The Braves went hunting for a true difference-maker at the deadline, and Jacob deGrom was apparently the name sitting near the top of the board. He just wasn’t willing to leave Texas.
Alex Anthopoulos didn’t spell out every detail after the deadline passed, but he made it clear Atlanta wasn’t interested in settling for a mid-tier arm. Kevin Gausman and Dustin May, as the thinking went, didn’t match the price. The Braves were looking for a move that could change the rotation, and Anthopoulos said only a couple of pitchers actually fit that description.
Alex Anthopoulos said, along with Skubal, “there was one other guy we thought was incredibly impactful as well in our minds”
Followed it up with
“Beyond that, I don't think it's appropriate to talk about things that didn't get done” #Braves
- Harrison Smajovits (@HarrisonSmaj) August 3, 2026
That mystery arm appears to have been deGrom. Ken Rosenthal reported that the Braves let the Rangers know they wanted to land him, and Texas reportedly told deGrom that if he waived his no-trade clause for Atlanta, they would get a deal done. deGrom declined, saying he wanted to win in Texas.
For Atlanta, that would have been the kind of swing that changes the entire conversation. deGrom next to Chris Sale would have given the Braves a brutal one-two punch, and because of his contract, he likely could have come without Atlanta having to part with its top prospects. It was the kind of setup Anthopoulos almost certainly had in mind - but deGrom’s full no-trade clause shut the door.
“I want to be here (Texas),” deGrom said, according to MLB.com. “I believe in this group.
Obviously, the last road trip didn’t go well, but I believe we can win. I signed here to help this team win a World Series.
In 2023, the team was able to do that. I want to be a part of that in the future.
I signed here to do that. I want to stay here and help this team compete.”
So the Braves walked away empty-handed on the kind of rotation upgrade they were clearly chasing. The same need that’s lingered around this club nearly every October since 2018 is still sitting there.
And the frustration only grows when you look back at the last two offseasons. Charlie Morton and Max Fried, two major rotation pieces, left two winters ago, and the Braves still haven’t spent big to replace what they lost.
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