While the rest of the league's contenders were busy answering obvious weaknesses, the Atlanta Braves decided that Tyler Mahle and Bailey Falter were enough to answer obvious pitching concerns. It was a frustrating deadline headlined by the addition of Lane Thomas, a solid bench bat but far from the most pressing need facing the Braves. You simply cannot defend sitting back and choosing not to spend when you have a roster in a great position and perhaps is the only possible challenger in the National League for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Adding Tarik Skubal, the Dodgers are far and away the favorites, but there are two months ahead, and injuries and struggles are inevitable. The door was open for the Braves to add a starter behind Chris Sale and give the franchise a puncher's chance of making another World Series run. Instead, the Braves shopped in the bargain aisle and refused to add what remains an obvious weakness.
Fans aren't going to love the response of GM Alex Anthopoulos when asked by MLB's Mark Bowman how frustrating it was not to add a starter ahead of the deadline.
""We didn't go into the deadline with the thought that we have to get this or we have to get that. We were just trying to make the team better. A few years ago, we could have gotten one of the elite starters in the game, but Drake Baldwin would have been going out the door. That's not to say those are easy decisions. You'd like to get deals done. But there's certain asks you say 'yes' to and those are the deals that you do. And there's certain ones you say 'no' to.""Alex Anthopoulos
This explanation rings a bit difficult to take with any level of seriousness when you look around the league and see the starters moved for a reasonable price. Skubal had a nice return, but it wasn't a package the Braves should have shied away from surpassing. Even if you went for a lesser arm, there was no shortage of high-upside starters being dealt throughout the weekend and into Monday's deadline.
Objectively, the deadline was a failure for a front office that had a chance to make a splash and push this team towards realistic postseason contention. Instead, fans are simply left to hope that Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Hurston Waldrep prove themselves healthy and that at least two of these arms are able to live up to expectations.
Braves Failed to Make Obvious Trade Deadline Improvements
It is important to note that this is the same decision-maker who put together much of the 2021 World Series roster and set up a magical run. However, it also has to be pointed out that in the five years since, the Braves have endured frustrating postseason results and left areas of obvious weakness alone in hopes of finding a cheap answer.
Atlanta's front office continued this approach over the deadline, and it is unfortunate for a passionate fanbase that deserved better. The Braves didn't have to give away their future or a star player to make reasonable improvements that would give you a better chance to get deep into the postseason.
For the first time in recent memory, there is reason to begin to question the team's front office and whether or not a change should be considered in the future. You simply cannot have such an obvious area of need and refuse to spend anywhere but the bargain aisles, hoping for luck to fall your way.
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