Atlanta Braves: today’s news reminds us how good Alex Anthopoulos is

When you’re thinking about just how good the Atlanta Braves are right now, you should also consider how lucky/blessed we are as fans to see this team turn out the way it has this season.

Every team will have their ups-and-downs during the year… the Atlanta Braves are definitely included on that list due to their spate of injuries.

Yet filling those holes or obtaining upgrades requires difficult decisions by the Front Office.  We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again: this is a very tough task, especially since there’s simply no way to know how well deals will work out.

Today we have an object lesson from elsewhere that proves this beyond the shadow of a doubt.

I don’t know which emotion is stronger right now:

• the uneasy “dodged a bullet” relief felt by probably 3 or 4 of baseball’s General managers (Twins, Brewers, definitely the Dodgers, perhaps others) who were actively trying to obtain closer Felipe Vazquez from Pittsburgh just 6 weeks ago, or…
• the irritation in the Pirates’ Front Office that they opted to hold tightly onto him.

At the end, it was just the Dodgers and the Pirates negotiating at the end of July. The Pirates wanted top Dodgers’ prospect Gavin Lux and more. LA did not wish to make a deal at that level of price.

An impasse ensued as neither side blinked, and the trade deadline passed with Vazquez remaining in Pittsburgh.

In case you hadn’t heard, Vazquez has been arrested on disturbing charges related to child pornography (and worse). That’s bad enough, but this also comes after a clubhouse fight that he started 5 days prior… just to add to the dysfunctional news that defines the Pirates this month.

I’ll throw in the “innocent until proven guilty” disclaimer, but regardless, any team that might have acquired Vazquez would – for certain – be without his services for the rest of the season and post-season had a trade actually been made, as MLB has placed him on leave while they perform their own investigation.

Imagine now if the Dodgers had caved on giving up Lux?

While this represents an extreme example well outside the norm, it underscores the difficulty that major league GMs have in trying to assemble a top-performing team. Literally anything can happen to derail that effort, even if you make ‘a good deal’.

You Never Know

We remember the Braves (prior administration’s) obsession with Hector Olivera… and how ingloriously that episode ended.

Dan Uggla looked like the kind of player that the team could throw into the middle of a lineup to slug away for years… then something odd – whether it was his vision or a concussion effect or something else – eroded his ability to hit a baseball.

In December of 2017, the Twins signed TJ-repaired Michael Pineda to a 2-year deal with the anticipation that he’d lead their staff to the promised land during this season. He has done that… but now is unavailable to them at this crucial time due to a suspension for use of a banned substance.

I was very outspoken about the Braves trying to acquire Craig Kimbrel – both during the off-season and after the draft when his draft pick compensation tag expired. Yet that turns out to have been a mixed deal thus far for the Cubs, who have only gotten 19 innings out of him so far at a 5.68 ERA (13 saves, 2 blown).

Applaud While You Can

Alex Anthopoulos has had a fairly incredible winning streak this season in terms of player acquisitions. Even Darren O’Day – whose inclusion in the Kevin Gausman trade perhaps looked like the worst such piece of any deal he’s made – suddenly is looking ready to be included on a post-season roster.

Charlie Culberson.  Josh Donaldson.  Matt Joyce.  Chris Martin.  Shane Greene.  Mark Melancon.  Brian McCann.  Dallas Keuchel.  Francisco Cervelli.  Jerry Blevins.  Josh Tomlin.  Anthony Swarzak.  Not giving up on Adam Duvall.  Even John Ryan Murphy called up as an emergency catcher today.

All of these ‘extra’ players have put the Braves into the position of being able to win the NL East and to credibly expect to do very well into October.

Not every move turns out this well (obviously) – so Alex Anthopoulos’ efforts this year should be celebrated and congratulated. He’s arguably the Braves’ best All-Star this season… without playing a single inning on the field.

Not every good deal is the one you make – but sometimes the ones you don’t.  That’s practically a cliche now, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the stone cold truth.

Accordingly, we should probably likewise not be so hard on these team executives that have to make the tough calls, for you truly just never know how things will turn out.  While not the case right now, that may need to be said on Anthopoulos’ behalf someday in the future.

All that said, I would not want to be in Neal Huntington’s position in Pittsburgh today.