Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Atlanta Braves face a tight National League East race with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies looming large.
- Their lead baseball executive has a history of avoiding blockbuster trades at the midseason deadline in favor of strategic moves.
- Expect the team to target affordable veterans with playoff experience rather than high-profile names before August 3.
With the Los Angeles Dodgers looming and the Philadelphia Phillies keeping things close in the National League East, Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta Braves are poised to make a major move ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
At least, that’s what baseball fans might naturally think, and for good reason. The Braves need outfield depth, and it wouldn’t hurt to add another starting pitcher. Although Dominic Smith has impressed in spurts at designated hitter, that shouldn’t stop Anthopoulos from pursuing another bat.
But based on his nearly 10 years of running the Braves, don’t plan on Anthopoulos making a blockbuster trade within the next two weeks. That’s simply not how he does things.
Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves prefer smaller trade deadline moves
Barring any unexpected changes, Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Twins starters Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober are among the league’s top trade candidates. All three would check a massive box for the Braves, as would Minnesota outfielder Byron Buxton, though he’s publicly insisted he does not want to be traded.
However, the Braves rarely target those players for midseason trades. As Anthopoulos has proven with Matt Olson, Chris Sale, and Sean Murphy, the Braves instead save those major moves for the offseason. Considering that the Braves won the World Series in 2021 and have been a playoff mainstay since Anthopoulos became the lead baseball executive ahead of the 2018 season, that strategy has clearly worked.
Assuming that the Braves plan on upgrading their roster over the next 12 days, they’ll likely seek affordable veterans with playoff experience, as they did with Jorge Soler in 2021.
The Orioles’ Taylor Ward is a prime example. Although the 32-year-old Ward only has seven homers, he’s reaching base at a career-best .386 clip in nearly 460 plate appearances. I’m not overly concerned about his .758 OPS, given that he’s recorded 20 doubles and an AL-leading 79 walks. Perhaps most importantly for the Braves, Ward is in the final months of a one-year deal worth nearly $12.2 million.
As for pitching, the Tigers’ Jack Flaherty feels like a match. On the one hand, he has a 4.62 ERA since the start of last year, but his durability should immediately appeal to the Braves given Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach’s injury history. I’m especially impressed with how his home run rate has dropped from 3.4% to 2.8%, his lowest since 2023.
These aren’t the most notable moves, but neither was Soler. Yet the Braves rallied from an ugly first half to win their first championship in nearly 30 years. Soler even won World Series MVP and parlayed his brilliant October into a three-year, $36 million contract with the Marlins.
History tends to repeat itself, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone like Ward become the next Soler. Whatever it takes to hold off the Phillies and take down either the Dodgers or the Brewers, right?
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