3 moves Braves can still make to steal the NL East

1. Get Travis d’Arnaud and his Silver Slugger bat back behind the dish

While inserting Rosario into the outfield rotation and getting Ynoa some work once these two injured Braves come back from injury, the biggest boost this team can get is the return of injured starting catcher Travis d’Arnaud. Though general manager Alex Anthopoulos traded for Stephen Vogt from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta would get back its 2020 cleanup hitter in d’Arnaud.

D’Arnaud has been out for most of the season with a broken thumb. As with Ynoa, his return to the Braves lineup is imminent. The biggest difference between the two is the Braves will be getting an every day starter to its roster with the return of its Silver Slugger catcher. Was last year an anomaly for d’Arnaud? Potentially, but his bat and glove combination will be a massive boost.

What this does is reshuffle the batting order a bit. If that means shortstop Dansby Swanson is hitting eighth, that only makes the Braves’ new-look batting order be all the more menacing. Yes, getting Anderson back will be great for the starting rotation, but adding d’Arnaud for the home stretch cannot be understated. Keep in mind he used to be a former Met as well, so that matters.

Anthopoulos can look to add an arm to the bullpen by trading through waivers if he wants to, but his team gets better once a few players return from injury. If he can add Rosario to the outfield rotation, have Ynoa available out of the bullpen or for the occasional spot-start and trust d’Arnaud to be operating behind the plate most days, Atlanta might be able to catch and surpass New York.

The Braves have the pieces internally to go and win the division, but they must get healthier first.