Atlanta Braves: Top 10 Trade Deadline Deals Since 1991

Who are the best Atlanta Braves MLB Trade Deadline acquisitions over the past 27 years?

As the month of July comes to a close and another MLB trade deadline approaches, the Atlanta Braves rumor mills have been nothing short of spectacular to follow.

With every year that passes, it seems as if interest in the MLB trade deadline sets the bar a little bit higher than it was the year before.  This is partially due to the increase in fan access. With the obsession in prospect rankings and controllable contracts reaching a fever pitch, there is no shortage of message board GMs willing and able to build the perfect organization…in their own minds of course.

With the exception of the shuttle between AAA Gwinnett and Sun Trust Park that seems to mirror the bus from Speed moreso than your typical transaction wire, news from the Atlanta Braves front office has been relatively quiet as we approach July 31st.

This isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary for an organization that typically prides itself on building from within.  It’s easy for Braves fans to recall the epic blockbuster deal in the summer of 1993, or the now-disastrous move that brought in Mark Teixeira.  In general, however, the Braves have remained quiet on the trade front, with transactions primarily being used to fill small holes and to add supplementary pieces.

As I prefer to keep things positive around these parts, I’ll relieve you with the burden of revisiting the deals that brought in Mark Teixeira and Hector Olivera.  Instead, let’s take a look at (what I perceive to be) the top 10 trade deadline deals since the start of the Braves dynasty under John Schuerholz began in 1991.

7. Atlanta Braves send Trent Hubbard, Fernando Lunar, and Luis Rivera to Baltimore for Gabe Molina and BJ Surhoff (2000)

In the year 2000…

The Atlanta Braves made a splash prior to 2000 by acquiring speedy second baseman Quilvio Veras and power hitting outfielder Reggie Sanders.  Veras played very well before being sidelined with an injury, but Sanders…was a total bust.

In an attempt to upgrade LF for the stretch run, the Braves sent 3 fringe players to Baltimore for BJ Surhoff.  While he did not produce eye-popping numbers by any means, he was a steady presence in the lineup and finished the season with an OPS of .766 in 44 games with Atlanta.  He also played respectably in 2001 before the Braves made the big move and got Gary Sheffield prior to 2002.

While getting something for seemingly nothing, this was a perfect illustration of the Braves mentality when it came to deadline deals in the 1990s and early 2000s.

6. Atlanta Braves trade Bruce Chen and Jimmy Osting to Philadelphia for Andy Ashby (2000)

The Atlanta Braves run in the 1990s was always led by a rotation of 3 or 4 stud starting pitchers.  With John Smoltz out for the year with an injury in 2000, the Braves solidified the back end of the rotation by trading prized prospect Bruce Chen to the Phillies for veteran hurler Andy Ashby.  If you recall, the Braves faced Ashby when he pitched for the Padres in the 1998 NLCS, and he clearly made an impression on the Braves front office.  He proved to be a solid acquisition for Atlanta in 2000 as they completed a busy July in the trade market.  With 15 starts as a Brave, Ashby went 8-6 with a respectable ERA of 4.13.  He also pitched out of the bullpen in the playoffs and gave up just 1 earned run in 3.2 innings pitched.

5. Atlanta Braves send Jaye Chapman and Arodys Vizcaino to Chicago for Reed Johnson and Paul Maholm (2012)

In terms of name recognition, this trade flies under the radar in most discussions regarding past Braves moves.  But with the Atlanta Braves desperately needing some help in the starting rotation as they made the push to the post-season, the addition of veteran lefty Paul Maholm was a great fit.

Arodys Vizcaino was the clear prize in the deal from the Cubs perspective, but the deal is ranked a bit higher than it was originally due to the Braves reacquiring Vizcaino several years later.

In 11 starts for Atlanta, Maholm went 4-5 with a 3.54 ERA helping the Braves advance to the Wild-Card game.  He also pitched all of 2013 with the Braves and fared…ok.

Reed Johnson served his purpose as well, providing outfield depth behind Prado, Bourn, and Heyward.

