Moves made by Alex Anthopoulos to have the Braves in the National League Championship Series
Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos deserves a ton of credit. In all three seasons he has been in charge, the Braves have won the National League East.
And finally, after a 19-year wait, the Braves are in the National League Championship Series against the team Anthopoulos worked for before he came to Atlanta - the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Here are the players on the NLCS roster that were acquired by Anthopoulos:
Grant Dayton – One of Anthopoulos’ first moves, as plucked Dayton, whom he had watched as a member of the Dodgers’ front office, off the waiver wire from Los Angeles after Dayton had Tommy John surgery
Darren O’Day – Acquired July 31, 2018 from Baltimore but he didn’t make his Atlanta debut until September 7, 2019. He has continued his middle relief dominance with a 1.25 ERA in his 27 games as a Brave and is back in 2021
Josh Tomlin – Signed at the end of spring training in 2019 after getting released by the Brewers, Tomlin settled in perfectly as the Swiss-Army knife that pitching staffs now need. The Braves brought him back for 2020 and he did well.
Chris Martin – Acquired July 30, 2019 from Texas for prospect Kolby Allard. Martin was then re-signed when he became a free agent for two more years. He’s an important part of the Braves bullpen and does not walk anyone
Shane Greene – Acquired July 31, 2019 from Detroit for Joey Wentz and Travis Demeritte. Greene has a 3.27 ERA in 55 games over the two seasons with the Braves. Settled into a setup role very well after closing in Detroit
Mark Melancon – Acquired July 31, 2019 from San Francisco for Tristan Beck and Dan Winkler. He regained his closer status and has 22 saves and a 3.30 ERA in 46 games over the two seasons. Still the closer.
Tyler Matzek – Signed by the Braves on August 16, 2019 as a minor league free agent and pitched in Mississippi and Gwinnett. Recovered from the YIPS, Matzek went to summer camp and won a job and has been tremendous
Will Smith – Anthopoulos surprised everyone by signing Smith before any other free agent in the 2019-20 offseason to strengthen the bullpen even more. He started slow after coming back from COVID, but Smith has been great recently
Travis D’Arnaud – The Braves needed a veteran to replace Brian McCann and to bridge the gap until William Contreras and Shea Langeliers are ready. The move to get d’Arnaud was a brilliant one, as he’s been great all season
Charlie Culberson – Acquired December 16, 2017 in one of Anthopoulos’ first trades. He created salary relief by trading Matt Kemp back to the Dodgers, but Culberson was the return that stuck. Charlie Clutch is a great reserve and loved teammate
Pablo Sandoval – Signed late in 2020 and placed on playoff roster for additional bench help. He’s only played in one regular season game (last of the season) and will be an experienced playoff performer for the LCS
Adam Duvall – Acquired July 30, 2018 from the Reds. He struggled at first, then went to Triple-A and didn’t complain. Duvall had a great LDS against the Cardinals last October and then has had a really fine season in 2020
Marcell Ozuna – This may be Anthopoulos’ best move. After Josh Donaldson left, Anthopoulos turned to Ozuna, who was lingering on the free agent market. Ozuna should finish second to Freddie Freeman in the NL MVP vote. Needs to be kept.
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