The Braves Trade Deadline Was a Failure by Alex Anthopoulous

Ironically, the most talked about trade piece is the one that makes the most sense staying put: Marcell Ozuna. As the days and hours ticked down, it became increasingly clear that Ozuna’s trade market was far from robust, with his 10-and-5 rights, DH-only status, lingering hip injury, and even past legal issues playing a role.

It’s hard to fathom holding onto a guy facing free agency with very little chance of re-signing by all accounts. That said, it seems likely the demand for Ozuna’s services was next to nothing. With catchers Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy largely usurping Ozuna from the DH spot in recent weeks, he probably won’t see regular playing time during his swan song with the Braves either, making it an overall depressing exit from Atlanta for a fan favorite.

Relievers?

Anthopoulos may be able to explain away Ozuna, but he’ll have a hard time defending his failure to move any of the multiple veteran relievers on expiring deals. The big name is pending free agent closer Raisel Iglesias, who should absolutely be on a plane right now but will stay put instead. Pierce Johnson, who has a club option for 2026, was also a candidate to be traded and likely to net a decent return, but he remains in Atlanta as well. Aaron Bummer is under contract for 2026, but would have surely returned a quality prospect of two, given other deadline deals. The bullpen was Anthopoulos’ only area to look for quality trade chips, and for his only move at the Braves trade deadline to be sending off one of the worst arms in Montero for an obscure prospect is highly questionable talent management.

A Tough Look

Anthopoulos has already backed up his uneventful Thursday, stating that he wouldn’t dump players purely for payroll purposes without receiving assets for the future. That’s reasonable, but it’s hard to fathom that he couldn’t find a deal he could at least live with for any of the mentioned players. The Braves badly need a talent injection into their barren farm system, and this just stinks of a missed opportunity.

A dud of a trade deadline is hardly surprising in the Braves’ season from hell. It seems Anthopoulos hasn’t pushed one right button since the Chris Sale trade, and this will go down as yet another stain on his once-proud resume. This offseason will be all the more crucial because of it, with the organization in dire need of a shakeup and Anthopoulos’ equity from 2021 quickly running out.