Holding on to players in walk years
This is an opportunity every team should consider at the trade deadline and the Braves could have done so as well. There are a few candidates for this such as Charlie Morton, Jesse Chavez, AJ Minter, and Ramon Laureano.
There's no guarantee these players would have returned anything major but Atlanta could have considered moving some of them to get some prospects in return. However, holding on to them makes sense as they've been helping the team. Morton has struggled a bit this year but has been eating innings for the team. Chavez and Minter have been impressive in the bullpen and have valuable playoff experience.
Some rough defense hurt him but Aaron Bummer's (1IP 2H 1ER 1BB 1K) sweeper once again takes home our Relief Pitcher Pitch of the day for the @Braves. pic.twitter.com/feDlf1bm4Y
— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) July 30, 2024
Perhaps the team could have also looked at moving a low-leverage reliever like Aaron Bummer in a trade to get a decent return at the deadline. It's possible he and others mentioned above were talked about in trade talks. It may be that the team just values their experience over any potential additions. This is the lowest missed opportunity as it wouldn't have moved the needle very much for Atlanta.