3 reasons the Braves won the MLB Trade Deadline

1. The Braves did not have to give up any of their top prospects at the deadline

For as cool as it was to see Anthopoulos make deals at the deadline, what was the most impressive part about it was he did not have to give up any of the team’s best prospects. Atlanta did not have to part ways with any of its top five prospects in its rich farm system. This includes prized outfielders Cristian Pache and Drew Waters, as well as promising catcher Shea Langeliers.

The biggest names of note to be dealt by the Braves at the deadline were backup backstop Alex Jackson to the Marlins for Duvall, struggling pinch-hitting specialist Pablo Sandoval to Cleveland for Rosario and right-handed pitcher Bryse Wilson to the Pirates for Rodriguez. Atlanta was able to improve its roster without giving up a ton or prematurely harvesting its deep farm system.

By making a series of deals on Friday, Anthopoulos has hit the reset button on the Braves’ season without compromising its promising future in the process. Even if all four of these players he dealt for on Friday struggle in Atlanta uniform this year, the Braves were able to keep its strong farm system intact. This may not be the team’s year, but 2022 and 2023 were not jeopardized either.

Overall, Atlanta did enough at the deadline to keep pace with the Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies in what looks to be a three-team race in the NL East. While there are no guarantees Atlanta will even be a .500 team this season, we have to applaud Anthopoulos’ efforts to reconfigure this team heading into the final months. His should be commended for his work.

All it will take is for the Braves to play a great week of baseball to take back control in the NL East.