The 2023 Atlanta Braves are on a mission to win another World Series. They have been absolutely incredible this year and currently have the best record and offense in all of baseball.
When approaching the trade deadline, there weren't many areas the Braves needed to be focused on improving. The offense was thriving, the pitching was the best in the NL, and the bench depth looked great.
With that said, Alex Anthopoulos knows that adding to that depth is never a bad idea. The first move made was for RHP Yonny Chirinos who was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay. AA then added LHP Taylor Hearn from the Rangers and RHP Pierce Johnson from the Colorado Rockies.
Nothing flashy but moves that added pitching depth for the Braves who were dealing with a lot of bullpen injuries at the time and still did not have Max Fried back.
Things were pretty silent for a while after that and after just one appearance with the Braves, Taylor Hearn was traded to the Kansas City Royals for infielder Nicky Lopez. That move made a lot of sense despite Lopez not having the best season.
He offered bench depth and a solid defensive replacement. He is also a great pinch run option for Atlanta and added a contrast to all the power bats in the lineup as he is more contact driven.
There are two players out of those four who have already made great impacts on the team so far. Let's check out who they are.