The 2024 MLB trade deadline officially ended at 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday evening and there was a lot of movement this year. Atlanta wasn't one of those teams as they made just one trade. The Braves acquired two familiar faces, Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson in exchange for former postseason hero Tyler Matzek and third base prospect Sabin Ceballos.
Ahead of the deadline, the Braves had to consider changing their approach with uncertainty surrounding Reynaldo Lopez's health. However, encouraging MRI results on his forearm allowed Lopez to miss the injured list and Atlanta to stick to their plan of adding an outfield bat.
"We are happy. We really like our bullpen. Rotation when healthy, we think is very strong. Our offense is what needed a boost, so we were focused on that more than anything else."
— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) July 31, 2024
Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos joins us in the broadcast booth to talk all things trade deadline🔊 pic.twitter.com/o9biwEX1SZ
Jorge Soler is a familiar face and has a fantastic walk rate of 11.2% which is 23rd best in baseball and the highest on the Braves roster. He also boasts a respectable .329 on-base percentage. His power is down a bit from last season but he is still a threat with incredible barrel percentage (10.5%) and bat speed (74.4 mph average).
Luke Jackson hasn't had the best season as indicated by his 5.40 ERA. But Jackson pitched better in July with a 3.00 ERA over 9 innings with one walk and 13 strikeouts. Atlanta hopes he's able to continue that success in August.
However, it's understandable to feel like the team didn't do enough at the trade deadline. There are some missed opportunities Atlanta could have considered to give the team a tad more confidence.
Missed opportunties for the Atlanta Braves at the trade deadline
Not trading for middle infield help
Nacho Alvarez Jr. tore up Triple-A pitching before getting a chance to get his first MLB stint when Ozzie Albies fractured his wrist. Unfortunately, it hasn't gone well as he's struggled at the plate. There's still some room for development for the Braves prospect.
Albies will be out until at least September so it wouldn't have been a bad idea to trade for a middle infielder to fill the void. Someone like Brandon Lowe from Tampa Bay could have been the perfect addition to that role. Lowe is having a decent season with a .261 average through 60 games with two homers, 11 doubles,12 RBI, and a .354 OBP.
Brandon Lowe since June 29th:
— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) July 26, 2024
19 Games
.313 AVG
7 HR
11 RBI
12 Runspic.twitter.com/doheJJBW0n
He would have been a great acquisition for the Braves and had two club options left for 2025 and 2026. The price for Lowe could have been too high for Atlanta considering Albies isn't too far from returning. It's likely Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves viewed Whit Merrifield as a suitable enough replacement for Ozzie and passed on the chance. Merrifield hasn't been the best this season and is a good defender but his bat leaves a lot to be desired. The next month will determine if this was a mistake or not.