Atlanta Braves Trade Deadline Reaction, Did They Do Enough?

Did the Atlanta Braves do enough before the trade deadline to secure a playoff spot?

Atlanta Braves postseason heroes Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler were brought back to the team in July. / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone. The Atlanta Braves hold themselves to a single move this time around. 

They’re running it back with Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson and making a playoff push. 

Now that we know that’s all she wrote, let’s do an immediate reaction to the deadline. 

Solid Addition of Leadoff Bat

Looks like the Kelenic lead off experiment is over. The numbers show that Soler is the most productive when he’s penciled into the top of the lineup. 

When Soler is in the leadoff spot this season, he bats .279 with an .866 OPS and a 135 OPS+. That’s significantly better than anywhere else he has batted in the lineup and better than what the Braves have had most of the year. 

He’s also been heating up. Soler’s season numbers aren’t eye popping - .241 average,  a 116 OPS+ and 12 home runs - but his number over the last month certainly stand out. In his last 25 games, Soler is batting .289 with a .906 OPS with three home runs and 12 RBIs. 

That would bring an immediate boost to the lineup. That boost could also be contagious. Give the team as a whole more confidence to produce. 

With how the Braves have performed and who is injured, it’s understandable that it could feel like the team should have done more. However, the Braves might believe they have in-house options. 

Outfielder Michael Harris II could still be back this year and provide much-needed help in the outfield. There’s also the option of adding Yuli Gurriel, who is hitting well and has plenty of playoff experience from Triple-A. So, the Braves might see these options as sufficient.

No Rotation Additions (And That’s Ok) 

No starting pitcher additions either. Knowing that Reynaldo Lopez is healthy and Max Fried is coming back soon, this really isn’t so bad. They’ve had a strong rotation all season, and starting pitching was a hot commodity at this year’s deadline. 

For example, options like Zach Eflin and Jack Flaherty required multiple players to get a deal done and Garret Crochet wanted an extension to pitch in the postseason. The Braves don’t see it being worth the overpay or acquiring a pitcher who might not even help out in the postseason. 

Another arm would have been nice, but they can relax knowing who they already have. 

They settled for acquiring a familiar reliever. Acquiring Luke Jackson is definitely a gamble with how he’s pitched this year - he has a 5.40 ERA. Perhaps the Braves can work their magic the way they did with him in 2021. His ERA dropped from 6.84 to 1.98 from 2020 to 2021. So maybe he’s another Jesse Chavez. 

If not, the Braves are on the hook for the remainder of Jackson's $2.1-million salary and may decide he's not worth a roster spot. It's possible in order to get Soler, they needed to take Jackson off the Giants' hands..

Final Thoughts

This Braves season has been a roller coaster and the recent run since the All-Star Break has left everyone on edge that everything could be falling apart. 

It would’ve been nice to have seen them go out and make a bunch of moves to correct course. But that doesn’t always work the way you’d hoped it would. If the moves fail and the Braves still fall flat, then they’re out a lot of assets for the future all for trying to patch up a single season. 

Sometimes, a lack of addition is just as good. The best moves are sometimes the moves you don't make.

The best way to look at this deadline is they got more pieces of the 2021 band back together. Something to be excited about. 

On top of that, there’s still time to add players off waivers and September call ups. The trade deadline has passed, but this team is far from finished with any business.