Brian Snitker sent a clear message to Alex Anthopoulos, but Braves GM hasn't listened

The Braves have lost six of their past seven games, and face a tough test against the New York Mets on Sunday afternoon in hopes of keeping their edge in the NL Wild Card standings. A 4-0 victory on Saturday thanks to a standout performance from Spencer Scwhellenbach saved Atlanta from a 1.5-game deficit, and a possible series sweep on Sunday.

While the current iteration of the Braves are surviving best they can undermanned at starting pitcher, second base and in the outfield, Alex Anthopoulos is working the phones. It's long been rumored the Braves would make a big splash at the trade deadline, perhaps adding a starting pitcher or a corner outfielder who actually deserves to play everday.

The latter would sure take a load off Snitker's shoulders, who has done his best to shoehorn fourth-outfielder types into the starting lineup every day since Ronald Acuña Jr.'s season-ending injury months ago.

Brian Snitker's frustration runs deep with Braves struggles

Atlanta outfielder Ramon Laureano had a tough performance in Friday night's loss to the Mets, overrunning an eventual game-winning Mets single. Snitker wasn't thrilled.

“I don’t know what that was, quite honestly,” Snitker said. “You’re going to have to ask them. I didn’t have anything. We normally don’t bunt in that situation but I was trying to score a run, and we had two pretty good hitters coming up, I thought. That’s unacceptable.”

Braves can still add to a lacking roster at the deadline

Somewhere, Anthopoulos surely heard that comment as a cry for help. As of Sunday morning, the Braves had yet to secure that third starting outfielder for Snitker -- someone he could count on alongside Jarred Kelenic and Michael Harris II (when healthy). The Mets traded for Nationals outfielder Jesse Winker on Saturday night, only further adding to the Braves frustration.

On the outfield front, players like Tommy Pham and Taylor Ward remain available. Lane Thomas, a star for the rival Nationals, could be a fit in Atlanta for a premium price. A starting pitching addition, despite the eventual return of Max Fried, would provide Atlanta with a nice rotation boost as well.

Anthopoulos is busy, as he doesn't want to overpay from what's already a relatively thin farm system. But if the Braves are serious about making a World Series run in 2024, this roster isn't good enough.