Braves Quiet Trade Deadline: Failure or a Reality Check?

The MLB trade deadline came and went. Marcell Ozuna is still wearing an Atlanta Braves uniform. So are Raisel Iglesias and Pierce Johnson, and really anyone not named Rafael Montero.

Enyel De Los Santos is out, but that was to clear roster space, not as part of a trade. 

In a year that they were sellers, they added more than they sold. Erick Fedde and Carlos Carrasco became rotation options. Tyler Kinley takes over for Montero in the bullpen. 

Those moves had to be done. Even when selling, they need the players to survive the rest of the season. 

Keep in mind, nearly everything that could go wrong this season has. Arguably, being unable to sell the one time they are sellers is part of that. They had multiple key players who are pending free agents. There is a good chance that Ozuna and Iglesias aren’t even back next year. Something could have been done, one would argue. 

Something could have been dealt in return. Montero got them a Double-A infielder. Ozuna and Iglesias, who both have strong track records despite how this season has been for them, would have gotten something. 

We’ll never know now. It’s now the post-deadline stretch of the season, and they’re still around. For what it’s worth, Ozuna had a big night at the plate on Thursday night. He went 1-for-3 with a sac-fly RBI and walked three times. Johnson and Iglesias pitched a combined 2 1/3 innings to win the game. Iglesias picked up his 13th save. 

Hey, maybe some contender could have used that success. That is probably true. However, it could be that this production is simply a reality check. It’s too little, too late. 

After the deadline, Alex Anthopoulos said he didn’t want trades to be made simply to be active at the deadline. It’s all about preparing for next season. 

“We weren’t going to just give players away; move players just to move them or just to dump salary,” he said. “That happens at times at trade deadlines. We’ve been part of just teams wanting to save money at the deadline, and we would take on a contract. We were not in that position; that was not something we were going to do. If we were going to move any players, I’m not speaking about Marcell, anybody, we were going to have to get something in return that we like.” 

It’s not something that fans want to hear, but there is logic in that. There was an assumption that name value alone would get the Braves something, and they clearly didn’t. Anthopoulos implied it a bit in the post-deadline press conference. 

The team decided that they weren’t being offered anything in return that would help them achieve their goal of improving for next season, so they stood pat. 

Ozuna has barely been in the lineup as of late and hasn’t been succeeding when he has stepped into the batter's box. Had he been producing, he would’ve continued to be in the lineup. Teams notice that. The same goes for Iglesias, who had to be removed from the closer role for a time this season. Teams notice that, too.

At that point, it’s a very hard sell for the sellers. Buyers walked away or didn’t inquire.  At some point, you just have to pack it up. Sure, they could have done a clearance sale to attract buyers, but sometimes, it’s better to just have the items sitting on the shelf. 

Crickets at the deadline left eyes rolling and led to groans online. Not everyone can be convinced this deadline wasn’t a failure. Frankly, we won’t know if it is for a while. If the Braves are good again in 2026, then it probably won’t matter. If struggles continue next season, the discussion on how this deadline was handled can advance. That being said, we already know that a reality check is in. They didn’t have the chip to cash in, so they didn’t. 

Last offseason was quiet. Maybe this is a sign that the upcoming one will be different. We’ll find out in due time. 

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