24k Magic: Braves bargain buy embarrasses Mets in revenge game

The Atlanta Braves turned the New York Mets’ garbage into gold with SP Allan Winans. 

In 2021, the New York Mets, pressed for space with their Triple-A rotation, decided to let SP Allan Winans go. The Atlanta Braves snuck in with a third-round pick in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft and acquired his rights for $24,500. A small price to pay for a future MLB starter.

Winans started his second career MLB game for the Braves on Saturday — in the Big Apple against, that’s right, the New York Mets. Some might call it a revenge game. It certainly felt like Winans was out for blood.

The 28-year-old rookie tossed seven scoreless innings as Atlanta ran up the score. The Mets have been unafraid to blatantly and embarrassingly copy the Braves, but this is yet another example of why the Braves are world class and, well, the Mets just aren’t.

Allen Winans exacts revenge on lowly Mets in Atlanta Braves’ staggering victory

The Braves have thrown a remarkable number of pitchers on the mound this season for a team with one of the best ERAs in baseball. The recent return of Max Fried cements the top of Atlanta’s rotation ahead of the playoffs, but there is still plenty of room for a player like Winans to carve out a niche with performances like Saturday afternoon.

Granted, the Mets aren’t the most difficult pitching assignment at the moment. Charlie Morton and company helmed a five-man shutout effort on Friday. New York traded the heart of its pitching staff at the deadline, but it would appear the bullpen isn’t the only area of woe (New York is trailing 21-3 as of this sentence, one of the worst all-around performances in recent MLB history). You can make up for bad pitching with great offense, but you can’t always make up for incompetent offense with good pitching. And you definitely can’t make up for incompetent offense with incompetent pitching.

Atlanta fans are reveling in the streets right now. The Mets have always been an especially hated rival and the Braves are stealing their lunch money on national television right now. Austin Riley is doing his best Chipper Jones impersonation at third base, Matt Olson is ripping dingers left and right, and the Mets are essentially waiving the white flag and letting it all happen.

As the Braves coast toward a postseason berth and another run at the World Series, the Mets are shifting their focus several years down the road. If you can’t beat ’em, wait for ’em to age out of greatness, that’s what I always say. New York will look to make a more passable attempt at “playing baseball” in the second half of their Saturday doubleheader. It would be deeply funny if the Braves put up another football score, though.