ATLANTA — The Braves improved around the edges and left the one loud need largely unfilled.
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, writing from Atlanta after Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline, catalogued three acquisitions by president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos: outfielder Lane Thomas and left-hander Bailey Falter from the Royals earlier in the window, right-hander Tyler Mahle from the Giants on Sunday, and left-handed reliever Brent Suter from the Angels for infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr. on deadline day. What Atlanta did not land was the playoff-caliber starting pitcher many fans wanted after spring injuries thinned the rotation.
What Anthopoulos said on the record
“We didn’t go into the Deadline with the thought that we have to get this or we have to get that,” Anthopoulos said in Bowman’s piece. “We were just trying to make the team better.” He pointed to past deals where elite starters would have cost cornerstone talent — naming Drake Baldwin as an example of the kind of piece Atlanta refused to move — and drew a line between asks the club would accept and asks it would refuse.
Multiple sources told MLB.com Anthopoulos inquired about Jacob deGrom in the weeks before the deadline. Bowman reported a large-contract swap concept involving Spencer Strider’s remaining money did not advance with Texas, and that by Monday afternoon deGrom said he would not have approved a trade to any club. When asked whether a no-trade clause blocked a pursued deal, Anthopoulos laughed and told a reporter, “You should have been a lawyer,” then declined to detail dead talks.
Who arrived, who left
Bowman listed the roster churn that cleared space as reinforcements arrived:
- Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim were activated from the injured list.
- Joey Bart was traded to the White Sox for Minor League pitcher Duncan Davitt.
- Eli White went to the Red Sox for Minor League pitcher Tyler Uberstine.
- Jorge Mateo was designated for assignment to open a spot for Kim.
- James Karinchak and JR Ritchie were optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett for Mahle and Suter.
Thomas, carrying an .800 OPS against left-handed pitching this season in Bowman’s write-up, is expected to platoon with Mike Yastrzemski in left and pinch-hit. Mahle is penciled as a back-end starter — MLB.com said he could make his Braves debut at Yankee Stadium this weekend — while Suter’s multi-inning and back-to-back capability is meant to ease bullpen stress.
The rotation debate
If the playoffs started immediately, Bowman noted Chris Sale, Bryce Elder, and Martin Perez would likely handle the first three games of a series — a far cry from Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz lore or even recent Fried-Morton-Anderson eras. Atlanta passed on the prospect cost of Tarik Skubal (to the Dodgers) and did not land consolation starters such as Robbie Ray or Casey Mize (to San Diego), while other contenders stacked arms.
Still, the Braves entered the Marlins series sitting 22 games over .500 and eight games up on the Phillies in the NL East, per the same MLB.com package — strong enough that “did they get better?” is a September-and-October question, not a standings emergency.
Why it matters this week
- New bats and arms need innings now, not after Labor Day.
- Holding top prospects preserves 2027 optionality but raises the bar for the current starters and the newly arrived depth.
- Truist Park crowds will judge the deadline less by press-conference language and more by whether Mahle and the bullpen stop crooked innings in August.