Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos is well-regarded for his aggression on the trade market. Here are three examples where that aggression paid off — and one where it backfired.
The Atlanta Braves hired Alex Anthopoulos, a Canadian with six years of GM experience with the Toronto Blue Jays, in 2017. He went on the shape the Braves' 2021 championship roster with several splashy moves, both in free agency and especially via trade.
Say what you will about Anthopoulos' spotty record with free agents, he's one of the best — and most aggressive — traders in the sport. He's completely unafraid to swing major deals if it better positions his team to contend or retool.
The Braves' 2023 roster looks the part of a championship contender, in large part due to Anthopoulos' fearless puppeteering behind the curtain. He has landed multiple impact players via trade.
But, like every GM, there's always a blemish or two on the résumé. Let's dive into Anthopoulos' track record of success on the trade market, with one blemish in particular that stands out.
1 time Braves' Alex Anthopoulos thrived on hot stove: Vernon Wells for Mike Napoli
In 2011, the Blue Jays traded Vernon Wells and cash to the Angels for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera. This move was widely celebrated in Toronto, as Wells' massive seven-year, $126 million contract was universally considered a burden.
Anthopoulos ended up squeezing more than a simple salary dump out of Wells' cumbersome contract. He landed Mike Napoli behind the plate and another solid outfielder in Juan Rivera. Napoli was swiftly rerouted to Texas (not Anthopoulos' best move) while Rivera only spent half a season in a Blue Jays uniform.
The diminished returns of what Toronto received, which was partly Anthopoulos' own doing, makes this deal feel less seismic in hindsight, but the Wells contract was a true albatross and the trade freed up Toronto's financial profile to help initiate other moves.
Wells slashed .222/.258/.409 with 36 home runs and 96 RBIs in 208 games for the Angels before moving on two years later.
1 time Braves' Alex Anthopoulos thrived on hot stove: Matt Olson trade
The Matt Olson trade was a bittersweet pill to swallow for every Braves fan. On one hand, it spelled the end of Freddie Freeman's time with the franchise. A five-time All-Star and Braves cornerstone, Freeman was the best player on a championship team. Letting him leave was inherently controversial.
That said, the fanbase quickly moved on to greener pastures with Olson. While Freeman is still the superior talent, Olson provides much of the same pop in the batter's box and a deft presence with his glove at first base. He's also younger and cheaper, which was the driving force behind Anthopoulos' ruthless, business-first decision.
Any good GM has to be willing to sacrifice reputation and sentiment to make the best move available to them. Freeman was absolutely beloved in Atlanta. He still is. He won the damn World Series that season, a crowning achievement for an entire generation's favorite player. And Anthopoulos sent him packing.
Olson has been absolutely sensational for Atlanta, slashing .239/.332/.499 with 60 home runs and 165 RBIs across 242 games and 1,060 plate appearances. He is a centerpiece of Atlanta's powerful lineup and an integral defensive presence. He may never quite capture the same citywide adoration as Freeman, but he's very much in position to deliver a championship of his own to Atlanta.
1 time Braves' Alex Anthopoulos thrived on hot stove: Sean Murphy trade
Alex Anthopoulos double-dipped into the pool of elite A's positional players to acquire Sean Murphy from Oakland one year removed from his celebrated Matt Olson trade. While the A's clearly did not, uh, improve, the Braves certainly did. Murphy has been playing MVP-level baseball for the Braves.
On top of his brilliant work behind the plate, Murphy has been another staple of the Braves' deadly offense. He's slashing .289/.385/.540 at the plate with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs (on track for career highs in every category). He's slipping out of the MVP race because of his own teammate's brilliance, but even Ronald Acuña can't overshadow the pronounced impact of Murphy's arrival.
The Braves gave up a lot to get Murphy: All-Star catcher William Contreras and Kyle Muller, a top-ranked pitching prospect. It's impossible to grade deals with any real certainty this early, but Contreras' numbers are down across the board for the Brewers while Murphy looks ready to rocket into the stratosphere with Atlanta.
Anthopoulos shaped the Braves' 2021 championship roster with a flurry of midseason trades. Now, two blockbuster moves to acquire Matt Olson and Sean Murphy in consecutive offseasons have them right back on the World Series doorstep. If Atlanta can pull off another deep run, Murphy will no doubt play a central role.
1 time Braves' Alex Anthopoulos got burnt on hot stove: R.A. Dickey trade
No general manager is perfect and Anthopoulos is certainly guilty of some notable blunders. One that stands out above the rest, however, is Toronto's decision to trade a package including Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud to the Mets for R.A. Dickey in December 2012.
At the time, it wasn't hard to understand the logic. Dickey was fresh off his Cy Young campaign with New York, a 20-6 season in which he posted a remarkable 2.73 ERA while leading the MLB in games started and innings pitched. The knuckleballer was at the top of his game.
Unfortunately for Toronto, Dickey quickly came back down the earth with the Blue Jays. He captured his only Gold Glove award in 2013, but he was otherwise unspectacular in four years with Toronto: 49-52 with a 4.05 ERA, 602 strikeouts, and 269 walks in 131 appearances.
The Mets received several years of fruitful work behind the plate from a young Travis d'Arnaud, who Anthopoulos would later bring to Atlanta in 2020. The big regret for Toronto, however, is Noah Syndergaard. There was no way to truthfully predict Syndergaard's meteoritic rise with New York, but the shaggy-haired gunslinger finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015 and made an All-Star appearance for the Mets in 2016. He ultimately spent six years on the mound for New York, posting an impressive 47-31 record with an ERA of 3.32 and 777 strikeouts.
