Former Braves beat writer blames ownership, defends Alex Anthopoulos

The Braves’ trade deadline has come and gone, with Alex Anthopoulos failing to make a single notable move.

Atlanta’s President of Baseball Operations brought in Erick Fedde and Carlos Carrasco to eat some innings for the rotation, while also adding Tyler Kinley, who is an interesting bullpen arm. The Braves did somehow trade Rafael Montero, who the Tigers acquired in exchange for infield prospect Jim Jarvis.

Despite boasting the fourth-worst record in baseball, Alex Anthopoulos didn’t trade any of the players many expected to be moved at the deadline. Marcell Ozuna was understandable. He had 10-and-5 rights, but more than that, Ozuna is a hurt DH that has struggled to hit .160 over the last two months.

That’s pretty understandable, but none of the team’s relievers? That makes no sense. Anthopoulos didn’t have to move Pierce Johnson, Aaron Bummer, and Dylan Lee if the offers weren’t enticing enough because they’re under team control next season.

But Iglesias? There’s no excuse not to trade him. It’s almost indefensible. Across his last 21 appearances, Iglesias owns a 2.29 ERA and 2.18 FIP. There’s no way a contender wasn’t interested in his services.

Simply put, the Braves botched the trade deadline, and the only person to blame is Alex Anthopoulos, right? Wrong, I guess. Former Braves beat writer Justin Toscano, who parted ways with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this season, is pointing the finger at ownership, not Anthopoulos.

His opinion: “This deadline reeks of Liberty Media not wanting the Braves to sell more and have fan interest — money — drop.”

Any insinuation that the Braves’ ownership group forced Alex Anthopoulos not to trade away players because it would result in less revenue is pretty unbelievable.

Braves fans are buying tickets to come see Marcell Ozuna, Raisel Iglesias, Pierce Johnson, and Aaron Bummer? That’s hilarious. Braves fans buy tickets to see Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy, and Drake Baldwin.

I can understand the bottom line in business. I’m not naive, but to believe Alex Anthopoulos didn’t trade Raisel Iglesias because of pressure from ownership, that’s just mental gymnastics. It’s okay to criticize Anthopoulos.

But let’s just go along with Toscano’s theory. If Liberty Media is strong-arming Anthopoulos, we’ve got much bigger issues. An ownership group that is actively hindering an executive from doing his job is a recipe for disaster. Going from World Series contender to one of the worst teams in baseball could even be the result of it.

It would also mean that Alex Anthopoulos is not only carrying out their wishes but is actively deceiving the fan base with the talk of payroll rising and money not being an issue. It would be one of the biggest stories in sports.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I have to believe it’s unlikely.