The Atlanta Braves have had a season from hell, but the trade deadline gave Alex Anthopoulos and Co. the golden opportunity to build for 2026 and beyond. The Braves weren't going to trade veterans locked in under contract, like Chris Sale, Sean Murphy or even Ronald Acuña Jr., but they, at the very least, could've parted with players who weren't going to help the team in the not-too-distant future.
Well, that didn't happen. Outside of a pretty irrelevant trade that saw Rafael Montero get sent to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, the Braves did nothing. They didn't make a single move of importance on Thursday. Even players on expiring contracts like Marcell Ozuna and Raisel Iglesias stayed put. The Braves didn't trade them for anything.
Braves fans were quick to turn on Anthopoulos for their deadline mishaps, but who they really should be blaming is ownership, as former Braves beat writer Justin Toscano outlined on X.
I’ll start with this: It’s wild how much goes on behind closed doors. You’d be surprised at details the public isn’t privy to. So who knows what went down?
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) July 31, 2025
My opinion: This deadline reeks of Liberty Media not wanting the Braves to sell more and have fan interest — money — drop.
Toscano's theory regarding Atlanta's inactivity is that Liberty Media had no interest in selling, risking a dip in fan interest. If true, and there's every reason to believe that it is, this would prove that ownership, not Anthopoulos, is to blame.
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Alex Anthopoulos didn't just forget to run a team overnight
You can point the finger at Anthopoulos for many things, but not even the most frustrated Braves fan would go out and say Anthopoulos has no idea what he's doing. Any competent general manager would sell off veterans in what's clearly a lost year. However, when ownership doesn't give its blessing, there isn't much Anthopoulos can realistically do.
Not trading Ozuna, while frustrating, makes sense. There were several hurdles, like his 10-5 rights, his down year, his limited flexibility, and even his past legal troubles to get over, so it makes sense that the Braves weren't able to come to a deal there. What's the excuse with Iglesias, though?
Even if the return wasn't great, the Braves absolutely could've gotten something for him. He's had a down year, but he's allowed a run in just two of his last 20 appearances, and his track record is superb. There's no excuse to have him on the roster to begin the second half from Anthopoulos' perspective, since he can walk in the offseason, especially when the reliever market turned out to heavily favor sellers. The only reason to keep him around is if ownership forced Anthopoulos to keep him.
Braves ownership will come to regret meddling
This isn't the first time we've seen ownership limit what the Braves can do. Last offseason, we saw the Braves shed several contracts, and all Anthopoulos wound up doing was sign Jurickson Profar. That could've been Anthopoulos' choice, but it's hard to believe Anthopoulos had no desire to add any semblance of worthy depth to the rotation or bullpen. The team's uneventful offseason undoubtedly played a role in the down year of 2025, and now, ownership has seemingly impacted what Anthopoulos could do at the deadline.
The worst part about ownership meddling is that they have no idea what they're doing. How is trading Iglesias going to impact the bottom line? Sure, Braves fans might like him, but if we're being completely honest, nobody is going to the ballpark to watch him pitch. The same can even be said about Ozuna. The only player fans would really flock to Truist Park for is Ronald Acuña Jr., and he's hurt.
The Braves might win a couple more games with Iglesias and Ozuna in the mix, but a vast majority of the fans know that the 2025 season is all but over. The Braves didn't add anyone to make their team better now because they know that their season is over. Not adding for 2026 might hurt Atlanta's chances of turning this thing around as quickly as they envision, which, in turn, will impact attendance in the future. They decreased fan interest by trying not to decrease fan interest. Brilliant.
Ownership getting involved is never a good thing. Look at the dumpster fire that the Los Angeles Angels are as an example. The Braves were at their best when Anthopoulos was cooking. Ownership getting in the way has the organization in a brutal spot.