The Braves are coming off back-to-back series wins, but you wouldn’t know it after getting clobbered 10-1 in their finale against the lowly Rockies — a game in which Grant Holmes nearly set a franchise record with 15 strikeouts in a nine-inning outing.
That kind of loss should leave a sour taste, but considering the Braves hadn’t won a series since mid-May before last week, it’s worth appreciating even the small victories. With over three months left in the season, there’s still time to make a push, but these next couple of weeks could go a long way in determining whether Atlanta becomes a buyer or seller at the trade deadline.
According to Jim Bowden, most in the industry believe the Braves, along with the Red Sox and Rangers, will “make trades to try to improve their respective rosters for the rest of this season and next rather than being typical sellers.”
Of course, a couple of days after Bowden reported that, the Red Sox sent All-Star Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in what was a glorified salary dumb. It was a move that shocked baseball, and a reminder that just about anything can happen this time of year. However, Alex Anthopoulos has been pretty steady in his approach when it comes to the trade deadline during his tenure as general manager — whether it be with the Blue Jays or Braves.
Anthopoulos never wants to punt on a season, and as Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported, the Braves are in the market for both a shortstop and left fielder.
Atlanta’s needs are pretty clear and obvious. They could use upgrades across their pitching staff (like every club), while left field and shortstop have been weak points for several years. Anthopoulos is unlikely to fix all of that over the next six weeks, but this upcoming stretch could dictate his level of aggressiveness.
For the first time all season, the Braves play the Mets in a three-game set beginning today at Truist Park. It’s the first of 13 times the teams will meet, and coincidentally, Atlanta trails New York by 13 games in the division.
With an off-day on Monday, the Braves have their pitching lined up perfectly for the Mets. Spencer Schwellenbach will toe the rubber tonight, Chris Sale on Wednesday, and Spencer Strider will hopefully be on the bump for a sweep as Atlanta attempts to send a message to their division rivals.
The Mets are just the beginning of a pivotal stretch for the Braves. After three games against Miami, they’ll head to Citi Field for a four-game rematch with the Mets before returning home to face the Phillies in a three-game set. That’s 13 straight games against division rivals — 10 of which come against teams currently holding playoff spots in the National League.
The Braves can’t win the division over the next two weeks, but they can certainly fall far enough behind the Mets and Phillies to where it would be nonsensical for Alex Anthopoulos to aggressively try and upgrade the roster ahead of the trade deadline, essentially punting on the remainder of the 2025 campaign.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
