The Atlanta Braves continue to be a danger to make the postseason and cause damage in October.
However, they haven’t been as strong as they were in 2023 and previous years.
The Braves are trying to hold on to the third and final National League Wild Card slot, with the New York Mets closing in. Many of their trades have also proven unsuccessful.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report speculated that they may have traded for the wrong players in an attempt to recapture their 2021 magic, and that adding another former star would have been more useful.
“The entire ‘putting the 2021 band back together’ endeavor in Atlanta has been a complete failure. Adam Duvall is hitting.155 since the All-Star break. They released Eddie Rosario after 24 games with a.154 hitting average. And, excluding the series in Colorado, where he went 7-for-13 with four home runs, Jorge Soler is 10-for-76 (.132) with one home run since rejoining the Braves at the trade deadline,” Miller said. “Joc Pederson was never on the trade block, thriving for a postseason-bound Diamondbacks squad, but that’s the late addition to the 2021 roster that would’ve actually helped this year’s team.”
Pederson, 32, is having a solid season in Arizona, hitting.280 with 21 home runs, 60 RBI, six stolen bases, and a.930 OPS. He signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks this offseason, but if the Braves were serious about reuniting the band in 2021, they should have signed him sooner.
Now is too late to execute such a transfer, since Pederson is thriving with Arizona, which is expected to make the playoffs. Meanwhile, Atlanta is trying to keep its status as one of the three National League Wild Card teams.
We’ll see if they can turn things around and get hot in September.