Memories of the Braves winning the World Series last season all revert back to the trade deadline where GM Alex Anthopolous pulled off legendary moves to acquire three outfielders (Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, and Eddie Rosario) in exchange for spare parts.
However, after winning a championship it feels highly unlikely MLB’s other 29 teams will allow Anthopolous to repeat as grifter of the league.
Caleb Johnson and Joe Patrick of Batter Up take a look this week at the difficulty Anthopolous will have to make deals based on last year’s results.
The Braves also capitalized on a rather poor division only needing 88 wins to clinch, which was less than the wildcard teams. The Dodgers won 106 games while the Cardinals won 90.
Atlanta can’t rely this season on the second best team in the National League East to win 82 games as the Phillies did last year.
The Mets are off to a hot start leading the division at 14-6 without their best arm in Jacob de’Grom. The Braves are already 5 1/2 games behind the Mets and need to careful that number doesn’t grow. Relying on a trade deadline spark once again is relying on abysmal odds.
Listen to Joe and Caleb's full conversation on Batter Up below.