Only hours before the July 31 trade deadline, the Atlanta Braves sat only 1 \u00bd games out of fifth place in the NL East. Those high expectations of a second World Series title in five years evaporated long before superstar Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. smashed a home run in his first at-bat off the injured list.<\/p>\n
Outside of Acu\u00f1a, not much has gone right for the Braves this summer. Longtime second baseman Ozzie Albies\u2019 best days may be behind him, former Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II has regressed in a major way, and Atlanta is on track to miss the postseason for the first time since 2017.<\/p>\n
And yet, there\u2019s a realistic argument to be made that the Braves won the trade deadline \u2014 or, at least, they fared better than other teams who sold in recent days. That\u2019s what happens when general manager and known magician Alex Anthopoulos runs the show in Atlanta.<\/p>\n
As of publication, the Braves hadn\u2019t made any significant <\/em>moves before the 6 p.m. ET deadline. Albies, Chris Sale, and Marcell Ozuna all remained in Atlanta, though their long-term Braves futures remain uncertain.<\/p>\n However, Atlanta did <\/em>make two notable moves on Wednesday, including trading veteran reliever Rafael Montero to the Detroit Tigers for minor-league infielder Jim Jarvis. The Braves also sent pitching prospect Austin Smith to the Colorado Rockies for reliever Tyler Kinley.<\/p>\n Tyler Kinley, K’ing the Side. pic.twitter.com\/80sIZszIUj<\/p>\n \u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 9, 2023<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n The Braves took a chance on Montero earlier this year, largely because the Astros agreed to cover roughly $8.5 million of his $11.5 million salary. Unfortunately, Montero never found his groove in Atlanta, posting a 5.50 ERA and walking 21 across 34 1\/3 innings. Montero\u2019s standout 2021 season with the Astros, one where he recorded a 2.37 ERA and 14 saves over 68 1\/3 innings, looks more and more like an aberration.<\/p>\n Anthopoulos deserves immense credit for getting anything <\/em>in return for Montero. Jarvis, an 11th-round pick in 2023, hit .242 with a .652 OPS at Double-A Erie. Even if his ceiling is a backup utility infielder, at least it\u2019s something<\/em>.<\/p>\n As for Kinley, he\u2019s pitched to a 5.98 ERA in 128 innings since the start of 2023. However, his 4.56 FIP in that time at least creates an argument that he\u2019s been a victim of bad luck and playing for the Rockies, which in itself may be bad luck.<\/p>\n The best-case scenario is that Kinley thrives in Atlanta and emerges as a possible bullpen weapon for 2026. If Kinley doesn\u2019t pan out, the Braves can decline his team option and only pay a $750,000 buyout.<\/p>\n All in all, the Braves won without making a splash \u2014 and if it eventually helps them compete for a title in 2026 and beyond, then the Braves will definitely <\/em>be considered trade deadline winners.<\/p>\n Did the struggling Atlanta Braves actually win the trade deadline? Maybe so, especially after Alex Anthopoulos worked his magic again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":72718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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