The Braves keep things close to the vest better than just about everyone. Nothing leaks unless they want it to, but I will say general manager Alex Anthopoulos typically does a very good job with transparency in his interviews, and he was at it again yesterday on 680 The Fan, talking about a plethora of topics — one of them being early season trades.
“We are always trying to get better. I’ve made calls to clubs about trades,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s just very hard for teams to want to really engage at the end of May/beginning of June. It’s a tough sell to your clubhouse, to your fan base, to the ownership. That’s why the majority of times you don’t see deals until July. It’s just hard for teams to pull the plug and start trading players away early.”
This is a topic Anthopoulos has spoken on profusely during his time as general manager. He’s constantly working the phones in an attempt to upgrade the team, but oftentimes clubs aren’t seriously considering moving players until closer to the trade deadline. Right now, selling clubs have all the leverage, so even if a team is willing to make a trade, they likely have a much higher asking price this early in the season.
I don’t imagine we will see the Braves make a trade for at least another month. Not only are clubs unwilling, but it’s also tough to see exactly what this team will need six weeks from now. Several players are on their way back from injury, which will surely play a factor in Anthopoulos’ decision-making, and other circumstances can change in a heartbeat. Not to mention, the Braves are finally playing some good ball, winners of five straight. It’s unlikely they will pull off anything significant for at least a month, and it will probably be more like six weeks before serious trade talks begin.
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