3 Braves who weren’t traded at the deadline, but will be this offseason
By Josh Wilson
The Braves mostly kept quiet at the MLB trade deadline, but don’t necessarily expect that to continue into the offseason.
Just because the Atlanta Braves opted to make marginal moves at the 2023 MLB trade deadline doesn’t mean that fans should expect that trend to continue into the offseason. After all, general manager Alex Anthopoulos has proven he can deal with the best of them, famously upgrading the roster with several different trades in 2021 that wound up earning the Braves a World Series.
Simply, this year the Braves were well in position to win from the get-go. There was little reason to make trades in what was an expensive market due to a lack of sellers.
Anthopoulos has been building this team to his liking for seasons now and had it in a good place as soon as the gates opened. Expect him to make his tweaks in the offseason once again next year to get the team lined up once more for a season start.
Braves who weren’t traded but will be this offsesason: Eddie Rosario
Eddie Rosario is a peculiar one. It feels like a near certainty that the struggling outfielder is gone before next season starts, but that could be via either trade or the Braves not picking up his $9 million team option.
Rosario, though he has been better than he was in 2022, has not been anywhere near what he was for the Braves in 2021 when he was acquired as a part of the all-out World Series push. That year he had an OPS+ of 134 for the Braves, he followed that up with an OPS+ of 61 in 2022 and 96 in 2023.
With slightly below-average fielding according to Statcast, there aren’t many redeeming qualities to make up for the mid-tier batting.
He’s nearing league average, but with possible solutions in left field that would bring a stronger bat to the plate, he’s more than likely a player on his way out.