- 17 hours ago
Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos joined Steak Shapiro and Drew Butler on The Steakhouse to address fan frustration following the MLB trade deadline. AA breaks down why Atlanta prioritized roster depth over giving up top prospects for high-cost starters like Tarik Skubal, and how new additions Tyler Mahle, Lane Thomas, and Brent Suter fit into the club's October run.
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00:00But this guy's been very busy.
00:02Maybe, hopefully, had a decent night's sleep.
00:04Probably not.
00:05But trade deadline ends.
00:07Alex Anthopoulos, general manager of the Braves,
00:08joins us on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game.
00:11Alex, thanks for being with us.
00:12Glad to be on, guys.
00:13The conventional emotions were in the Sports Talk Radio business
00:17are huge frustration by Braves fans.
00:19We did not do enough.
00:21We did not get a front-line starter.
00:23What do you say to the folks that say this was an opportunity
00:26that has gone by with a team that is firmly in position
00:30to make a postseason run?
00:31Yeah, look, I understand.
00:32And, you know, I totally get it.
00:35That's why I always do media after transactions, deadlines,
00:40all that kind of stuff, right?
00:41It's sending you to the fan base and everybody else to go on radio,
00:45do your Zooms, do your TVs, all that kind of stuff.
00:47So, look, I understand, you know,
00:50we were looking to make the team better, right?
00:53And that could have been in the form of starting pitcher, reliever.
00:56Bat, you know, we added.
00:58We did as starter.
01:00We did at a reliever.
01:00We did at a bat.
01:02I understand if people wanted, you know,
01:05multiple all-stars and things like that, we would too, you know.
01:08And, you know, at the end of the day,
01:11you have to make a decision on if you think these trades make sense.
01:15So, you know, the trickiest part in GM chairs,
01:18and I bet you it's every sport,
01:20I don't know what it's like to be in the other sports,
01:21is you're trying to manage short-term and long-term, right?
01:23You want to win.
01:24And, you know, the go all-in,
01:27trade everybody away for this one year,
01:31and then let the next five years be awful.
01:33I'm not saying that would be the case,
01:34but I don't subscribe to that, you know.
01:36So I think it's one of those things that we made the team better.
01:38We've got a very good club.
01:41But we were going to do what we felt was right.
01:43And if that, look, unfortunately, I get it.
01:46You know, it's people want more and all that.
01:48And we're going to find out, right?
01:50We're going to find out how things go.
01:52We're going to play games starting tonight.
01:54And, you know, and I respect it and I understand it,
01:57but in my chair, I've got to do what I think is right for the club.
01:59So let me just say this,
02:00because we've interviewed you so many times,
02:02and you're the one that teaches us about their prospects.
02:07That's what they are, their prospects.
02:08So when you say, oh, we won't be good for five years,
02:10I don't really buy it,
02:11because you're already good at the front line.
02:13And it's not that folks,
02:14it's not that you didn't get a starter,
02:16but when you see the Kevin Gossmans and the Casey Mize,
02:19even Robbie Ray, some of these other guys,
02:21you see, you know, there are some hauls that teams gave up.
02:26Padres, big prospect.
02:27Red Sox, giving up a ton of guys, everything else.
02:29But they're just prospects.
02:31And the notion is, after Chris Sale,
02:34you needed to get one of the guys that these other teams went out and got.
02:38And what you really did was kind of go bargain shopping for a fourth starter,
02:42as opposed to putting all your, not all your chips in,
02:45more chips in to go get a more bonafide talent.
02:50Right.
02:50Totally fair.
02:51That's right.
02:51I understand that side of the argument.
02:53So when we say they're just prospects,
02:56every Hall of Famer, every All-Star,
02:59every Major League player at one point in time was a, quote, prospect.
03:04Right?
03:04So there's a bunch that don't pan out.
03:07Right?
03:07But if you look at, like you said, we have frontline guys.
03:09Michael Harris at one point was a prospect.
03:12Matt Olsen at one point in time was a prospect.
03:15Drake Baldwin was a prospect.
03:16The tricky part is who do you keep, who do you send.
03:18Right?
03:19And obviously we've made trades in the past and done those things.
