Alex Anthopoulos maintains that Braves got better despite underwhelming 2026 Trade Deadline
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 18: Atlanta Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos speaks to the media before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Truist Park on July 18, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesIm going to start this by addressing the headline. When it comes to Atlanta Braves President of Baseball Operations/General Manager Alex Anthopoulos claims that the Braves got better after the 2026 Trade Deadline, Ill let this clip from Futurama speak for me:I mean, the Braves did add Tyler Mahle to the rotation, they added some very solid outfield depth in Lane Thomas and they brought in Brent Suter to help fortify whats already a solid bullpen. Technically speaking, the Braves got better with these additions. With that being said, its very difficult to feel excited and that is solely down to the fact that Atlanta was unable to add a front-line starter to their rotation. It now appears that (outside of the ever-reliable Chris Sale) the Braves will be leaning on pitchers like Martn Prez, AJ Smith-Shawver, Bryce Elder, (maybe) Spencer Schwellenbach and the newly-acquired Tyler Mahle to help them get outs during a Postseason scenario. Again, its difficult to feel excited!Despite the overwhelming feeling of underwhelm permeating across Braves Country, AA remained defiant and adamant that everything is A-OK as far as the team is concerned. Since the All-Star break, [] weve been fifth in MLB in ERA. During the first two months of the season we were top-five in MLB in ERA, maintained AA when he was asked about the pitching staff during a post-deadline press conference. . Obviously in the middle, we werent. Does that mean youre not looking to get better? Absolutely, in all areas bullpen, offense, rotation, yes. But, youre managing short-term and long term and youre going to do what you feel is best for the club and youre not going to force a deal.We said no to a lot of things, continued AA. Thats not easy to do but you have to do what feels right for the organization. AA was pressed multiple times about whether or not he was close to acquiring a front-end starter or if there were certain things that got in the way. Anthopoulos was cagier than usual in his responses, stating that it wouldnt be appropriate to talk about deals that didnt get done. Im guessing thats a recent development since we did hear about the Kyle Schwarber deal from 2021 that didnt go through and that was straight from AA himself, so maybe theres a statute of limitations on that?I digress, though. The only thing that came of that line of questioning is that AA had his eye on one other guy who we thought was incredibly impactful but no names were named. Either way, Anthopoulos continued to maintain that hes willing to defend the state of the big league roster at the moment. He did mention that the Braves are playing well coming out of the break and that theyre in first place. That much is true the Braves are in a good spot right now and its hard to envision them falling off to the point where they miss the Postseason. Still, its also hard to envision this team having enough reliable starting pitching to make it deep into the Postseason. They certainly have the relief pitching to do it and when this offense is clicking, they can swing with anybody. Its just apparent at this point that the lineup will have to perform at an elite level and the bullpen is going to have to continue shouldering a heavy load if this team is going to make a deep run in October. With all due respect to the aforementioned starters, there just isnt a ton of confidence here. Alex Anthopoulos (at least publicly) still has plenty of faith in the club. How many times do we say This team won the deadline [] and then you look up and certain players were unbelievable and certain players didnt play well. Thats the toughest part from here on forward, were looking at two-month sample sizes, explained AA later on in the presser. We can look at the back of the baseball cards of some of these great players and say [] that this team on paper looks great and then all of a sudden performances change and health [changes].Were going to soon find out what were the best acquisitions [] Were going to find that out pretty soon, continued AA. I just think that youve got 29 other clubs and you know your own roster, your fit. Ultimately, youve got to give to get and ultimately, are you prepared [] to give what could be the [Michael] Harris [II]s or the [Drake] Baldwins. Are you willing to do that?AA continued by stating In some instances, we make trades and others, we hold them back. We look back over time and we cross check ourselves. But, to sit there and say This team did X, it doesnt always work out that way. It doesnt always work out that way with the projections. I dont know what the preseason projections were for all these teams but I dont know how accurate they were. I know there are changes every year. There are some teams that sold that people expected them to be good and there are some teams that are buying that didnt think that theyd be contending.I dont think anybodys good enough to know whats going to happen, concluded AA. But, you are expected to know your own team and your own organization when youre trading young players.Hearing that, it suddenly made sense why we saw that wave of promotions on the farm. That honestly shouldve been the initial sign that the Braves werent going to dip into the farm and trade away some potentially impactful prospects. While that wouldve made sense considering what the asking price was for some of the big names who did move and some of the players who were under team control past this season, its still certainly disappointing that the Braves didnt come away from this deadline having used that talent on the farm to potentially upgrade their rotation in any major way. Despite the lack of moves, AA is still convinced the team has gotten better and also stated that hes not fully focusing on the Postseason until we get there. Hopefully we get there [] We still have two months. Theres a long way to go theres going to be injuries the next two months for everybody. Youre still weighing all of those things [when it comes to getting outs in the Postseason]. Weve seen teams do all kinds of things with openers and short starts and bullpen games, guys going on short rest, weve seen that happen, explained AA. Everythings in play when youre trying to win but you cross that bridge when you get there. The focus for us is that were playing well coming out of the break and we have a nice lead but it doesnt mean a thing.Weve got another two months to go and the NL is very strong. Theres great teams and a lot of teams added (including us) and guys are going to continue to get better, so we have to make sure that we keep our foot on the gas and try to get to the playoffs, stated Anthopoulos. All of that sounds good and it does seem like AA has a nice line of communication with manager Walt Weiss when it comes to the roster and how its constructed but its still hard to weigh that with the inaction when it comes to the starting rotation. Its not like this is a new problem, either fans and media alike have been clamoring for some type of addition to the rotation since the early portion of last offseason and it still seemed like there was a chance to address that situation at the deadline even if they didnt do so before Opening Day. Instead, it sure seems like Alex Anthopoulos is convinced that the starting rotation will be good enough to get the Braves where they want to be by the end of the season. Now, theres a question of whether or not the end-goal is actually to add another World Series trophy to the cabinet or if its to simply get back to the Postseason. If its the latter then sure, the Braves are likely going to have enough to make it back to October and should also have enough to get back to the top of the division. If the goal is truly to win another World Series then its hard to envision this rotation helping to win one of those tough, gritty, low-scoring games where theres a ton of drama hanging on every pitch, much less every out. Weve got some bad memories around here of seeing this teams pitching staff essentially get bombed out of the Postseason and hopefully that wont be the case this season. With that being said, its clear that its not going to take a Herculean effort from the lineup and some surgical precision from the bullpen in order to make sure that this team has truly got what it takes to make a deep run in October. For now, lets hope that Alex Anthopoulos is right and that were all panicking. If hes right, a parade may be coming soon. If hes wrong then, well, enjoy the fireworks from the opposition once October rolls around. Well see what happens.
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