Atlanta’s two biggest names on expiring contracts will be staying with the team after the deadline came and went without a trade for either of them.
This year’s MLB Trade Deadline provided an absolute banger for the fans — that is, unless you’re an Atlanta Braves fan, in which we all got to experience what it feels like to be Squidward sitting in his house looking out at Spongebob and Patrick having a lovely time outside (Yes, I just wrote out a description of a classic meme instead of simply posting the picture. Let me live, y’all.) as the rest of baseball went into a trading frenzy.
Once the deadline came and went, it turns out that the Braves actually did a little bit of buying at the deadline. Now granted, this is more like shopping in the thrift store instead of strolling the aisles of Saks Fifth Avenue but the Braves did end up providing relief to their injury-ravaged starting rotation. Erick Fedde and Carlos Carrasco are now in the starting rotation with the clear expectations for them being for them to eat as many innings as they can before the rest of the rotation finally returns. They also brought in Tyler Kinley from the Rockies as a bullpen piece.
The only “selling” the Braves did was send Rafael Montero to the Tigers in exchange for the lightly-regarded prospect Jim Jarvis. That ended up being the only move that the Braves made surrounding this deadline that could’ve been considered a selling move. Raisel Iglesias and Marcell Ozuna were the two biggest names that were expected to be moved at the deadline and both of them will be staying with the Braves post-deadline. Now, exactly how long both of these players will still be here is an open question, as there is still the option of potentially releasing them and giving them a chance to latch on elsewhere.
With all of that being said, it just appears that a market never really materialized for Raisel Iglesias. There was one lone rumor we covered here at Battery Power concerning the Cubs but that turned out to simply be a whisper in the wind. As far as Marcell Ozuna goes, there are rumors that he may have turned down one (or even more) deals by using his 10-5 rights, which is perfectly within his rights as a veteran player to do so.
We’ll have more from Braves President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Alex Anthpoulos after he speaks to the media later on but for now, it’s time to sit back, relax, and count the days until this season comes to a close.