With Ronald Acuña Jr. out for the season, everyone is anxiously awaiting to see what the Braves do next. The overwhelming expectation is that they will make some trades to bolster their outfield and other areas of need, but this far away from the trade deadline, it’s always extremely difficult to find the right deal.
But Alex Anthopoulos has been known to work magic, just like he did in 2021, the last time Acuña went down with a season-ending injury. The Braves went on to win their first World Series since 1995 behind the trade acquisitions of Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, and Adam Duvall.
The difference, however, as Ken Rosenthal recently pointed out in his latest piece for The Athletic, is the timing of those injuries.
“Acuña’s injury occurred two months before the deadline, as opposed to three weeks,” Ken Rosenthal writes. “Anthopoulos does not yet know what the team’s needs might be. If a starting pitcher or two gets hurt, Anthopoulos might have little choice but to stick with an outfield of Duvall, Michael Harris II and Jarred Kelenic, and direct the bulk of his resources toward pitching.”
The odds of the Braves completing a trade over the next calendar month are slim, which Anthopoulos recently discussed himself on 680 The Fan with Chris Dimino and Nick Cellini.
“I’m always active,” Alex Anthopoulos said. “I always keep my ear to the ground. It’s more challenging when you’re at the end of May/beginning of June. It’s hard to find trades, right? But, what I can tell you is there are teams that are open to having dialogue, and we’re going to be creative when we can be.”
Aside from the fact that finding trades this time of year can be next to impossible, what’s important for Braves fans to realize is these conversations are never-ending. Needs are ever-changing, and they have changed for the Braves in a big way over just a couple of short months.
Before the season, nobody would have expected Alex Anthopoulos to be in the market for an outfielder and some more offense. They had the best lineup in the league on paper, but with guys struggling and Acuña out for the year, the offense is now the Braves top priority.
Anthopoulos and his team have a group of players they like, which includes guys at positions of need and strength. As the trade deadline approaches, the Braves needs will become more clear and the same can be said for the rest of the league. That’s when it’ll be easier for a deal to come to fruition. Until then, the Braves will likely have to make do with what they have.
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Photo: David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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