Overall Trade Deadline Grade: B-
The fact that Alex Anthopoulos is not receiving an A+ on this hypothetical report card may come as a surprise to some. Factoring in that starting pitching was not addressed and a higher leverage bullpen arm was not added brings the grade down a little.
Yes, Max Fried is back tomorrow. Kyle Wright could be returning sooner rather than later. Yonny Chirinos has joined the rotation for the time being.
Facing reality, it is unlikely that Wright returns to his 21-game-winner form. Bryce Elder has not been the Bryce Elder that he was early in the season. Yonny Chirinos has not proven that he deserves to stay in the rotation.
The asking price for starters at the deadline was astronomically high and Alex Anthopoulos did not think it was worth it. That is understandable. Max Fried will be Max Fried. However, it feels like there could be too much trust being put into Kyle Wright and Bryce Elder to be frontline starters.
Brad Hand is a great addition to the Braves bullpen. He will be able to get outs in big situations. The Braves could have gone a little bit bigger here.
A.J. Minter just came back from injury. Dylan Lee, Jesse Chavez, and Nick Anderson will all return soon. Joe Jimenez has turned into a high-leverage reliever himself with his recent performance.
The bullpen is going to be in really good shape in the coming weeks but one more arm would have been nice.
Overall, it was not as exciting as the 2021 trade deadline but Alex Anthopoulos should always be trusted and the moves he made this season will make the team even better.