03:23So, look, certain players that you think are difference-making guys,
03:27you're basically, hey, they're all available.
03:29Right?
03:30And it's a sliding scale.
03:31The guys that you think are maybe good, not great,
03:34maybe a guy or two is not available, but everyone else is in play.
03:37You know?
03:38So, that's the tricky part of this thing.
03:43And I get it.
03:44I get someone would say, hey, you know what?
03:47And that's, look, my point about the down-the-road piece is just the balance of,
03:53this is my ninth year in Atlanta.
03:55And last year, obviously, we didn't make the postseason for the first time.
03:59But we're in a position now.
04:01We're not done.
04:01We've got two months left, so I'm not having lost sight of that.
04:03But eight of nine years, you know, to where you would feel like, hey,
04:07we had a chance to win a World Series.
04:10We've got a playoff team, chance to make props, all that kind of stuff.
04:13The shelf life of a player at MLB is six, right?
04:15You have six years of control.
04:17And then you've seen a lot of clubs that have been competitive for two, three,
04:22four years, and then they have to retool, rebuild, tear it down, and start over again.
04:27You know, fires, we've seen it, right?
04:28We've seen teams in our division.
04:30We've seen, look at some of the World Series winners over the last ten years.
04:33That's just the reality of sports.
04:34We're trying to thread the needle with, hey, we're trying to win every single year,
04:39but we're also trying to make sure we keep this thing going where, hey,
04:42it's not that we had a four- or five-year run, and then we tore it down.
04:46And, look, the Braves went through it before I got here, right?
04:48They did a great job.
04:49They did a great rebuild that wasn't in the city.
04:51I don't know how hard that was to live through.
04:54But even if you look at after the 14 divisions in a row,
04:58there were good teams and playoff teams.
05:00Then they had to, unfortunately, go through the rebuild, which was the right move,
05:03and we've been able to have a nice run of success here.
05:05And I understand.
05:06We want to win now.
05:07I want to win a World Series each year.
05:10You can't guarantee it, right, no matter how good your roster is and so on.
05:13We've all seen it when you get to the playoffs.
05:16Everyone will tell you, the team you thought was the best team didn't necessarily win
05:18and who got hot.
05:19So you're trying to put yourself in a position each year to have a chance to win in a World
05:23Series
05:23and balance it out based on the guys that are out there.
05:26Alex Adopoulos, we're the general manager of the Braves on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game.
05:31Yeah, Alex, now that the deadline has come and gone, what's the next priority?
05:34Is it getting healthy arms back?
05:36Is it developing some of these younger players that you've acquired?
05:38Or is it something else as we look towards October?
05:41Yeah, I mean, I talked to Walt last night for a while.
05:44I think, you know, I was updating him over the last few days and so on.
05:50Yesterday morning and maybe a little bit early afternoon was probably the last time I got
05:54to talk to him at length.
05:55And then it just gets busy.
05:56You start to run out of time.
05:58And I don't really have time to run through stuff.
06:00And a lot of times when I'm calling him, it's just, hey, do you think you would play
06:02this guy?
06:03Do you think you would use this guy?
06:04You know, because I can look at something on paper and say, I think we're stronger.
06:08But if he says, look, this is how we'd use this position player.
06:12I wouldn't put him ahead of this, that, and so on.
06:14I'm not going to go get guys he doesn't believe in or is not going to put in the lineup
06:17and
06:17so on.
06:17So there's a collaboration there.
06:20But I talked to him last night after it was done.
06:22I think the priority right now, and this, I want to speak for Walt, it's just going to
06:26be, how do you fit all these guys in?
06:27I think we're stronger.
06:28We added three players and we'll ultimately see how everyone performs and so on.
06:33We have guys coming back from the IL.
06:35I think we're really deep right now.
06:37I think is the key thing.
06:39We're a deep team.
06:41And what's going to be tricky from Walt's standpoint is just keeping everybody engaged, keeping
06:45everybody involved, playing time, right, left, starters, all that kind of stuff.
06:50How are you going to get everybody in there and bounce it out?
06:52So I just wanted to walk through a little bit where his head was at after what we did
06:57and who he added and some of the things we have coming down the pipe.
