BOSTON – Four seasons ago, the Braves desperately needed to retool their bullpen at the trade deadline. Two seasons ago, they required an influx of outfielders.
The 2023 Braves are, at their peak, the best team in baseball. They have few holes. Teams can always improve, and if the Braves enter the trade deadline with an obvious need, it’s this:
Pitching.
You can never have too much of it, but these Braves needed some bullpen help and more overall pitching depth.
On Tuesday, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos swung two trades to go toward accomplishing that.
The Braves acquired right-handed reliever Pierce Johnson from the Rockies for right-handed pitching prospects Victor Vodnik and Tanner Gordon. They also received left-hander Taylor Hearn from the Rangers for cash considerations.
To clear spots on the 40-man and 26-man rosters for Johnson and Hearn, Atlanta designated lefty Lucas Luetge and righty Dereck Rodriguez for assignment.
Of Johnson, Anthopoulos said: “We like the power arm from the right side, his ability to spin the ball, (get) swing and miss. And we just think it’ll be a good complement to our bullpen.”
Of Hearn, he said: “He’s got a great arm. He’s got a power arm, he’s got great stuff. We really don’t have a lot of optionable bullpen guys right now, especially from the left side. We don’t have any, to be candid with you.”
On a conference call with reporters, Anthopoulos discussed these moves and the Aug. 1 trade deadline in general.
Let’s break it all down.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
What the Braves got in Johnson
Right before the All-Star break, the Braves called Colorado about Johnson. The clubs had stayed in contract since then.
At this time of year, teams are undoubtedly making conclusions based upon smaller sample sizes for a specific season.
Johnson has a 6.00 ERA over 39 innings this year. He owns a 1.846 WHIP.
But then you see he plays for the Rockies. And you know they play at Coors Field, which is a nightmare for pitchers.
“I know the numbers on the surface right now aren’t great, but he is still getting a lot of swing and miss,” Anthopoulos said. “And look, there’s no doubt, Coors Field, all that stuff, we think there’s upside there for him to improve, and obviously we’re optimistic that he’ll do well for us.”
Among relievers with at least 20 innings pitched this season, Johnson’s 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings is tied for ninth in baseball. According to Baseball Savant, his 30.7% strikeout rate is in the 90th percentile in baseball.
Away from Coors Field, he has a 4.11 ERA over 15 1/3 innings pitched.
He’s gotten hit hard and has walked too many batters, but his expected ERA is 4.59. This expected statistic takes into account the amount of contact and the quality of that contact, and it could mean Johnson is better than he’s shown this season.
In 2020 and 2021, Johnson posted a 3.09 ERA over 78 2/3 innings for the Padres. His fastball-curveball mix is still making hitters whiff.
Johnson will be a free agent at season’s end.
“We’re optimistic and hopeful that we can get the reliever he was prior to the current year,” Anthopoulos said.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
What the Braves got in Hearn
Hearn has minor-league options – which is important – but will join the team in Boston. His numbers aren’t good, but he’s got experience as a starting pitcher.
“We like the fact that he’s got great stuff from the left side but also can provide length,” Anthopoulos said. “And the fact that he has options as well just gives us a lot of roster flexibility going forward. We feel like we’ve improved the ballclub.”
To this point, the Braves’ lack of optionable relievers has been difficult for them. They’ve had to maneuver their roster in different ways. When healthy, A.J. Minter, though he has options, wasn’t someone the Braves would option. The same goes for Dylan Lee. And before going on the injured list, Nick Anderson, who has options like the other two, performed too important a role to be optioned.
So, if the Braves use Hearn and need a fresh arm, they can send him to Triple A without losing him.
That said, he allowed eight earned runs over seven innings – all in relief – for the Rangers this season. In 92 career games (25 of them starts), he has a 5.11 ERA over 229 innings. He doesn’t get much swing and miss, and his walks are up this year.
Perhaps there’s upside here in Hearn, who will enter his second year of arbitration this winter.
“Having someone with great talent, a great arm,” Anthopoulos said. “Well see if we can get him in the strike zone a little bit more. But the fact that he’s got big stuff and he does have some experience starting, it’s just a nice piece for us to take a shot on.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Are the Braves done?
