Many fans are still extremely upset with Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta Braves front office for their failure to improve the 2026 roster when opportunities presented themselves. Many of those frustrations go back to last offseason’s failures, and that anger reached a fever pitch at this year's trade deadline when their only consequential move was to add the surprisingly awesome Tyler Mahle. As it turns out, one reason things turned out the way they did was due to the Braves' attachment to Didier Fuentes.
We already knew the Braves tried to get more starting pitching at the deadline. Atlanta famously failed to acquire Jacob deGrom after the veteran signaled that he would not waive his no-trade clause. There were also rumors that the Braves were involved to some degree in the bidding for Tarik Skubal. Now, we know at least one factor as to why they fell short in that pursuit as well.
According to a report from the Boston Globe's Peter Abraham, the Braves were indeed one of the teams pushing to land Tarik Skubal. However, they obviously fell out of bidding, and one reason why was that the Braves wouldn't include Didier Fuentes in the deal. Given what was at stake, that gives us a pretty big clue as to the Braves' intentions for the young right-hander.
Didier Fuentes, 101mph Fastball (just below the zone) and 85mph Slider, Individual Pitches & Overlay.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 5, 2026
Why you'd chase the slider. pic.twitter.com/c1NlbKojdD
Braves' unwillingness to include Didier Fuentes in Tarik Skubal trade shows that they still see his future in their rotation
Importantly, Abraham's report did not argue that the Braves would have landed Skubal had they included Fuentes. While it did say that Atlanta "made virtually all of their young players available," which signaled the seriousness of their offer, it is unclear if they held out anyone else of note in talks (including top prospects Eric Hartman and Tate Southisene), nor do we know if that was ever going to be enough to top the Dodgers' offer.
What it DOES tell us is that the Braves clearly did not want to move Fuentes, even in a deal that would have landed them a Cy Young-winning rental. One school of thought is that the Braves did not think they could spare Fuentes from their bullpen. Given how important Fuentes was all season long, there is some truth to that.
However, what is more likely is that the Braves didn't want to trade Fuentes because they see him as a long-term answer to their rotation questions. Fuentes arrived in the big leagues as a starter, and was only shifted to the bullpen this season out of necessity. Given how well he pitched, the Braves have to wonder if they can stretch him back out and see if he can do that for five-plus innings every five days. There is no guarantee Fuentes can be as good in those longer stints, but the Braves were willing to lose out on Skubal to try and find out.
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