As Braves fans anxiously await for the club to finally make an offseason acquisition, let’s rewind exactly one calendar year to when Alex Anthopoulos made his best trade as Atlanta’s GM, acquiring Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox for Vaughn Grissom.

https://twitter.com/Braves/status/1741178646390252006

The trade was met with heavy criticism from some, as they pointed to Chris Sale’s extensive injury history. However, the veteran was entering the offseason healthy for the first time in a half-decade, and the results were better than anybody could have imagined.

Sale recorded a 2.38 ERA with 225 strikeouts to go along with an 18-3 record. He became the first National League pitcher to win the triple crown since Clayton Kershaw did back in 2011, leading to Sale’s first ever Cy Young award and a seventh place finish in the National League MVP race. But even more notable, the Braves didn’t even have to pay his salary, as the Red Sox sent over $17 million in the deal in order to net Vaughn Grissom, who was one of the Braves top young players prior to the trade.

Unfortunately, the move hasn’t quite worked out the same for Boston. Grissom battled several injuries, appearing in just 31 games for the Red Sox in 2024, in which he hit just .190 with no homers and a .465 OPS.

It’s a trade that’s been heralded as the move of the entire MLB offseason a year ago. The Braves gave up a player that never had a home in Atlanta, given his positional restrictions. In return, they received an NL Cy Young award winner for free, and on top of that, they gave Chris Sale an extension prior to him even throwing a pitch for the Braves. Now, he’s under control for two more seasons, as he’s poised to be a key cog in Atlanta’s rotation alongside Spencer Strider, Reynaldo López, and Spencer Schwellenbach.