Braves History: 2 Trades That Impacted Them Most, 1 That Would Have Turned The Tide
As the 2023 season ages and the trade deadline becomes closer to the horizon, baseball fans everywhere are beaming with anticipation, excitement, and a rush of adrenaline that can only be brought out by the notion of a potential playoff push. Simply put, the baseball world is excited; very excited, and with great reason too.
Within the next seven days, Major League Baseball will be going through changes, seeing some of the biggest names in the game uprooted and planted onto different fields. The trading block of 2023 features some of the most scintillating talent in the sport, led by the anomaly from Anaheim and a plethora of high-end pitching talents such as Lucas Giolito and Marcus Stroman to name a few. This time next week, the sport as we know it now may very well be drastically changed.
The genesis of the trade deadline can be traced back to 1917, when the National League established a deadline of August 20th, according to Cliff Blau of the Society of American Baseball Research. Three years later, the American League introduced a deadline of its own, falling on July 1st. The following year, the two leagues would agree on a joint deadline of August 1st, moving to June 15th the year after, where it would stay put for nearly sixty years.
Later on down the road, the deadline jumped back to July 31st, 1986 according to Blau. Since then, the end of July has stood as one of the most exciting times in the eyes of baseball fans. We’ve seen teams bolster their lineups top to bottom, while other teams deconstruct almost completely to the studs, often happening within less than 24 hours.
The feverish, chaotic nature of the free-for-all style fire sale that is the week leading up to July 31st has given us some of the most dramatic changes to teams, almost in the blink of an eye. With all the rich history tied to the trade deadline, one starts to feel a bit of nostalgia, looking back on some of the most beloved moves made, shaping the game as we know it today. Each of the thirty teams has a rich, deep history surrounding the biggest day of the summer for the sport and that includes your Atlanta Braves.
As we press onward, head first into the proverbial eye of the storm, one can’t help but look back at some of the moves made in trade deadlines past.
There have been far more than plenty, but when looking inward, a few stand taller than the rest.
Honorable Mention: The biggest trade that never happened.
I’m sure by now every Braves fan has heard the tale of the fabled deal that could have been, circa 1992. While not a deal at the deadline, it’s hard to talk about notable Braves trade history without mentioning a deal that would have drastically changed the course of the franchise.
Towards the beginning of the baseball year in 1992, around the time Spring Training was underway, former GM John Schuerholz had a trade in place to send Alejandro Pena, Kevin Mitchell, and a player to be named later for a lethal outfielder out of Pittsburgh named Barry, who would go on to become one of the most feared hitters in the history of the sport.
Maybe you’ve heard of him?
Pittsburgh Pirates / Focus On Sport/GettyImages
According to Eddie Becker of Bleacher Report, the deal was so far along that Schuerholz was actively preparing the press release announcing the trade. Every sign was pointing to the deal getting done, giving the Braves a deadly weapon in their outfield as they began their run of 14 consecutive division titles.
There was just one problem, and he had a bit of a short fuse and a pension for smoking cigars in the clubhouse.
Los Angeles Dodgers v Pittsburgh Pirates / Focus On Sport/GettyImages
Legendary baseball mind and coach of the 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates, Jim Leyland, heard about the deal heading to the dotted line and, in short, lost his mind. Grown weary by Pittsburgh’s method of salary dumping, he marched to the owner’s office and demanded the trade be killed, according to Becker.
The deal was scrapped faster than the speed of sound, the Braves remained stagnant, and Bonds finished the year in Pittsburgh, putting up a staggering line of .311/.624/.1.080 with 33 HR, 114 RBI, and 39 SB en route to his second MVP season in three years. The following offseason, he would go home to San Fransisco, where he spent the remainder of his 15 years in the big leagues; and the rest is history.
The thought of baseball’s “villain” roaming the outfield for the dynastic Braves is enough to almost make someone crazy; a bat that potent in the powerful Braves lineup may have potentially led them even farther in the Postseason than we saw the team go during the decade. While the notion is exciting to think about, unfortunately, it will remain just that: a dream. This begs the million-dollar question: what if?
That deal didn’t happen. So, let’s look at a couple that did.
Atlanta trades Donnie Elliott, Melvin Nieves, and Vincent Moore to San Diego for Fred McGriff
As the 1993 season grew older, the Braves, two division titles into their fourteen consecutive, found themselves nine games back from the thriving San Fransisco Giants, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.
