Atlanta Braves: Looking back at the Trades Made during the 2021 Season
The Atlanta Braves made numerous trades throughout the 2021 season and offseason. What do those deals look like now?
As the Atlanta Braves approach the final push for October, there is no denying that the club wouldn’t be where they are right now without a few roster moves in particular. When looking at which moves benefitted the Braves most, the answer is quite easy to guess — trades.
The trades made by the Atlanta Braves this season have been impactful.
Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos made a total of 14 trades dating back to last November. Each of these moves provided different impacts in the organization, both at the major and minor league level.
Here is a look at each individual trade that the Braves have made dating back to November of 2020 (the start of the 2020-2021 offseason), as well as how each has impacted the season up to this point.
Atlanta Braves 2020-2021 Offseason Trades
Atlanta Braves trade SS AJ Graffanino and 2B Greg Cullen to the Baltimore Orioles
The first trade of the offseason — or perhaps the completion of an earlier trade — happened back on November 5 of last year when the Braves sent Graffanino and Cullen to Baltimore as the “PTBNL” in the deal that sent Tommy Milone to Atlanta last season.
Neither player reached the big leagues with Baltimore this season as Graffanino posted a .596 OPS between High-A and Triple-A this season, while Cullen slashed .259/.429/.398 in 38 games this season in the minor leagues. Milone made three starts for Atlanta last season posting a 14.90 ERA.
Atlanta Braves trade INF Jack Mayfield to the Los Angeles Angels for cash
Claimed off waivers in November of 2020 from the Astros, Atlanta DFA’d Mayfield on February 24, and was traded to the Angels a day later for cash. Mayfield split time between the Angels and Mariners where he slashed a combined .210/.267/.406 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI’s in 77 games.
Atlanta Braves 2021 April-June Trades
Atlanta Braves acquire INF Orlando Arcia from the Milwaukee Brewers for RP Chad Sobotka and SP Patrick Weigel
In what was Atlanta’s first significant trade of the 2021 season, the Braves acquired Arcia on April 6, a player who provided much-needed depth in left field after an impressive stint in Triple-A Gwinnett. So far this season, Arcia has split time between the big leagues and Triple-A, but has posted a .546 OPS with two home runs and 10 RBI’s across 25 games with the Braves.
Sobotka recently joined his new big league club, but has spent a majority of the 2021 season in Triple-A where he has posted a 5.09 ERA across 35.1 innings pitched. Weigel has also spent a majority of the season in Triple-A with the Brewers where he posts a 7.27 ERA across 36 relief appearances, while also having pitched four innings of relief in the big leagues.
Atlanta Braves acquire RP Edgar Santana from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash
Atlanta’s second trade of the month came on April 9 when they acquired Santana from the Pirates. Santana has appeared in 40 games so far this season for the Braves at the big league level where he holds a 3-0 record with a 3.59 ERA across 42.2 innings pitched.
Atlanta Braves acquire C Kevan Smith from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash
The Braves needed catching help after Travis d’Arnaud suffered an injury early on in the season, resulting in Atlanta acquiring Smith from Tampa Bay on May 19. Smith appeared in 30 games for the Braves this season where he slashed .165/.248/.198 before being granted free agency back in mid-August.
Atlanta Braves acquire RP Yoan Lopez from the Arizona Diamondbacks for CF Deivi Estrada
The Braves acquired Lopez back on May 22 from Arizona where he then joined Triple-A Gwinnett. Spending the entire 2021 season with Atlanta down in Triple-A, Lopez has made 30 relief appearances in which he has posted a 2.93 ERA.
In return, the Braves sent Estrada to Arizona. The 20-year-old outfielder has only appeared in eight games this season with the ACL Diamondbacks where he has posted a .446 OPS.
Atlanta Braves acquire RP Ty Tice from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash
Atlanta acquired Tice back on June 4 where he instantly joined Triple-A Gwinnett posting a 7.36 ERA across 11 relief appearances. Tice eventually pitched one scoreless inning for the Braves at the big league level before he was selected off waivers by the Diamondbacks. He has remained in Triple-A since then.
Atlanta Braves 2021 Early-July Trades
Atlanta Braves trade OF Tyler Neslony to the Chicago White Sox
The Braves began the “real” trade season by sending Neslony to the White Sox back on July 11 with the return for Atlanta still TBD. Since joining the Chicago organization, Neslony has slashed .355/.444/.678 with seven home runs and 28 RBI’s across 38 games in Double-A with the Birmingham Barons.
