I have always been the fan who wanted to just send it and go all in. Every year I think, “We really could make a run if we make a couple moves.” The problem is my fan hood belongs to the Braves. They never have and never will make the “Splash” move. That is how we get into this recent trade between the Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres. The trade sent Mike Clevinger to the Padres for some prospects and a couple of veterans. The Braves were a possible destination for Clevinger before the deadline.
To start, I did not expect the Braves to make a move for Clevinger because they will not give up their prospects. Everyone loves the flashy signing and blockbuster trades. Most of the time they do not make too much of a difference. We still love them though. The potential of future success might outweigh the brief time of success.
The two prospects brought up by Cleveland were Austin Riley and Ian Anderson. Not worth it. Austin Riley is starting to come into his own with serious playtime in the MLB. Ian Anderson is a much smaller sample size but his starts vs the Yankees and Red Sox gives us fans some hope. Pretty obvious they were untouchable unless we are talking about top tier Ace’s. Riley and Anderson are probably not the only ones brought up in the trade talks. Cristian Pache and Drew Waters are studs waiting to be called up and prove themselves. If any of those four were in the conversation, I agree with management. You just can’t make that move especially during covid season.
For the first time in a while, I am very excited for management’s future hope with this Braves Squad. In the next 2-3 years I think the Braves are hoping for an outfield all under the age of 25 (Ronald Acuna Jr., Christian Pache, and Drew Waters), an infield under the age of 28 outside of Freddie Freeman (Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, and Austin Riley), and a 3 headed monster at the top of the rotation under the age of 28 (Mike Soroka, Max Fried, and Ian Anderson).
While you are here you might as well check out Ian Anderson’s first major league strikeout. Just listen to the sound of the catcher’s glove, music to my ears.
Twitter: @jpfoster64
