The Braves staying (mostly) quiet at the trade deadline was an error
The 2023 trade deadline was a weird one as the market seemed to be slanted very much in favor of the few teams that were actually sellers at the deadline. Several of the teams that were out of it didn't have much to pilfer on their rosters and the few teams that did have worthwhile players (Cardinals, White Sox, Tigers) were asking for a king's ransom for the top names available.
That said, the trade deadline for the Braves was pretty disappointing overall. After Atlanta acquired Nicky Lopez, Brad Hand, and Pierce Johnson (all fine moves especially Johnson) ahead of the deadline, the Braves decided to stand pat the rest of the way even with an obvious need at starting pitcher with both Max Fried and Kyle Wright on the shelf.
We will never know how hard the Braves were pushing at the trade deadline to address their rotation and it is entirely possible that they were working hard behind the scenes to go after some big names. However, when Lucas Giolito, Jordan Montgomery, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Michael Lorenzen, and Aaron Civale all finding new teams at the deadline, it was a bummer to see the Braves not get any of them.
Atlanta did dodge some bullets, though, regarding the starting pitcher trade market as Giolito and Lorenzen were pretty bad after they were trade. The Mets possessing both Scherzer and Verlander made those deals basically impossible to make as well even if the Braves were willing to jack their payroll up enough to acquire them. However, Montgomery and Civale would have both been fantastic additions and unfortunately, the Braves came up empty instead.