clear needs, and the question now is whether the front office will attack them aggressively or try to recreate a familiar formula.
According to a recent MLB.com piece by Mark Feinsand, one anonymous NL executive thinks Anthopoulos may lean on the same approach he used in 2021. That year, the Braves made a late push and wound up winning their first World Series since 1995. But this time around, that kind of strategy is not automatically comforting in Atlanta.
“The Braves are in need of at least one starting pitcher, and while they have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Tarik Skubal, there are a number of pitchers who could fit the bill for Atlanta including Kevin Gausman, Robbie Ray and Clay Holmes. Atlanta is also in the market for a right-handed outfield bat and bullpen help, but an NL executive believes president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos may slow-play his hand as Monday’s Deadline approaches. ‘I think Alex could play this like he did [in 2021] where he waited until the end and bought all the guys around the fringes,’ an NL executive said.”
That 2021 deadline turned out perfectly for Atlanta. Anthopoulos turned a collection of middling prospects into Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, and Eddie Rosario, four players who were not exactly scorching when they arrived.
Once they got to Atlanta, though, everything changed. Rosario ended up winning NLCS MVP, and Soler was the World Series MVP.
The problem is that the Braves may have been riding a wave that’s hard to duplicate. Looking back, it’s easy to see how much of a lightning-in-a-bottle moment that deadline really was.
With the exception of Pederson, those players didn’t do much before or after their time in Atlanta. The Braves caught the right break at the right time and turned it into a championship.
Since then, Anthopoulos has kept leaning on that same general playbook, both in trades and in free agency, and the payoff has not been there. Atlanta has gone four straight seasons without winning a playoff series.
That’s why some Braves fans would probably rather see a different kind of deadline this time. The roster has already burned through nearly five years of a core that was supposed to contend every season, and the case for standing pat or shopping only at the margins feels a lot thinner now. If Anthopoulos does decide to chase impact help, he may have to pay for it with top prospects.
If he goes back to the 2021 model, he’ll be betting on another miracle. And at this point, that kind of gamble looks a lot less like a plan and a lot more like a lottery ticket.
In Other News...
Braves Face A Painful Decision On Three Familiar Names
The Braves have reached the part of the season where even familiar names can land in trade conversations, and Sean Murphy is one of the more intriguing cases. His defense still gives Atlanta real value behind the plate, and while his contract makes him a logical name to monitor, the club also has little incentive to move him when his market value is not exactly at its peak. Murphy is also getting closer to a return, which only adds to the sense that this is less about a clean break and more about a difficult balancing act.
Ha-Seong Kim and Spencer Strider make the picture even messier, though in very different ways. Kims situation is tied to his rehab work and the roster crunch that comes with it, while any deal involving him would likely be about clearing money more than bringing back a meaningful return. Strider, meanwhile, sits in a far more complicated spot because of his contract and injury uncertainty, which makes him a tough player to move unless Atlanta is willing to absorb a painful amount of the cost. [Read more 🡒]
Braves May Be Near A Tough Austin Riley Decision
Austin Rileys recent stretch has only sharpened the questions around how much the Braves can keep leaning on him as the season wears on. The offense has been quiet enough to notice, with multiple hitless games and a pile of strikeouts, and the Orioles series offered little relief when the underlying numbers landed well below his usual standard. For a player whose bat has long been the carrying tool, that kind of dip naturally puts a spotlight on every other part of his game.
The defense at third base has not done him many favors in the bigger picture, either, with his career work there grading out as marginal or worse by Statcasts OAA-based measure outside of a tiny debut-year sample. So even as Atlanta weighs what comes next, the discussion is no longer just about whether Riley will snap out of it at the plate. It is also about how the Braves balance patience, production and the realities of a long season with a player whose value has become harder to define in the moment. [Read more 🡒]
Braves May Have Finally Found The Rotation Arm Fans Wanted
The Braves are still working through a rotation picture complicated by injuries, and the trade deadline is giving them a chance to look beyond internal fixes. One name that has surfaced in that search is a Mets right-hander who is coming off a rehab appearance and drawing attention as New York leans toward selling, which naturally puts Atlanta in the market for a starter who can help right away.
For the Braves, the appeal is obvious: they need innings, stability and another arm they can trust in a stretched rotation. There are other pitching possibilities in the mix, but this one stands out because the timing lines up with where both clubs are headed, and the contract situation only adds to the sense that a move could come together before the deadline if the price and fit make sense. [Read more 🡒]