Atlanta Braves acquire OF Joc Pederson from the Chicago Cubs for 1B Bryce Ball
In what was arguably the biggest trade of the season up to this point, Atlanta acquired Pederson who was the first of many outfielders the Braves would trade for leading up to the MLB Trade Deadline to help fill the hole left by the injured Ronald Acuna Jr.
Since being acquired from Chicago on July 15, Pederson has appeared in 58 games for the Braves so far where he has slashed .234/.311/.386 with five home runs and 18 RBI’s.
In return the Cubs received Ball, one of the Braves Top 30 overall prospects at the time. Having since fallen out of Chicago’s Top 30 prospects, the 22-year-old first baseman has slashed .207/.351/.380 with seven home runs and 21 RBI’s in 53 games in High-A with the South Bend Cubs.
Atlanta Braves acquire C Stephen Vogt from the Arizona Diamondbacks for 1B Mason Berne
Making a move to acquire some catching depth, Atlanta acquired Vogt on July 16, only a day after they traded for Pederson. Serving as the Braves backup catcher since the move, Vogt slashed .171/.247/.250 with two home runs and eight RBI’s across 75 at-bats before recently landing on the IL.
In return, Arizona received Berne, a 25-year-old first baseman who was a former 33rd round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. Since the move, Berne has slashed .210/.288/.343 with three home runs and 11 RBI’s across 29 games in Low-A.
Atlanta Braves 2021 Trade Deadline Trades
Atlanta Braves acquire OF Eddie Rosario from the Cleveland Indians for 3B Pablo Sandoval
The Braves made multiple moves on the day of the 2021 MLB Trade Deadline (July 30), with the first being to acquire Rosario from the Indians.
Rosario was on the IL when acquired from Cleveland, and spent some time in Triple-A Gwinnett before joining the big league club. Since Joining the Braves back on August 28, Rosario has been impressive slashing .290/.357/.677 with six home runs and 12 RBI’s across 62 at-bats.
In return, Cleveland acquired Sandoval whom they instantly released. Sandoval has not played since this deal was made back on July 30.
Atlanta Braves acquire OF Adam Duvall from the Miami Marlins for C Alex Jackson
Only a few minutes after acquiring Rosario, the Braves added yet another outfielder acquiring Duvall from the Marlins. After hitting 22 home runs this season with Miami, Duvall has appeared in 47 games so far this season with Atlanta where he has slashed .241/.305/.552 with 15 home runs and 41 RBI’s.
The Marlins received Jackson in return who has slashed .141/.234/.263 with three home runs and 11 RBI’s in 35 games since.
Atlanta Braves acquire OF Jorge Soler from the Kansas City Royals for RP Kasey Kalich
Acquiring their fourth outfielder in two weeks, as well as the third of deadline day, the Braves acquired Soler. After posting a .658 OPS with 13 home runs through 94 games this season with Kansas City, Soler has posted an .845 OPS with 11 home runs and 25 RBI’s in 47 games with Atlanta batting primarily in the two-hole.
In return the Royals received Kalich, Atlanta’s fourth-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Texas A&M. Working as a reliever in the minor leagues with the Braves throughout his career, Kalich has pitched in a similar role with the Royals currently posting a 4.12 ERA through 14 relief appearances in High-A.
Atlanta Braves acquire RP Richard Rodriguez from the Pittsburgh Pirates for SP Bryse Wilson and SP Ricky DeVito
The Braves’ final trade of the 2020-21 offseason/season was the club acquiring Rodriguez from the Pirates. Pitching in numerous different innings out of the bullpen with Atlanta, Rodriguez has since posted a 2.78 ERA across 22.2 innings so far.
The Pirates in return received Wilson, Atlanta’s fourth-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, as well as DeVito, Atlanta’s eighth-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. Wilson has made eight starts with Pittsburgh this season posting a 4.91 ERA, while DeVito has not yet made an appearance yet in the Pirates organization.
Next. 5 Braves who are Rising after 2021 Season. dark
It appears that the Braves were on the winning side of almost all of their trades this season, especially at the deadline. Will these moves help carry Atlanta into the postseason?