07:00So development stuff, you're always doing that, right?
07:03You're always looking to get guys better.
07:04Coming down the pike, is it some of, as we look at a second and third starter, A.J.
07:10Smith-Sharver, obviously J.R.
07:12Ritchie, Martin Perez, who is going to be, who could emerge?
07:18Obviously, Bryce Held is already there.
07:20But it has to be one of these arms that we feel better about our first three in the rotation
07:26because we didn't go and get somebody at the deadline.
07:28Yeah, look, I think it all depends on the opponents.
07:31One, you've got to get to the postseason so you can't lose sight of that.
07:34Two months is a long time.
07:35There's a lot of games left.
07:37We've been that team that was under .500 in August and all of a sudden came back over
07:41the last two months of the year and won the division.
07:43So I just don't think we can get ahead of ourselves.
07:46I think if you're fortunate enough to get there, which is certainly the hope and the goal
07:49and the expectation, you're looking at who's your opponent.
07:52Are you better suited to go right, left?
07:54You see people using openers.
07:55You see people doing bullpen games.
07:58Certain starters may line up, you know, it's better to face a righty with a sinker ball
08:03or a left-hander with a curveball.
08:05I mean, those are all things you're weighing with your opponent.
08:08Look, the one thing we've seen in the postseason is people are pretty aggressive going to their
08:11bullpen and people are pretty aggressive overall.
08:14Starters don't go as deep unless they're the really front-line Cy Young type guys.
08:18So those are all things that you worry about when you get there and who the opponent is.
08:23All right, let me ask you about Scooble and the Dodgers overall, so many things around that.
08:27Are you surprised, first of all, and I want to get to the money, that he may get paid later.
08:32Are you surprised the Dodgers didn't have to give up more to get a player of his level?
08:37Yeah, so that happens all the time, right?
08:40Trades get made, you know, or even in the draft.
08:43I can't believe so-and-so went this high in the draft, or I can't believe this is what they
08:46gave up.
08:47Beauty's in the eye of the beholder, right?
08:49We see guys taken in the third round of the draft that should have gone in the first,
08:52and guys in the first that should have gone in the third.
08:54So, like you said, they're prospects, and we don't know how they're going to pay out.
08:58We should have taken Drake Baldwin a lot higher than we did in the third round.
09:02I mean, I'm glad we have him, but we didn't evaluate him correctly.
09:05But when you look at it, did you say the Dodgers maintained all their top prospects, top five or six,
09:13and got the best pitcher in baseball?
09:15And why couldn't we, and Brace, I'm going to say, why couldn't we have offered a similar package?
09:19And how much lessened is it in that the notion of re-signing him, obviously with the number one agent
09:27in the game,
09:27is going to be difficult, and the Dodgers have the money to do it.
09:30So, therefore, a lot of teams weren't going to mortgage as much.
09:34Yeah, so I'd say this, on school bowl, I would guess every contending team checked in,
09:40and every contending team asked for a price.
09:42That doesn't mean you necessarily get a price, right?
09:45And I'm trying to be respectful to trade talks and teams,
09:48but just because you asked for a price means you might not get a price.
09:51Sometimes teams really value a certain specific player on a team, meaning a certain specific prospect,
09:58or they have a need that somebody wants, they really wanted an outfielder,
10:02they really wanted a third baseman, a catcher, a starter, whatever it might be from a prospect,
10:07or they fall in love with one guy or two guys that are the centerpiece of the deal.
10:10We call them an anchor to a deal, right?
10:12They're the lead piece.
10:13And sometimes they lock in, and that's the guy they have to have.
10:17And I don't want to speak for Detroit.
10:19My understanding is, look, the Dodgers do a great job.
10:22Their farm system's great.
10:23I think Detroit got a lot of good players.
10:26Detroit clearly valued those guys, rightfully so.
10:30I think that was who they were locked in on.
10:32I think that was who they felt lined up best with them.
10:37I don't think it was a matter of they took, I think they got what they felt was their best
10:42deal.
10:43And I would say us, and I'm sure many other teams, were in there asking for a price.
10:49And at the end of the day, I think L.A. was the team that matched up with them the
10:53best,
10:53and that was who they were going to do a deal with, which is fine.
