Well, that was certainly a roller coaster 24 hours. Since we last newslettered: The Braves blew an eight-run lead and still won, and then fell just short on a ninth-inning comeback. Oh, and the front office punted on an otherwise wild trade deadline.
DEADLINE DUD
Credit: Mike Stewart/AP
While the Twins held a fire sale and the Padres traded one of the MLB’s top prospects for a flamethrower, the Braves opted to stand pat yesterday.
That means Braves fans get to enjoy another 50-plus games of Marcell Ozuna and Raisel Iglesias as the team limps to what they hope isn’t a 100-loss season.
So why did they choose not to move a DH (who had lost his job) or a closer having the worst season of his career for, well, anything?
“You're asking other guys to go play every day and grind and push and do everything and guys to show up and still perform and run balls out and do everything and still have pride and go perform and set an example – we have a lot of young players on our team, too. I think the message that would send organizationally is just wrong."
Color AJC columnist Ken Sugiura unimpressed. Here are a few of his thoughts:
- Anthopoulos’ position is debatable. If a minor leaguer has at least some chance of someday helping the Braves at the major-league level, you could make the case that it would have been better to make the trade for him rather than hold onto Ozuna or Iglesias. (One flip side, though, is that would also mean that you have to let go of one of your own minor leaguers.)
- Braves players wouldn’t like it, but if you’ve never been a part of a business that didn’t lay off employees or make unpopular cost-cutting measures, count yourself lucky. As has been said often in the past week as trade speculation swirled, it’s a business.
- However you view Anthopoulos’ inaction, the Braves lost. They lost because they couldn’t make a deal that would legitimately help them for the future or they lost because they weren’t willing to at least do something.
© ESPN’s insiders, meanwhile, were neutral. Buster Olney gave Atlanta’s deadline a “C” grade.
PREP FOR TOMORROW
Credit: AP
The Braves are set for an apparently historic matchup as at least 85,000 fans are expected to file into Bristol Motor Speedway. Today has video of the transformation. A few quick facts:
- Turning the 64-year-old racetrack into a ballpark required about 17,500 tons of gravel to level the infield.
- The grass will be synthetic with 124,000 square feet set to be laid down with this field using the same surface as the Blue Jays in Toronto.
- Pregame concert is to include Pitbull, Tim McGraw and Jake Owen.
- Country music artists Timothy Wayne, Reyna Roberts and Adam Doleac will perform in the Speedway Classic Fan Zone, a more than 220,000-square-foot fan festival.
📺 How to watch: 7:15 p.m. on Fox. Listen on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan
⚾ Hall of Fame first ceremonial first pitch: Braves legend Chipper Jones will throw to Cincinnati Reds icon Johnny Bench.
📝 If you are going: Here are a few things to do.
FRIDAY’S LOSS
Starting pitcher Bryce Elder surrendered just two runs in 6 2/3 innings, but the Braves suffered a 3-2 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
The Braves tallied seven hits, but struggles with runners in scoring position continued. Atlanta finished 1-for-8 in those situations.
YESTERDAY’S WEIRDNESS
A few notes from the Braves’ 12-11 win over the Reds on Thursday.
- It marked just the third time in MLB history that multiple teams scored at least eight runs in the same inning.
- The last time that happened: White Sox vs. Yankees in August 2007
- The Braves brought 13 batters to the plate in their eight-run eighth inning, facing four different Reds relievers.
AROUND THE MLB
👑 The Royals (rather successfully) managed the trade deadline as both buyers and sellers.
🐻 The Cubs will host the 2027 All-Star Game — the first it’ll be played at Wrigley Field since 1990.
🧹 Nothing to see here, says Commissioner Rob Manfred about his alleged locker room confrontation with the Phillies’ Bryce Harper.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: AP
Not a new picture. But it is pretty cool that Spencer Strider will get the chance to pitch tomorrow in his home state of Tennessee.
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Until next time.
About the Author
Eric Mandel is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native and University of Iowa alumnus. The award-winning journalist moved from Seattle in 2017 to Atlanta, working as a writer and editor for American City Business Journals. He joined the AJC in June 2024.
