3 Braves trade deadline mistakes Alex Anthopoulos will regret

The Atlanta Braves had quite a ton on their plate ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline. They saw the losses of their best two players, Ronald Acuña Jr and Spencer Strider, both to injury. That left Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos in charge of trying to replace their production at the trade deadline.

While Atlanta was active in conversations, and they made a solid trade to acquire Jorge Soler from the San Fransisco Giants, they left a lot to be desired. It's likely that Atlanta didn't do all that needed to be done to try to win the World Series this year. Anthopoulos is going to have a few big regrets this season.

3. Anthopoulos will regret not adding a starting pitcher

The most obvious spot for the Braves to look to upgrade was in their starting rotation. It was almost painfully obvious that Atlanta needed to find a trade partner that could send them a starter before the trade deadline passed.

There were plenty of available options with Jack Flaherty of the Tigers being the best available piece. The Dodgers were able to land Flaherty for two top 30 prospects with one of them being a top ten talent with high upside. Atlanta could have matched that deal with ease and the fact that they didn't could come back to haunt them.

The top of their rotation has been special this year. Max Fried and Chris Sale are elite, and Reynaldo Lopez has been elite too, if he can return to the team healthy. It's just not typical of a team to go down the stretch with four good starters and a big question mark for the fifth spot.

Giving them a little bit of a break here because we have seen some promise from their top prospects. Spencer Schwellenbach among others are the future of the rotation and they have shown some promise this season. Anthopoulos still should have gone all-in by acquiring a starter at the deadline.

2. Anthopoulos will regret not adding to the bullpen

Anybody who has ever watched baseball down the stretch of the season knows just how important the bullpen is in the success of the team. It's the reason that all contending teams are in the market for relievers, no matter how loaded their bullpen seems to be. You can never have too many high leverage arms.

Atlanta has a solid bullpen, but it could definitely have been improved. There were a ton of names available at the deadline and Atlanta didn't happen to land any of them. Now, this isn't suggesting that the Braves should have mortgaged the farm in order to acquire Tanner Scott from the Marlins. Given the state of their farm system, that would have spelled disaster for years to come. But Atlanta could have and should have found somebody to add to the bullpen.

They are now facing the possibility of handing the ball to players that just aren't quite ready to be there when the season is on the line in September and October. It would be quite a disaster for Alex Anthopoulos if the season is placed in the hands of an underwhelming reliever when he had a chance to add one at the deadline but chose not to.

1. Anthopoulos will regret not adding an infielder

The Atlanta Braves have struggled a bit with their infield depth this season. Honestly, they have struggled with depth in general. Orlando Arcia has struggled at times and Nacho Alvarez Jr. just doesn't look to be the saving grace that he was hoped to be when he was called up. Now, that's not to say that Alvarez isn't good. That's not at all what I'm saying. Alvarez has the potential to be a star down the line. But the fact of the matter is Ozzie Albies is sidelined down the stretch and Alvarez is being thrown into the lineup right now. Atlanta needs somebody to produce right now.

The only position player they added was in the outfield. While their lineup is still loaded with stars, they could have benefitted a ton from adding some depth in their infield. They're now going to be left to depend on Albies returning to full strength in a quick recovery from the injured list. If he doesn't that leaves them with an even bigger hole in the infield.

The Braves infield has potential to look like a disaster down the stretch.