Schuerholz knew the team needed a big-time bat and decided to turn to San Diego. The team was in a fierce sell mode, following an order from ownership to cut payroll, according to MLB.com’s AJ Cassvell. San Diego rid themselves of Gary Sheffield and Tony Fernandez earlier that summer and the Braves knew they could capitalize.
On July 18th, the Braves made the deal, while managing to hold onto their most revered prospects at the time, such as Hall of Famer, Chipper Jones. According to Bowman, Moore never advanced past the Double-A level. Elliott spent the rest of his career in the minors following 31 appearances for San Diego in 1993, and Nieves thrived for two seasons before falling into obscurity.
McGriff, however, wasted no time upon arriving in Fulton County, homering in his debut with the team. He hit his way to a .310/.612/1.004 slash line with 19 HR, 55 RBI, and a 3.2 WAR to finish the campaign.
Legend speaks of the infamous press box fire, which was set ablaze shortly before the eventual Hall of Famer arrived in Atlanta.
Fire rips through luxury suites and part of the pr / JOHN DICKERSON/GettyImages
The story goes that Ted Turner said he “hoped this is an omen that the Braves get hot,” according to Tim Tucker of the AJC, and he was right. The Braves went on to post a 52-18 record following the blazing of the broadcast booth, according to Bowman, eventually earning their third consecutive division title.
Crime Dog went on to spend five years in Atlanta, playing an integral part in the road to the 1995 World Series. He finished his career with 493 HR, 1,550 RBI. He also had a career slash line of .284/.509/.886 with three Silver Slugger awards and five All-Star appearances.
Simply put, the Braves won this trade; big time.
While we’re on the topic of impactful trades that led to a Postseason journey, it’s prudent that we mention a rag-tag group of everyday guys who turned themselves into Atlanta legends.
2021 group (Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall)
It’s very hard not to mention these four when talking about impactful deadline deals, especially given the end result of the season; and the humble beginnings, of course.
Entering the 2021 trade deadline, the Atlanta Braves were faced with more questions than answers about their lineup. Following one of the most heartbreaking sites on July 10th, which saw superstar phenom Ronald Acuna Jr go down hard with a season-ending knee injury.
A flurry of emotions rocked the clubhouse, front office, and deep-rooted fan community which all led to the same central point: a move needed to be made, and quickly, or any hopes of a deep postseason run would be all but crushed.
Something had to give; and eventually it did.
Between July 15th through the end of the deadline, Alex Anthopoulos went out and acquired Joc Pederson from Chicago, Jorge Soler from Kansas City, Adam Duvall from Miami, and Eddie Rosario from Cleveland.
At first glance, these moves seemed more like a hail mary; almost as if AA was scrambling to try and replace Acuna in right.
There’s just one problem, though: you can’t simply replace a player like Acuna, and the notion of adding four names who weren’t amounting to anything of relative significance that season wasn’t one of glaring positivity.
Of course, we all know what happened after that.
Atlanta went from a struggling club barely circling .500 to a surprising powerhouse that captured the turning heads of fans all over the game. They ended the year with an 88-73 record, nabbing their fourth consecutive division title before arriving on the doorstep of the Postseason.
The notion of replacing Acuna was a hard one to swallow for many Braves fans, and anyone involved would likely tell you a similar story: you can’t REALLY replace a player like Acuna.
However, you CAN go out and get proven postseason performers having relatively underwhelming seasons and add them to a team that desperately needed life, wind them up, and watch them go; and go they did.
Joc Pederson won the hearts of Braves fans everywhere with his big bat, bigger personality, and even bigger pearls. Then you have Jorge Soler who blasted a ball into orbit which became the deciding factor of the 2021 World Series, effectively winning him the honors of World Series MVP.
Adam Duvall slugged 16 HR and 45 RBI with a .800 OPS in the final 55 games of the season, delivering one of the most memorable home runs of the playoffs, and Eddie Rosario showed everyone why Anthopoulos went out and got a struggling, injured platoon player. Providing proof of his postseason ability in the form of a .383/.617/1.073 slash line with 3 HR, 11 RBI, and several game-saving defensive plays.
The Braves could not have asked for a better start to a big series versus the Dodgers.
Eddie Rosario -- the NLCS hero against the Dodgers in 2021 -- launched a three-run shot.
What makes this story incredible beyond comparison is the humble beginnings. On July 10th, the Braves were all but written off following the loss of their superstar outfielder, and not three and a half months later, they were atop the baseball mountain. The 2021 Braves are living proof that no season is ever truly ruined due to an impactful injury, especially when you’ve got a general manager who carries himself the way Anthopoulos does.
