Atlanta Braves fans of today know how GM Alex Anthopoulos prefers to operate in silence. It's not often we hear details about how a deal goes down, instead we usually get the famous blue box announcing Atlanta's latest transaction. While we do not expect this to change in the Anthopoulos era, tidbits of information about previous Braves' front offices gives the fanbase examples of just how different things used to be in Atlanta.
In a recent article on The Athletic, Zack Meisel shared insight on how former Braves GM Frank Wren pulled off the Javier Vazquez trade in the most peculiar of places. Vazquez enjoyed a career best season in Atlanta in 2009, and then got traded to the Yankees in December of 2009. However, the timing wasn't just odd. It was the fact that Wren began the trade talks on the ocean, wearing scuba gear.
Hilarious details of the Braves/Yankees Javier Vazquez trade emerge
During the baseball offseason, MLB GM's often spend time away from their respective team city. Whether that be vacationing, or visiting family back home, an offseason trade can truly happen at any place. Frank Wren happened to be vacationing with family when Yankees GM Brian Cashman contacted him about a potential Vazquez trade.
Wren was said to be in full scuba gear when he gave Cashman an offer. The Yankees GM wanted to get back to Wren later, but he was then informed that Wren would diving for the next hour and they could chat during the 45-minute surface interval before he dove back into the water. Sure enough, the two GM's hammered out the trade details as Wren walked along the beach.
The Vazquez deal is rather infamous in Braves Country because most fans tried to forget the return Atlanta got. In exchange for Vazquez and Boone Logan, the Braves got Melky Cabrera and Michael Dunn. Cabrera went on to be one of the most hated Braves in recent history, thanks to his underperformance and minimal effort.
The corresponding results wasn't what either team wanted (Vazquez had a 5.32 ERA with the Yankees in 2010), but the way the trade went down will at least leave both Cashman and Wren with a funny story to tell for a lifetime.