For most of Alex Anthopoulos' tenure with the team, the Atlanta Braves have monitored the trade market for starting pitching very closely. Sometimes, as was the case with Chris Sale, that focus pays dividends, but the Braves have generally bowed out of the bidding for top names once things got pricey. As it turns out, it sounds like they were pretty close to pulling the trigger on a trade for top AL starter Garrett Crochet.
Before he was ultimately traded to the Red Sox, the Braves were one of several teams that were trying to acquire the budding young ace. Atlanta's interest was known, and they were involved in the process until the end, but there has been little indication that any deal was close.
However, more information recently came out that the Braves were arguably closer to closing the deal for Crochet than initially thought. According to The Athletic's MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, the Braves' interest in Crochet was real, and it ultimately came down to their unwillingness to part with three of their best young players.
Asking price for Garrett Crochet was apparently just out of the Braves' comfort zone, and that may be for the best
Now, we don't know exactly what the hang-up was for the Braves. All we know is that Rosenthal said that a package of Drake Baldwin, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Hurston Waldrep, or better, would have been required to beat Boston's offer. That is quite the heavy price tag, but it is notable that it seems like there was a trade package discussed and put together enough to warrant specific mention from Rosenthal all this time later.
More importantly, not trading for Crochet may have been the smart move in the long-term. There is no guarantee whatsoever that the Braves would be willing to hand out the extension Crochet got from the Red Sox after the trade. In order to get him at all, they would have had to part with a large portion of their organizational depth, particularly at starting pitcher.
As good as Crochet is, having the quantity of players available in a pinch seems to be more what the Braves need. Having Crochet as a 1-2 punch with Sale would be nice, but perhaps not nice enough to be without the reigning NL Rookie of the Year as well as a pair of young arms that the Braves are going to lean on once they are healthy again.
It is always funny when teams encounter hardships, and some fans immediately act like they knew it was coming and that the Braves should have done X or Y. It is a lot easier to play arm-chair general manager when it isn't your money and your players that are on the line. No one thinks that the Braves couldn't use Crochet right now, but that doesn't mean that they should have paid what it apparently would have cost Atlanta to get him.