Just when it looked like the Atlanta Braves were done, Alex Anthopoulos picks up a shutdown reliever at the trade deadline in Raisel Iglesias.
After a very active Monday, things had been very quiet for the Atlanta Braves leading up to Tuesday’s trade deadline.
But at the last minute Alex Anthopoulos made one of the biggest moves of the day by acquiring reliever Raisel Iglesias from the Los Angeles Angels for Jesse Chavez and Tucker Davidson.
This is essentially a money dump for the Angels as the return seems pretty light for an elite reliever like Iglesias.
Tucker Davidson seems likely to stick in a big league rotation, but the ceiling for him appears to be a fourth or fifth starter.
Jesse Chavez has been outstanding for the Braves, but he wasn’t someone Brian Snitker was going to rely on in high-leverage situations in the postseason.
Braves Trade Deadline: What Raisel Iglesias Brings
Raisel Iglesias was one of the best relievers in all of baseball last year with a 2.57 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 70 innings with 103 strikeouts and 34 saves.
That led to the Angels signing him to a 4-year and $58 million deal. The Braves are now on the hook to pay him $16 million a year over the next three seasons.
He could essentially replace Kenley Jansen next year as the team’s closer, and Jansen is making $16 million this year.
Iglesias’ numbers aren’t as great this year with a 4.04 ERA, but his metrics show that he’s still a dominating pitcher who gets a ton of strikeouts and doesn’t walk many hitters.
His 1.07 WHIP is great, and he should benefit from a great defense behind him.
While he was the closer for the Angels, he’ll likely split setup duties with A.J. Minter in the seventh and eighth innings depending on matchups.
This is a great move by Alex Anthopoulos that really turned around what was a disappointing trade deadline.