Here’s the grade ESPN gives the struggling Braves on their trade deadline

Thursday’s MLB trade deadline came and went, with the Braves making few ripples in the trade waters.

The Braves’ only moves were sending reliever Rafael Montero to the Tigers for minor-league infielder Jim Jarvis and trading minor-league pitcher Austin Smith to the Rockies for reliever Tyler Kinley.

In the end, they kept designated hitter Marcell Ozuna and reliever Raisel Iglesias, who were key parts of Thursday’s win over the Reds.

On ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight Live” broadcast, Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian graded all 30 MLB teams on their moves at the deadline, and the Braves ended up in the middle of the pack.

“The Atlanta Braves, for me, are the perfect ‘C’ because they really didn’t do that much of anything,” Olney said.

The lack of moves was underwhelming but standing pat for the future is a balance they needed to strike.

“But it’s OK that they didn’t because if they unloaded, then they would be punting on next season,” Kurkjian said. “So, they can’t do that. They can acknowledge ‘We’re not going to win this year, but next year, we’re going to contend again.’ They can’t trade away any pieces for next year.”