4. Atlanta Braves ship Casey Kotchman to Boston for Adam LaRoche (2009)

In an attempt to salvage something from the disastrous moves that brought Mark Teixeira to Atlanta and saw him depart for light-hitting Casey Kotchman, the Atlanta Braves managed to convince the Boston Red Sox to part with former Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche.

Reclaiming his spot in the middle of the Braves order, LaRoche had a monster second half by slugging 12 HR and driving in 40 runs with an OPS of .957.   Consequently, the Braves were finally able to move on from that franchise-altering move that was made just 2 years prior.

3. Atlanta Braves trade Max Ramirez to Cleveland for Bob Wickman (2006)

All jokes aside, Bob Wickman was a huge pickup for an Atlanta Braves squad that lacked a shutdown closer for much of 2006.  In a swap with Cleveland for catching prospect Max Ramirez, the Braves brought in a legitimate closer in hopes that they could go on a run and sneak into the playoffs as a wild card team.

While Wickman posted a dominating stat line including 18 saves, 1.04 ERA, and 1.00 WHIP in 28 games that season in Atlanta, the Braves fell well short of their team goals.

2. Atlanta Braves send Roman Colon and Zach Miner to Detroit for Kyle Farnsworth (2005)

Similar to the move in 2006 to bring in Wickman, the 2005 iteration of the Atlanta Braves were in dire need of a shutdown presence in the bullpen.  In exchange for a couple of pitching prospects, the Detroit Tigers sent the giant-of-a-human Kyle Farnsworth to Atlanta to serve as the teams closer.

While 2005 was the year of the Baby Braves, Farnsworth took over for beleaguered closer Chris Reitsma and helped lead the Braves to the division crown for the last time in their 14 year run.

In 26 appearances, Farnsworth saved 10 games with an ERA of 1.98 but will probably be most remembered for giving up the big home run against Houston in game 4 of the NLDS.  Instead of forcing a game 5, Atlanta was ultimately eliminated that night in an 18 inning marathon game as a direct result of Farnsworth’s outing.

1. Atlanta Braves trade Vince Moore, Donnie Elliott, and Melvin Nieves to San Diego for Fred McGriff (1993)

There can really be no debate…can there?  In what might be considered the greatest pennant race of the Atlanta Braves 14-year run, Atlanta edged out the San Francisco Giants that year by one game, with a record of 104-58.

On July 18th, 1993, the Braves were a “meager” 53-40 and were 8 games behind the Giants for first place in the NL West. Once McGriff joined the club on July 20th, the Braves went on an incredible run, going 51-18 to overtake San Francisco.  This was no coincidence, as McGriff was red hot for much of the 2nd half, batting .310, slugging 19 HRs, and driving in 55 runs in just 68 games.

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While the Braves flamed out in the playoffs that year, McGriff ultimately led them to the promised land by winning the first (and so far the only) World Championship in Atlanta’s major sports history.

In his Atlanta Braves career, McGriff would go on to hit .293/.369/.516, smacking 130 home runs. The well-traveled McGriff spent 5 years with three different clubs in his career, but he played the most games with the Atlanta Braves of any team in his major league career.

While Nieves was a top prospect at the time, he never did pan out for the Padres, playing a total of 127 games for the Padres, hitting just .207 with 17 home runs. The Padres traded Nieves to the Tigers, and he had a couple of seasons as a platoon player that were fairly solid, hitting 44 home runs with a .787 OPS, but still hitting just .238. He played his last major league game at age 26.

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While it’s fun to look back on the few big trades of the last 30 years, be wary Atlanta Braves fans.  There’s always the possibility of landing the next Fred McGriff, but it’s been a long 3 years rebuilding the organization from the ground up.  If the team can find a deal like we did for Bob Wickman or Kyle Farnsworth, then there should be no hesitation, but they cannot sacrifice the next 10 years for another Teixeira fiasco.  Now’s the time to be smart.   Next year, however, I hope to be singing a different tune.