Atlanta Braves trade deadline report card: bullpen rebuild complete
By Fred Owens
Depth
The Atlanta Braves also added protection for the catching corps. With August trades no longer an option the Braves added catching protection now.
The Diamondbacks have traded Aces catcher John Ryan Murphy to Atlanta for Cash Considerations. pic.twitter.com/CxFrJUyY2u
— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 31, 2019
John Ryan Murphy started as a Yankee prospect. The Yanks traded him to the Twins for Aaron Hicks, and two years later he moved again, this time to Arizona for Gabriel Moya.
Murphy’s a glove-first catcher and at 28-years-old, considered one of the best young defenders. He caught roughly half of Arizona’s games in 2017 and ranked #46 on Baseball Prospectus board based on their catcher defense adjustment.
Related Story. John Ryan Murphy. light
The Diamondbacks needed a better bat and outrighted him off their roster. He’ll be assigned to Gwinnett and won’t be seen in Atlanta unless Brian McCann or Tyler Flowers are injured.
The Braves also brought back old friend Lane Adams on a minor league deal, adding an experienced major leaguer to the fold.
How did the Braves do?
Overall the Braves get an A-. Before you start screaming at me, read why.
GM Alex Anthopoulos focused on the bullpen with good reason, and his results there get an A. These acquisitions should stabilize the back of the bullpen and prevent the meltdowns we’ve seen occurring more often since the All-Star break.
He acquired the pitchers without sacrificing one of his top prospects or significantly depleting the farm system. Wentz looks like a useful left-handed, middle of the rotation arm and Beck a middle rotation or back of the bullpen reliever.
The Braves exposed Demeritte to the Rule 5 draft last season and no one claimed him. He tore up AAA pitching this year but had no place on the Braves 40-man roster and become a minor league free agent after the season. Murphy cost only a few dollars.
Starting pitcher: Incomplete
Anthopoulos wanted a starter but found the prices too high. Once the Mets added Marcus Stroman, they thinned the market significantly and raised their price for Zack Wheeler.
The Giants withdrew Madison Bumgarner’s name from consideration and Matthew Boyd never came up in any serious talks, leaving Robbie Ray and Zack Greinke as desirable additions.
The Diamondbacks asked for Clint Frasier and three more prospects from the Yankees who said no thanks.
The Snakes make a deal for two years of Greinke with the Astros, but it cost Houston their number 3, 4, 5 and 22 prospects (MLBPipeline’s #93 and #99 overall prospects, baseball’s number 10 catching prospect and a depth outfielder).
These guys were blocked in Houston anyway, and Arizona sent along money, so Houston won this deal for now.
Both landed outside of the Braves comfort zone, and they passed, choosing to go all-in on the bullpen.
Also, as it became clear Braves couldn’t add starter on their terms, they went all-in on bullpen. Interesting pivot that could pay off.
— Gabe Burns (@GabeBurnsAJC) July 31, 2019
That means he expects Foltynewicz to return from AAA close to last season’s form, hopes Mike Soroka – who pitched brilliantly on Wednesday– remains strong , Max Fried can return to his early form, and Julio Teheran can continue his Jedi mind trick on opponents.
Lineup depth: Incomplete
Anthopoulos looked for but couldn’t find an outfielder at a price he liked, even though the Phillies got Corey Dickerson for nothing.
This means he hopes Austin Riley figures out in a month what took Dansby Swanson a year to get right, Duvall keeps raking, or Nick Markakis can return from a broken wrist and be able to swing a bat with enough authority by the playoffs.
The only everyday player on the 40-man roster not currently with the Atlanta Braves is Alex Jackson. Oddly, the new bullpen mitigates this issue.