Braves receive worst trade deadline grade from The Athletic

The Braves didn’t come into the trade deadline as a prototypical seller. Despite owning the fourth-worst record in the league, Atlanta made it clear they had no intentions of moving any of their core pieces, signaling their desire to compete as early as 2026. This is not a team that’s considering a rebuild, but at the very least, it was expected they would listen on some expiring contracts and relief arms.

Instead, the Braves essentially stood pat, actually buying more than they ended up selling, an intriguing strategy for a team that is nearly 20 games behind the division-leading Mets. Unfortunately, it’s not a strategy that makes much sense, which is why the Braves were understandably given a near-failing grade from Jim Bowden of The Athletic. 

Atlanta Braves

Grade: D

Key takeaways: The Braves didn’t make any significant trades to improve their team for 2026 and beyond. They were unable to trade DH Marcell Ozuna, who has 10-and-5 rights, and despite the strong market for relievers, they ended up retaining Raisel Iglesias. They were able to add three veteran pitchers to help them get through the regular season and avoid rushing pitching prospects to majors if their staff suffers even more injuries in August or September. However, it was disappointing that the Braves couldn’t make any moves to begin to improve their 2026 team.

Jim Bowden is a lot nicer than I because he didn’t want to give out any failing grades. Five teams got an A, 15 clubs were given a B, seven a C, and the final three were handed a D, which were the White Sox, Angels, and Braves. Those are not the clubs you want to be mentioned alongside, but it seems like that’s where the Braves have been all season, and a primary reason for that is their decision-making.

There is no sugarcoating it — this was an abysmal trade deadline for the Atlanta Braves. There are very few players on this roster who are deserving of the untouchable label. Just about everything should have been on the table, and the Braves couldn’t find a single way to improve their roster for 2026 and beyond. That’s deserving of a failing grade.