Five Reasons Atlanta Braves Will Still Win NL East in 2021

1. Alex Anthopoulos

Double-A already sent a clear message to the rest of the NL East with the acquisition of Joc Pederson. Sometimes Anthopoulos can leave Braves fans squirming with what appears to be inactivity on the trade front. The reality is, the Braves front office is tight-lipped under his direction.

This was evidenced by the recent Joc Pederson trade. Nobody had heard anything about that deal prior to the announcement.

There are some solid trade pieces available on the market this season. As we’ve seen already, the Cubs are dealers. A player like Kris Bryant would make fill a huge hole for the Braves in the outfield.

Craig Kimbrel is pitching like he’s in a Braves uniform again. Actually putting him in a Braves uniform again would be a great way to shore up the struggling bullpen. In baseball, one stud can change the entire dynamic of a lineup, rotation, or bullpen.

Imagine having Chris Martin, Luke Jackson, Will Smith, and Craig Kimbrel making up the backend of the pen… it’s nice, right?

There are plenty of articles outlining the various trade targets for the Braves and there will be plenty more to come. The point of this page is to identify Alex Anthopoulos as one of the key reasons the Braves have enjoyed their recent success.

He will also be an important hand in digging the Braves out of their current hole and getting to that fourth-straight NL East Championship.