The Atlanta Braves have been busy this offseason.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has made eight trades this offseason, shipping out fifteen players to new destinations.
Those trades have been productive, however, with Atlanta’s net coming back including five years of left fielder Jarred Kelenic, two years of Chris Sale (after the extension), one year (or three years, with club options) of Aaron Bummer, and six years of reliever Ray Kerr.
But of the players that Atlanta lost, who could they conceivably miss the most? Let’s break it down, from least to most:
The prospects
Atlanta moved several minor leaguers in those deals, including starting pitcher Cole Phillips (Mariners), relievers Tyler Thomas (Angels) and Riley Gowens (White Sox), and outfielder Drew Campbell (Padres).
Phillips, due to injury, never have a chance to throw a pitch in the minors, while none of the other prospects seemingly had paths to playing time in Atlanta. It’s pretty safe to say the Braves came out on the winning end of those deals, as of now.
Catcher Max Stassi
Of all of the major leaguers traded in those deals, Stassi feels like the most…expendable? With both Sean Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud behind the plate and Chadwick Tromp waiting in AAA Gwinnett (and prospect Drake Baldwin working his way through the system), catcher’s a pretty deep position for Atlanta right now.
Pitchers Jackson Kowar and Marco Gonzales
Kowar, acquired when Atlanta sent Kyle Wright to the Royals, and Gonzales, who came over as a salary dump in the Jarred Kelenic trade, both quickly got flipped to new organizations.
Kowar joined the Mariners as a reliever, where Seattle will have a chance to harness his fastball and breaking stuff to build yet another medium leverage relief option (as they do), that they’ll trade away (as they do). Gonzales will provide valuable rotation depth for the Pirates, who project to have three starters out for 2024 due to Tommy John surgery in JT Brubaker, Mike Burrows, and Johan Oviedo.
Michael Soroka
Listen, I wanted this to work, I really did.
But Soroka, the 2019 Rookie of the Year that missed three years of competition due to multiple Achilles tears, just hasn’t looked the same since getting back into the major leagues.
“Maple Maddux” was entering his final year of control (meaning he couldn’t be optioned to the minors without electing free agency) and also had a 6.40 ERA last season, a combination that a contending team just couldn’t keep on their roster all season.
He’ll have an opportunity to start all season for the Chicago White Sox and, if healthy and effective, could get moved at the trade deadline before hitting free agency next offseason.
Kyle Wright
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Another “that’d have been nice”, Wright led all of baseball in wins back in 2022, going 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA in his 30 starts. But after offseason shoulder soreness that necessitated a cortisone injection in January, he just never got right. Wright missed most of the year on the injured list before briefly coming back in a relief role, but put up a 6.97 ERA in 31 innings and had shoulder surgery after the season.
Out for all of 2024, Wright can now rehab on Kansas City’s dime and prepare for 2025, where he’ll have two years to restore his value before reaching free agency in 2027 at the age of 31.
Nicky Lopez
Lopez, who was acquired at the trade deadline from Kansas City, quickly became a fan favorite in Atlanta due to his defensive versatility and willingness to do anything – even pitch – asked of him during his short tenure in Atlanta.
But projected to make roughly $4M in arbitration, Lopez would have cost more as a backup than Orlando Arcia ($2M) will make as the starter at shortstop in 2024. With Atlanta coming up on the third of four luxury tax tiers (and the draft pick penalties that come with it), Nicky Lopez was a luxury that the 2024 Atlanta Braves couldn’t really afford, but they might be able to weather the loss as long as no one gets hurt (or if Luis Guillorme continues to be serviceable defensively behind the infield starters).
Vaughn Grissom
Okay, this one stung a little.
Grissom, while not great defensively at shortstop, was easy to root for as both a ballplayer and a person. So easy, in fact, that Alex Anthopoulos admitted it was “painful” to trade Grissom to the Boston Red Sox.
One of his best friends was Atlanta centerfielder Michael Harris, with the duo being known as “the troublemakers” and giving off nothing but immaculate vibes. If Grissom, who is slated to be the Opening Day 2nd baseman in Boston, ends up having a great career, this will be the one we’ll look back on and regret.
But for 2024, it was the right move. Grissom didn’t have a defensive position with the current configuration of the infield, and things were so dire that he was sent to winter ball in Puerto Rico to learn left field.
Instead, he was moved to Boston, and he’ll get to stay on the dirt for a while longer.
Which player that was traded this offseason will Atlanta miss the most? Let us know!
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