Evolution of the Atlanta Braves rebuild part one: 2015

More trades

Buckle up because the Braves were far from done wheeling and dealing in this particular offseason.

Shortly before Christmas, the Braves pulled off the first of two trades with the new fresh-faced GM in San Diego, AJ Preller.

To spare the details and keep this flowing, it was a deal centered around Justin Upton.

The Braves got multiple pieces back in return, but one piece sticks out more than the others.

Max Fried, who after a few injury-riddled years, is finally turning this trade into a win for the Braves especially considering Upton’s tenure in San Diego was short-lived.

Enter the feel-good story of the Braves 2014 season.

Apparently the Braves knew that Evan Gattis couldn’t last behind the dish and just as everyone suspected, he was a better fit for an American League team.

That team would obviously be the Houston Astros. But again, the Braves found an important part of the future when part of the return was Mike Foltynewicz.

So, 40 percent of the 2020 projected starting rotation was acquired via trades in a few week span in the 2014-2015 Winter. Not a bad trade-off.

Then there was the shocker on Opening Day Eve. Longtime favorite and local product, Craig Kimbrel, was possibly the best closer in the game at the time, but he was unfortunately the one that had to be packaged with the aforementioned BJ/Melvin Upton for a team to take on that salary that was bogging the Atlanta Braves down.

Again, it was the San Diego Padres who were seemingly pushing all their chips in the center of the table for the 2015 season.

The return was considered light at the time as the main focus was to get rid of Upton’s contract.

Still, Matt Wisler was considered a good prospect at the time and was considered to be the bright spot of the return. We all know now in hindsight, he never gave much value to the Atlanta Braves.

The hidden value in this deal was the draft pick the Braves received as well. The Atlanta Braves acquired the 41st pick in the 2015 MLB draft (which we will get more into eventually) and in turn, they selected a young power hitter out of high school in Mississippi, Austin Riley.

Yes, the Braves unloaded the albatross Upton contract and possibly received their third baseman in the future. Yes, it cost us Kimbrel, but sometimes you gotta pay to get nice things.

That does it for the evolution of the rebuild in 2015, which was really a huge year. Next, we’ll take a look at 2016.