Last year, the Braves beat the buzzer when they acquired Raisel Iglesias minutes before the trade deadline.
This time around, the Braves went quietly. They accomplished what they wanted by the early afternoon Tuesday, when they added Brad Hand.
The Braves entered Tuesday with baseball’s best record. They have a comfortable lead in the National League East.
Here’s what they did during this trade deadline season:
Trade 1: The Braves acquired right-handed reliever Pierce Johnson from the Rockies on July 24 for pitching prospects Victor Vodnik and Tanner Gordon.
Trade 2: The Braves acquired left-hander Taylor Hearn from the Rangers for cash considerations on the same day as the Johnson trade. (This was a smaller trade, but we’ll count it because it became important less than a week later.)
Trade 3: The Braves acquired infielder Nicky Lopez from the Royals on Sunday for Hearn. (Hearn made one appearance for the Braves before the trade. He allowed four runs and recorded only one out.)
Trade 4: The Braves acquired Hand from the Rockies for minor-league pitcher Alec Barger.
In total, the Braves added three players – Johnson, Lopez and Hand – who will be part of their major-league roster going forward. They did not lose anyone from their major-league roster in making these trades, as they had optioned Hearn before trading him.
The Braves cannot make any more significant trades. They can claim only players who have been placed on waivers.
Claiming priority is based on league and reverse winning percentage. If an NL club places a player on waivers, for example, all NL teams get the first crack. Of those who submit claims for a player, teams with the worst winning percentage get first dibs. If an NL team puts a player on waivers and no teams from the league are interested, American League teams can submit claims.
The Braves have baseball’s best winning percentage.
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