Braves’ inaction at the trade deadline is evident in their series against the Marlins.
For the first time since May, the Braves had a great chance to really spice things up in the NL East going into the weekend. After the Braves defeated Miami on Friday, their fourth straight victory, Atlanta’s lead over the top-seeded Phillies was down to just five games. With two games left against a bottom-of-the-table Miami team and Philadelphia traveling west to play a Mariners team vying for a playoff berth, an early 3–4 NL East deficit appeared all but certain.
Sadly, that won’t be the case as the Marlins pitching staff, which has been decimated by injuries and recently had a number of players go via the trade deadline, was unable to contain the Braves offense, which has been the team’s biggest weakness for almost the whole season.
The Braves went off to an early lead on Saturday, leading 3-1 after the first three innings. They lost 4-3 after failing to score throughout the remainder of the match. On Sunday, the offensive continued to play much the same. The Braves pitching staff, including Max Fried, who was making his comeback from a forearm injury, didn’t do anything to assist the batters. However, it wouldn’t have mattered since three relievers including Edward Cabrera, with his over 7.00 ERA, combined for nine innings of scoreless play.
The Braves have now gone 15 games without scoring a run. This serves as a reminder that, despite the Phillies experiencing their worst run of the season, they are still a squad with gaps that won’t go away quickly. The trade deadline was a better time to address these holes.
Although Jorge Soler was a welcome acquisition, the Braves offense needed more than one player to turn things around. Alex Anthopoulos went out and acquired four outfielders before the 2021 trade deadline, and that offense was playing far better than the squad this year.
Undoubtedly, the dynamics have changed significantly from previous years due to the lengthened playoffs. Even though it was a seller’s market and some top talent was being asked for ridiculous prices, there were still upgrades available that could have been obtained for a fair price; just take a look at the prospect capital needed to acquire Jorge Soler, a prospect who wasn’t even in the Braves top 30.
The Braves are counting on Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies, two of their injured players, to return in the final stretch and contribute. They couldn’t have gotten better players at the trade deadline than those two. Nonetheless, it doesn’t justify starting players like Adam Duvall, Whit Merrifield, Jarred Kelenic, Eddie Rosario, and others on a daily basis as they battle for a postseason spot.
Michael Harris isn’t anticipated to return until at least mid-August. Ozzie Albies won’t be back until the middle of September. Who knows where the Braves may be in the Wild Card race by then? The pitching staff in Atlanta is more than capable of taking them on a postseason run. But if there aren’t any acquisitions by the trade deadline, they might not even have a chance.
