MILWAUKEE – In each of the years Alex Anthopoulos has made the decisions in Atlanta, the Braves have added at the trade deadline.
This includes this season, when his club is battered, bruised and perhaps snake-bitten.
None of that deterred Anthopoulos, the Braves’ president of baseball operations and general manager. He added an important bat, a quality reliever and the payroll that came along with them.
In doing so, he professed his faith in the team and its potential down the stretch.
How important was it to show them this?
“Very,” Anthopoulos said. “We’re in a playoff spot. I know we haven’t played to expectations – we’re leading the wild card by half a game or whatever it is. But we’re in a playoff spot, in the top wild-card spot. Our players put us in that position, with all the challenges and the bumps. I think it’s remarkable, for what we’ve been through, to still be the No. 1 wild-card team, both in terms of (manager Brian Snitker), the coaches, the players have put us in that position.
“So yeah, we felt like as a front office, that we need to do our part to help any way we can. We can’t throw a pitch, we can’t swing a bat, but it’s on us to do things for the clubhouse, for the manager, for the coaches, for the fan base, people in the organization as well.”
The Braves on Monday acquired 2021 heroes Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson from the San Francisco Giants for Tyler Matzek and minor-league third baseman Sabin Ceballos.
This was their only trade.
No doubt, fans will debate whether the Braves did enough at this trade deadline. This seems important to note: With so many teams in contention, this was a sellers market – proven by some of the high prices teams paid for pieces they needed.
The Braves will only get healthier. They added what they believe is an impact bat. They like their starting rotation and bullpen.
Here are some of the topics Anthopoulos discussed on his Zoom call with reporters following the 6 p.m. trade deadline:
Braves got their guy
Two seasons ago, the Braves thought they were close to acquiring Soler from Miami at the deadline. And then months after that, during the offseason going into the 2023 campaign, they again discussed a trade for him with the Marlins.
They have wanted him for some time.
Now, they have him.
“I would say that in terms of position players, I don’t even know off the top of my head what other (players who) we view as big-impact type position players with on-base and power, I don’t know of any other that got moved,” Anthopoulos said. “He’s someone that we’ve had our eye on and we inquired about for a good chunk of time.”
The trades involving pitchers garnered more attention than the bats in this deadline. And Soler, depending on how you view it, was one of the top bats moved. Randy Arozarena, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Tommy Pham are others.
The Braves wanted on-base ability and power. Soler can change a game with a swing, and he has a .330 on-base percentage over his career. He should provide an immediate boost to Atlanta’s offense.
Oh, and about that: Braves manager Brian Snitker said Soler will bat leadoff on Wednesday.
“It’s an impact bat in our mind, and there weren’t a lot of them available,” Anthopoulos said.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Did the Braves pursue a pitcher?
When Reynaldo López exited his start after three innings on Sunday, it seemed the Braves might need a starter by the deadline. But the MRI on López’s forearm came back clean, and thank goodness, because the prices for pitchers were ridiculously steep.
How close were the Braves to acquiring a starter?
“We explored rotation stuff,” Anthopoulos said. “If we could get a frontline starter or someone like that, you find room for those guys, right? We had some contingencies and so on, but we didn’t get close. But we still had discussions up until the last hour. But right now we have five that we like, and that would’ve been a good problem to have. You tell me you have six starters that you like, especially with two months to go, and hopefully you get to the postseason – that’s a good problem to have. So if we could’ve lined up on value and cost, we would’ve made the move and found a way to get through it.”
Now, to Max Fried and López.
Fried (left forearm neuritis) is eligible to come off the injured list Friday, but the Braves aren’t sure whether he’ll start that day. He threw a bullpen session on Monday, and threw another one Wednesday. Anthopoulos said Fried felt “really good” on Monday and he’s “definitely progressing to coming back very soon.”
López is lined up to pitch Saturday, Anthopoulos said. Will he? We don’t yet know. But Anthopoulos said the Braves expect López to “pitch for us soon.” The Braves haven’t yet put López on the injured list.
Snitker said he’s hoping Fried could start on Friday or López could start Saturday.
The Braves didn’t acquire a starting pitcher. And if Fried and López are back soon, then they didn’t need one.
“Right now, assuming health, we like the five that we have, but again, you’ve got two months and you’re likely going to have other bumps in the road across the board,” Anthopoulos said. “Just the reality.”
Braves won’t eclipse third luxury-tax tier
In terms of their luxury tax payroll figure, adding Soler and Jackson put the Braves at around $275 million in terms of their luxury-tax payroll figure, according to FanGraphs. This is important because if they end the season at $277 million or above, their highest selection in next year’s MLB draft will be moved back 10 spots.
You might have seen reports that this trade put the Braves over $277 million.
That’s incorrect.
“We do not project to hit the third (threshold) at all,” Anthopoulos said. “I’ve seen some people say that we blew by it – that’s inaccurate. We still have room to add, and it’s not something that we’re at right now, if anyone has been reporting that. I would say it’s correct that we are below it, and we project, I guess, to be below it. I guess anything could happen, but we project to be below it and we’ll see how that goes.”
How Jackson factors into the fold
Jackson has a 5.40 ERA over 35 innings this season. In July, though, he’s allowed only three runs over nine innings – and he pitched three innings in one appearance.
“You look in his instance that the stuff has been the same, and you watch his performances the last few outings, it looks like old Luke,” Anthopoulos said. “The breaking ball was phenomenal.”
He recently pitched against the Dodgers – and logged a scoreless inning each time. He struck out three batters in one and two in the other.
“He’s always been a guy that has been a multi-inning guy, but even the fact that he could go up and down in terms of innings three times, that just adds a little bit of value,” Anthopoulos said. “We never used him in that role – three innings – at least that I remember. Two, sure. So, again, just having reliever depth. It’s hard making additions after today, and I say this all the time, if you can you’d like to overbook. And right now, we have a lot of relievers. And good relievers. At some point, we’re probably going to have a squeeze here. But we’re also likely to have an injury between now and the end of the year, and if we get to the postseason, in the postseason you lose guys as well. So it’s one of those things that you want to be insulated and have that depth, because it’s a critically important spot.”
Extras
- Anthopoulos said the Braves are targeting early September for Ozzie Albies (fractured wrist) to return. This would beat the original timeline of eight weeks, and if all goes well, it means the Braves only need to figure out second base for another month or so. Whit Merrifield should soon be ready to play Thus far, Nacho Alvarez Jr. has had an adjustment period since the Braves promoted him. Perhaps that was to be expected.
- Anthopoulos said Ronald Acuña Jr. is expected to return around Opening Day 2025. It could be a little later than that. Acuña is still in Los Angeles rehabbing after undergoing surgery to repair the torn ACL in his left knee.
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