The Braves are stacked. They are deep. They have stars, established major leaguers and role players. They own the best record in baseball.
So, will they be active until next week’s trade deadline?
“You know that there’s certain times a year where teams are engaged and they’re active in trade,” Anthopoulos said. “And this is one of those times, so there could be a deal that impacts you long-term that makes sense right now. When we got (closer Raisel Iglesias) last year, part of the appeal was that he had three years remaining on his deal and we knew we’d have him going forward. And then there’s other times where guys are slated to be free agents. Trade deadline is next week, we still have a week or so. And like anything, you just always take the time to explore things. But to be able to predict, it’s so hard to do, because we’re not going to force any trades. If the right deal is there and something that we think that makes sense – every team will tell you the same thing, but I do think this is a time of year, clearly, where all 30 teams are engaged. It’s an opportunity to either improve your roster short-term or long-term.”
Here’s what that seems to mean: The Braves are not done. They won’t promise any other trades, but they’re still surveying the market.
“Look, I have areas in my mind that I’m like, ‘I’d like to do a little better, we’d like to do a little bit better,’” Anthopoulos said. “But in fairness to guys on the roster, I don’t think that that’s fair. I don’t think it makes any sense for us to announce those, and it’s not fair to the guys on the team. You’re never gonna be perfect at every spot, right? Whether that’s offensively, defensively, rotation, bullpen, you can always get better.
“I’ve said this many times: Our job is to worry. And the biggest challenge is knowing that once the 1st of August comes and goes, we’re done – unless it’s claiming a guy on waivers. And right now, we’re not high on the priority for claiming guys. You just know that this is your last shot, to try to insulate yourself for what may or may not occur.”
(Waiver claim priority is based on reverse winning percentage, so the worst teams get the first crack.)
Why the Braves think like this
You may ask: What more does this Braves team need to make a World Series run? They’re loaded!
They were last year, too. And they were pretty darn good in 2019.
One year, Dansby Swanson got hurt. Last season, Max Fried felt ill before the postseason, and Spencer Strider suffered an injury. And on and on.
For example: Last season, the Braves explored trading for a backup center fielder. It never happened. They didn’t predict Michael Harris II would get hurt or slump, but they wanted to improve on the margins.
Nothing is guaranteed.
“I just don’t think you can take anything for granted at any time,” Anthopoulos said. “I think there’s always this thought that you get to the trade deadline, and the year is almost over. And I don’t view it that way at all. I think what we’ve done the last few years, where we’ve been behind and we’ve come back, it’s a reminder how long the season is, and how many games are left and how much can still change. We still worry and still try to prepare for a downturn in performance or some guys going on the IL.”
Perhaps the Braves can get a quality starting pitcher with multiple years of control. Maybe they can acquire a utility infielder who is better than Charlie Culberson, though that spot might not see the field much. Could they improve in left field without giving up too much? Would they want to do any of these things?
Anthopoulos always moves in silence. Chances are, he’s considered things no one outside the organization has pondered.
You should also know this: The Braves won’t simply say, ‘We want X, so we’re going to get X.’ They don’t view it that way.
“Our approach has always been player specific,” Anthopoulos said. “If we like the player, even if it looks like the playing time isn’t there or there’s maybe not clarity, but if we like the player, we’ll normally try to get the deal done. But we’re just not gonna go fill spots if we don’t believe in the player.”
What the Braves gave up for Johnson
Vodnik, one pitching prospect the Braves traded to Colorado, leaves the system with a 3.10 ERA over 40 2/3 innings for Double-A Misssisippi. In a Grapefruit League game this spring, he touched 99 mph.
Vodnik is 23 years old. The Braves considered putting him on the 40-man roster last winter – and thus protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft – but they didn’t do so. He would’ve been in conversation this winter, but the Braves’ 40-man roster is packed as it stands.
Gordon, who is 25, had a 5.86 ERA over 17 games (16 starts) in Double A and Triple-A this season.
“You’re going to have to give up talent,” Anthopoulos said. “Especially (for) a guy like Pierce Johnson with his stuff, there’s certainly upside there. But that’s what scouting and development are for. Your scouts and development staff put you in position to be able to acquire guys.”
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