10:56The team has a right to pick who they want to pick.
10:59Alex, after the trade deadline, how would you rate the team's championship readiness right now versus a week ago?
11:09God, that's tough to say.
11:11Look, I felt like we had a really good team.
11:13We do have a really, really good team, so, you know, I haven't looked at it that way.
11:19Just because once you get in, anything can happen, right?
11:22So, do you think you have a team that's capable of winning a World Series?
11:24Yes.
11:25You know, guys need to be healthy.
11:27Guys need to play well, all that kind of stuff.
11:29You know, we've been in the postseason a lot of times here.
11:32Sometimes it goes well.
11:33Sometimes it does not.
11:35But you need things to break right and things to go well.
11:38So, you know, guys aren't always going to have a good start.
11:42Guys always aren't going to have a good series, you know.
11:44So, but I would say the roster, I think, is really deep.
11:48And I think that's really the most important thing for us, that we've got a really good team.
11:51Can you real quick, because we've got about a minute left.
11:53I know you're a busy guy and you've been doing a lot of media.
11:57Take us through that group.
11:58Is it Tyler Malley?
12:00I want to get the pronunciation right.
12:01Yeah.
12:01Obviously, Lane Thomas, Brent Suter, and Bailey Falter.
12:06I know you do a deal with the Red Sox and Eli White leaves for Tyler Ubers.
12:09I'm not sure where his role is going to be.
12:10Give us that group.
12:12And then, obviously, Sean Murphy and Hassan Kim coming back.
12:15That's the depth you're talking about.
12:16Give us a couple of tidbits on the guys we're getting and who might surprise you and who you're excited
12:20about.
12:21Yeah.
12:21So, I'd say just for the guys we've got, the guys that are going to be in Atlanta, you'll see
12:24them as of today, are obviously, you know,
12:27we have the three guys that we're adding.
12:29Suter to the bullpen, real quick.
12:31A guy that's great in the clubhouse.
12:34Throws strikes.
12:35Can throw every day out of the bullpen.
12:37And will really be a nice fit for us.
12:40Left-handed, obviously, which certainly helps.
12:43And, you know, someone that just can really handle a lot of bulk innings, be available to throw each day.
12:48He's had a nice year.
12:49And we need that piece.
12:50We have a lot of short-inning relievers.
12:52We've got to cycle through guys.
12:54So, he's really, really important for us as well.
12:57Molly's someone that, you know, we talked about as a free agent a few years ago.
13:00He had a great year last year for the Rangers.
13:04And he got off to a slow start for the Giants.
13:07Since he's been back from the IL at the end of June, his ERA's in the high threes.
13:13His velocity's up quite a bit from what it was at the start of the year.
13:16We think there's some tweaks, some adjustments he can make to get better that we're going to sit down with
13:22him today to show him that.
13:23Lane Thomas, right-handed bat.
13:25Been an everyday player for the Royals playing center field.
13:28Been in our division with the Washington Nationals.
13:31Historically, has hit left-handers really well.
13:34And, you know, he's someone that can play every day if needed.
13:38But right now, the role will be to face the left-handers when Walt thinks, you know, that's the right
13:42time.
13:43Whether that's off the bench, whether that's starting.
13:45And also another guy that's great in the room, great in the clubhouse as well.
13:49And then, obviously, Sean Murphy and Kim, when they did their first rehab, they just didn't look right.
13:54But you know what?
13:55Their rehab was up.
13:57They were ready to go.
13:58And not timing-wise, they didn't have spring trainings and so on.
14:01They look so much better right now.
14:02Their swings are better.
14:03Their contact, they're hitting the ball so much harder.
14:05These are accomplished guys.
14:07So we expect them to be a lot better.
14:09And our club is a lot deeper.
14:11And, look, the beauty of all this stuff is we're going to find out starting tonight.
14:14Listen, stranger things have happened.
14:16Hassan Kim gets on a run all of a sudden.
14:18You look up in October and you go, oh, my God, Hassan Kim's our hero.
14:21I mean, listen, it happened with some of those guys when we won it all that nobody was doing backflips
14:29at the trade deadline, Alex.
