The expected post trade deadline roster moves from Atlanta were officially announced this morning. The Braves were savvy enough to let Bryce Elder throw his gem last night before making this transaction.
The only question was who would join Elder in returning to Triple-A in order to make room for Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson. Turns out the Braves elected to send top position prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. back to Gwinnett as well.
The #Braves today reported RHP Luke Jackson and OF Jorge Soler to Atlanta after optioning RHP Bryce Elder and INF Nacho Alvarez Jr. to Triple-A Gwinnett following yesterday’s game.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 31, 2024
Nacho sent back down to continue developing
Fans had been clamoring for Nacho's arrival much of the month of June as shortstop Orlando Arcia struggled. However, Nacho wasn't called up until second baseman Ozzie Albies suffered a bad wrist injury.
Nacho got his first taste of Major League action throughout the last week, and sadly it was a real struggle for the 21 year-old. He simply isn't ready to handle Major League pitching yet. And that's ok! This is why we wanted the Braves to pursue a middle infielder at the trade deadline.
However, Alex Anthopoulos elected to stay put and roll with a recent pickup in Whit Merrifield. Thankfully, Orlando Arcia has gotten hot recently (currently on the second longest hitting streak of his career) so the middle infield production should be better. However, that's a lot of trust in a guy who was just cut because of his poor play.
Merrifield is expected to began his regular playing time at second base this afternoon. It'll come just a little over a week after the Braves brought him in, just to immediately suffer that gnarly finger injury.
World Series MVP finally returns
Despite a top prospect being sent down, the biggest news from this is the return of the 2021 World Series MVP. Jorge Soler will immediately slot into leadoff, given his incredible OBP skill.
Jorge Soler led off Sunday's game for the @SFGiants with a 478-ft blast, the longest homer hit in the Majors this season!
— MLB (@MLB) July 22, 2024
(MLB x @GoogleCloud) pic.twitter.com/I0mFrKIDAD
His .273/.376/.484 slash line and 146 wRC+ since June 5, will be a big boost to Atlanta's offense. This will also allow Jarred Kelenic to slot back down in the order in a less pressure-filled spot. Soler provided a huge boost to the team in 2021, let's see if he can do it again.