There is a tradition in the Anthopoulos household when the trade deadline approaches. It has helped Anthopoulos, the Braves’ president of baseball operations, handle the craziness of this time.
“Have your family not be in town,” Anthopoulos said. “Seriously.”
He was not kidding.
In 2015, when he was Toronto’s general manager, Anthopoulos’ wife, Cristina, and their two children, Julia and John, went to Europe around trade deadline time. Alex experienced his best deadline as the Blue Jays’ GM.
And that’s how the Anthopoulos family has set it up since. Last year, they went back to Canada while he had an active deadline. This time, they left again as Alex attempted to work his magic, using the lessons he’s picked up along the way.
“Just with experience, I think you learn,” Anthopoulos said after Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline passed. “You know who you can work with and who you can’t work with, and time is important, and making sure you don’t waste time. You don’t have time to explore. You have to make quick decisions and move.
“You really don’t have time to just drag things out because things are moving fast and people are making decisions and you can miss opportunities and windows quickly, hour by hour, just because there are 29 other clubs that are doing the same thing.”
And that’s why Anthopoulos strikes quickly when an opportunity presents itself. On Monday, he acquired infielder Ehire Adrianza, extended third baseman Austin Riley, and traded for outfielder Robbie Grossman and starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi. The final two moves came late at night. And with a couple minutes to go before Tuesday’s deadline, Anthopoulos swung a deal for closer Raisel Iglesias.
Satisfied?
“I wouldn’t use the word satisfaction, because you still don’t know how it’s going to turn out,” Anthopoulos said. “You think it, you feel good about a guy, and guys still have to go out and play and perform and you’re still playing games and (there’s) health. I think the one thing that I talk about with my staff a lot is people seem to think this is the end of the season, it’s right around the corner, a few weeks away and (you’re) ready for postseason. But it’s a lot of games left. A lot can happen.
“My job is to worry, and my job is to always keep five steps ahead and make sure we have depth and we’re covered and things like that. The satisfaction piece is if you get to the postseason and that’s when you’re like OK, we finally accomplished our first goal. As you’re going through it, you’re on adrenaline, you’re not thinking about it. You’re anxious and you don’t sleep because you have so many things (going).”
Anthopoulos said this trade deadline contained many implications on the Braves’ payroll going forward. The Braves explored scenarios that had long-term ramifications. Extending Riley for 10 years and $212 million, Anthopoulos added, took some of those avenues off the table for Atlanta.
To the casual fan, the Braves’ moves perhaps aren’t flashy. They didn’t trade for Juan Soto. They didn’t acquire a frontline starter.
But the switch-hitting Grossman hits lefties well, which complements Eddie Rosario in left field. Odorizzi is a reliable starter with tons of experience. Adrianza knows the Braves and provides infield depth while the Braves play without Ozzie Albies. Iglesias gives the club a proven late-innings option.
Anthopoulos understands being a baseball fan, and he loves seeing where players are going. But his job is to build a sustainable winner. In the shorter-term picture, his goal is to position this team to repeat as World Series champions. He doesn’t care about the perception of his moves versus A.J. Preller’s in San Diego or Andrew Friedman in Los Angeles.
“As a young GM (in Toronto), I made mistakes with that,” he said. “Not that I chased it, but I’ve been part of winning the offseason, making the splashy moves. I don’t believe at the time we did it for those reasons, but we were the kings of Las Vegas and best deadline winners and so on. It didn’t result in anything.
“I’ve been there, I’ve done that, it hasn’t always worked. I think you need to be a good club, you need to worry about yourself.”
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
The Braves didn’t bring in a superstar, but they did a lot to strengthen their depth. Anthopoulos values that. Making the postseason requires depth.
The Braves are aiming to win a fifth division title in as many seasons. They like the group in the clubhouse and its versatility.
Matt Olson on Tuesday summarized it like this:
“It’s good when you know that guys can be mixed in if there’s a better matchup off the bench. These bullpen guys are interchangeable with how good they are. We’re running out good starters every night. I’ve been saying it all year: Good teams find different ways to win, don’t rely on one guy or a good start or rely on the lineup to go out and score 10 runs. We find different ways to win and having more guys that can get plugged in at different spots is just going to help.”
And for the Braves, this trade deadline was about more than the trades. Signing Riley to a long-term extension is huge. Just look at this:
-Riley is signed through at least the 2032 season.
- Ronald Acuña is signed through 2026 season but his contract includes club options for 2027 and 2028.
- Olson’s contract runs through 2029 and includes a club option for 2030.
- Ozzie Albies’ deal has club options for 2026 and 2027.
“We have a really good group here, good core,” Riley said Tuesday. “There are a lot of championships in our future. It’s unbelievable to work with them. A lot of good talent in the clubhouse.”
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Last season, Anthopoulos had to bolster his roster to keep it afloat in hopes the club would get hot (it did). This time around, he needed to strengthen the group in a few spots to help it remain among baseball’s best.
Each trade deadline differs from its predecessor. There may be different buyers and sellers, with new players on the move.
But they’re all the same to Anthopoulos.
“The days really blend together,” he said,” and you’re just glad when it’s over.”
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