14:30I've got to be honest with what you did years ago.
14:32And you saw what all three of those guys, and more than that, did.
14:35Yeah, look, I think what we're trying to do at this time of year is who's hot, who's playing the
14:39best.
14:39But sometimes you're looking for silver linings in some of these things.
14:43So when we acquired Jorge Soler, he was having a miserable year for the Royals.
14:46His July was awesome.
14:48He was hitting the ball really well, really hard.
14:50He had made some adjustments to us when we felt like he was about to turn it around.
14:54Eddie Rosario, before he had the oblique injury, had just yet been having a miserable year.
14:58He had just started to turn it around.
15:00And then we had him in Gwinnett for a long time to get his timing right.
15:03And then he ended up playing well.
15:05So Jock was inconsistent.
15:06He had some moments for us in the DS, of course.
15:09And obviously Adam Duvall was the one guy that was having a great year start to finish.
15:12He was having a great year for the Marlins.
15:14So there was nothing that we were looking for there.
15:16So we've had this before where we're looking.
15:18You have to thin slice at times when you're trying to make some deals and so on.
15:22And you're not just going to take a shot.
15:24You're looking for a reason where you think there's going to be some performance.
15:27And, you know, we like all these guys.
15:29We're excited about all these guys.
15:30And some of the internal guys as well we think are going to get a lot better.
15:33Before we go, you know, folks, you know, listen, it's the job you're in.
15:38It's what you're paid for.
15:39Like they say in Mad Men, that's what the money is for.
15:41People are angry.
15:43Braves didn't do enough.
15:44Alex was my guy.
15:45Now I'm worried about him.
15:47I know you can't pay a lot of attention to that.
15:49But your son normally is the one, the voice.
15:52If your son's unhappy with you, if he doesn't think you did enough, you know.
15:57That's a great one.
15:58Yeah.
15:58How does he feel?
15:59Yeah, he's very curious.
16:00He was dying to know what was going on, who we're talking about, this and that.
16:04Did you get a side eye when you got home last night from him?
16:07So, yeah, he's actually in Toronto right now.
16:11And my family, they went to see my wife's side of the family because they knew it's really busy for
16:15trade deadline.
16:15And I'm going to be doing some late nights and long days.
16:18So they were not in Atlanta.
16:19So I was getting texts and calls at times.
16:22And then it got busy.
16:22I couldn't connect with him.
16:23But he's got strong opinions, no doubt about it.
16:26He also knows that, you know, I'm able to fill him in on some of the other things that I
16:31can't say live on air or anything.
16:33So he balances some of those things out.
16:36But I'd say he's a fan, too.
16:38And he wants the big fish.
16:40He wants to add guys and all that.
16:42But I'd say at the same time, he also, he likes the team.
16:45So we'll see what happens.
16:47Yeah.
16:47Hey, Alex, we appreciate your honesty.
16:49It's all part of the gig.
16:50And let's have a fun two months again in October and have some fun even more.
16:54All right, guys.
16:55Really glad to be on.
16:56Appreciate it.
16:56Thank you, Alex.
16:57General Mayor of the Braves, Alex Anthopoulos.
17:00Ken Rosenthal reporting yesterday that Jacob deGrom used his no trade clause to block a trade to the Atlanta Braves.
17:07I mean, obviously, we could have asked Alex about that.
17:09However, I heard him say last night, I'm not going to talk about things that didn't happen.
17:13He wasn't even going to waste his breath.
17:14I was just going to say thanks for at least letting us know why.
17:16We didn't ask it.
17:17Yes.
17:18And that was his answer.
17:18Hey, listen.
17:19The message from him is depth.
17:21Incredible depth.
17:23At Gwinnett and at the major league level, that's not going to suffice Mike Bell in the afternoon, guys.
17:29And I get it.
17:30Yeah, of course.
17:30I get it.
17:30And he gets it.
17:32And now we'll see what happens.
17:33We will see what happens, right?
17:35We'll see if the Padres go and get front line guys.
17:37It really makes a difference.
17:38We'll see if that happens for the Cubs.
17:40We'll see if that happens for the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays.
17:43We'll see.
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