Braves: 3 trades Alex Anthopoulos should avoid

Why Alex Anthopoulos should not make these trades for the Atlanta Braves at the deadline.

Although some people think he could be pressured into it, Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos may not make a trade deadline deal after all, as he always operates in silence.

The Braves have been the best team in baseball pretty much since Memorial Day weekend. Their June was the stuff of legend. While we still have three more months left in the regular season, we are kind of approaching the territory of Braves or the field when it comes to winning the World Series. Whatever they have, it is working, so let’s not mess up something that is already fantastic.

Here is why Anthopoulos should avoid making trades in an attempt to improve this loaded roster.

Atlanta Braves: 3 trades Alex Anthopoulos should avoid making at the deadline

3. The price may be too high to add an arm to the bullpen worthy of trading for

For a while there, the one area where I was totally convinced the Braves needed to make a deal at the deadline would be to address the bullpen. If this team had a weakness, this is probably it. Frankly, the Braves have a better bullpen than many teams far worse than them, but they can get got in the final frames of a ballgame. It really comes down to how healthy they are at the deadline.

To me, it is really contingent on the health of AJ Minter. He is a crucial seventh and eighth-inning guy for the Braves. He has had his ups and downs this season, but he has been instrumental in the Braves’ bullpen having had such great success over the last several seasons. Right now, Atlanta cannot afford one more big injury to a relief pitcher like Minter, Raisel Iglesias or even Kirby Yates. Despite Minter being placed on the 15-day IL on Saturday, most indications are that he’ll be back by the end of the month. Don’t panic, Braves fans.

I would anticipate the trade market to not be as robust as it has been in years past. Atlanta may be running away with the NL East, but so many other teams are very much in the mix for a postseason berth. That, and the fact nobody wants to help the Braves win it all twice in three years, you better believe the market would dictate Atlanta paying a premium for a solid reliever.

Anthopoulos may address the position group, but he needs to be on the lookout for price-gougers.