The Braves remade their outfield and bolstered their bullpen before Friday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline.
First, the team announced a trade with the Indians, acquiring outfielder Eddie Rosario and cash considerations for infielder Pablo Sandoval. Shortly after, the Braves acquired outfielder Adam Duvall from Miami for catcher Alex Jackson. Just a few minutes before the deadline, the Braves completed a trade for outfielder Jorge Soler from the Royals.
To top it off, the Braves acquired reliever Richard Rodriguez from the Pirates, strengthening their relief group. It completed a busy day for the Braves, who made it clear they believe they have a team that can win the National League East.
“Trade deadline, you’re trying to just make the team better,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “And you can have a list of things you want to achieve. But there’s only so many players available, and you’re trying to line that up with what the cost is. So you’re looking to improve any way you can, whether that’s bench, like we did, and in the outfield and bullpen. So we were active, obviously. A lot of clubs were active. It felt like one of the most active trade deadlines that I recall. Probably exciting for the fans. There were some big deals that went down. But we felt we were able to improve the ballclub.”
The moves were low cost and significantly improved the Braves’ outfield, which has been a weakness since losing Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuna. Now, in Rosario, Duvall and Soler, along with slugger Joc Pederson, Anthopoulos has remade his depleted outfield since the All-Star break. The team hasn’t decided how it will use its new outfield mix, but it’s excited about the options.
Rosario, 29, is hitting .254 with 15 doubles, seven homers and 46 RBIs across 78 games this season. He’s expected to miss the next couple of weeks with an abdominal strain, but he’ll bolster the team’s outfield depth when he returns. Rosario could embark on a rehab assignment in “a week or so,” Anthopoulos said.
The Braves traded infielder Pablo Sandoval for Rosario and cash considerations. Cleveland released Sandoval, making this deal essentially a salary dump. The Braves will pay Rosario around $2.79 million. He’s a free agent following the season.
Duvall spent parts of the past several seasons with the Braves before he was non-tendered in the winter. Beloved by manager Brian Snitker and teammates, Duvall’s return will be met with applause. Duvall, 32, is hitting .229 with 22 homers and a .755 OPS in 90 games this season. His 68 RBIs rank fifth in the National League.
The Braves first acquired Duvall at the 2018 trade deadline. He struggled mightily for them and appeared in only 41 games the next season. But he became a pivotal part of the Braves’ grand offense of 2020, when Duvall had 16 homers and 33 RBIs during the shortened campaign.
After the Braves non-tendered him, Duvall signed a one-year, $2 million deal with Miami that included a $7 million mutual option for 2022 (with a $3 million buyout, thus guaranteeing Duvall $5 million). The Braves inherit the option. Duvall started in left field Friday; the other acquisitions were expected to arrive Saturday.
Duvall made the Braves pay for their decision in head-to-head meetings this season. Duvall is 14-for-38 (.368) with five homers and 17 RBIs in 12 games against the Braves. He helped the Marlins to a 7-6 record against the Braves.
“The real appeal is that he doesn’t have to play against us now,” Anthopoulos said. “We probably win a lot more of those Miami games if he wasn’t there.”
Soler, 29, is hitting .192/.288/.370 with 13 homers, 37 RBIs and 38 runs scored in 94 games. Anthopoulos called it a “down year” but lauded Soler’s power. While the surface numbers don’t stand out, Soler has caught fire recently. He has six homers and seven RBIs in his past nine games.
Once a top Cubs prospect, Soler is two seasons removed from a 48-homer, 117-RBI campaign. While he piles up strikeouts, Soler provides the Braves more legitimate power punch. The Braves traded right-handed prospect Kasey Kalich in the deal. They’ll pay Soler, an impending free agent, roughly $2.8 million.
“He’s someone that we really, really like to use against left handers,” Anthopoulos said, adding Soler will help the team’s bench.
The Braves traded right-handers Bryse Wilson and Ricky DeVito for Rodriguez, who had a 2.82 ERA with 14 saves for Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old owns a 2.77 ERA with a 67:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 61-2/3 innings. He’s controllable through 2023, an important element in the deal.
Will Smith will remain the Braves’ primary closer, Snitker said, but Rodriguez is capable if the situation arises. He strengthens a group that’s been inconsistent throughout the season.
“He’ll pitch any inning,” Anthopoulos said. “Could be sixth, seventh, whatever it is. Just another good bullpen arm with experience to add to that depth. Because as we know, there’s certain days we have we have guys down that are just not available. We want to keep them upright. So having more quality arms, and having that depth is pretty important.”
The Braves improved without losing any valuable assets. Since some early magic, Sandoval had struggled for months in his bench role (1-for-31 over his past 34 games). Jackson, 25, was 3-for-43 in 19 games with the Braves. Given his outlook and the young catching the Braves possess, he didn’t have a place in the team’s future. Kalich and DeVito didn’t rank among the team’s top prospects. Wilson has had his moments, including a stellar start in the NL Championship Series in October, but he hadn’t established himself in the rotation.
In adding reinforcements, the Braves (51-52) again showed they believe they can win their fourth consecutive East title. They were four games behind the Mets entering Friday after taking three of five from the Mets in New York this week. The Mets (54-47) have been decimated by injuries, leaving the door open for the Braves and Phillies (51-51).
“There’s no doubt we’ve had our challenges, that’s probably a nice way to say it,” Anthopoulos said. “But at the same time, every club has. The one fortunate thing for all of us in the NL East is that we’re playing in the NL East in 2021. So that allows us all to stay in it and be competitive. But you know, the one thing is you get into the postseason, we’ve seen great teams lose early. I remember the Mariners team that won 116 games and got eliminated. The Cardinals won 83 games that one year years ago and won the World Series.
“I think you have to worry about being able to get in first. And we’ve seen wild-card teams get to the World Series. You just don’t know once you get in. You need to get in. So there’s no doubt we’ve had our challenges, but everyone in the NL East has had their challenges. Our focus is just keep grinding, keep trying to make the club better.”
