Grading the work of Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta Braves front office
By Bill Felber
Acquired or traded
If you’re a major league team executive and the phone rings, Alex Anthopoulos is the guy you want to hang up on.
He obtained nine players from other teams by trade, purchase or waiver claim since the end of 2022. Five of those nine have produced positive value for the Braves against just two negatives (two were neutral).
The grand prize was the three-way mid-December deal that also involved the Oakland A’s and Milwaukee Brewers. Anthopoulos talked his way into Oakland catcher Sean Murphy through that deal at a cost of catcher Willson Contreras, a couple minor prospects and fringe major league talent.
Murphy has become the NL starting All-Star catcher, with a .294 average, 14 home runs and positive defensive stats. His 2.0 WAA is second among Braves position players only to Ronald Acuña Jr., who may be the MVP.
The other moves have been more subtle. Koby Allard came to the Braves in a winter deal with the Rangers for Jake Odorizzi that was supposed to be big for both sides. It’s basically been a non-entity to date, although that may be about to change. In Texas, Odorizzi has been sidelined with arm problems and is out for the year. Allard only returned from his own injury problems this past week, but he looked brilliant in his first start.
Anthopoulos generally only trades away nobodies, although the inclusion of Contreras (to Milwaukee) in the Murphy deal was an exception.