Braves Showing Early They Have Nailed Tyler Mahle Trade

Tyler Mahle was strong again for the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. He delivered five innings of one-run ball as they took the Little League Classic game in Williamsport, Pa., 4-2, against the Milwaukee Brewers.

His addition to the Braves didn't receive much praise at the deadline. However, it's becoming evident quickly that general manager Alex Anthopoulos may have done it again.

On Aug. 3, Atlanta needed a starting pitcher. They went after Texas Rangers starter Jacob DeGrom, Los Angeles Angels' Jose Soriano, and they even reportedly checked in on Logan Webb.

At the end of the day, they came away with Webb’s San Francisco teammate, Tyler Mahle.

Mahle is a 31-year-old starter with a 4.13 career ERA. With stratospheric expectations in line with wanting to land a superstar ace to pair with Chris Sale (a la Tarik Skubal), fans were disappointed in the acquisition.

But all Mahle has done in three starts since putting on an Atlanta uniform is getting outs. In 18 starts with the Giants, Tyler Mahle went 3-9 with a 5.13 ERA in 94 2/3 innings. In limited action with the Braves, Mahle has dropped his ERA to 1.52 with 23 strikeouts to just five walks. He dropped his WHIP from 1.39 in San Francisco to 1.01 and his .265 batting average against to .218 in Atlanta.

More importantly, Mahle is pitching deeper into games for Atlanta. Prior to the trade, Mahle averaged 5 1/3 innings per start. So far, since coming over, he’s added a full inning, completing at least six innings in each of his first three starts in the new uniform.

Some starters on the Braves are typically able to give this team five innings. For Mahle, that's on the low end.

So, what has changed? Never discount the effect of a change of scenery. Things haven’t gone the way Buster Posey and manager Tony Vitello have envisioned in the Bay. For Mahle, going to a contender in Atlanta could be a breath of fresh air.

Mahle has also adjusted his pitch mix with the Braves. He has reduced the usage of his cutter while using his splitter more and focusing on pairing it with his four-seam fastball.

Outside of those adjustments on the mound, this is what Alex Anthopoulos has become known for: Making under-the-radar deals and then maximizing the return on investment. Think back to the 2021 championship season.

Anthopoulos made the bold move to bring in Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler. These moves came at that point in the season when they seemed out of the race. Many believed they would sell at the deadline. On top of that, these same additions weren’t exactly tearing up the stat sheet before the trades. Anthopoulos made the moves anyway, and everything changed.

In Chicago, Joc Pederson had a .230 average with a -0.3 WAR. In Atlanta, he batted .249 with a 0.3 WAR. Rosario went from batting .254 in Cleveland to batting .271 in an Atlanta uniform, while raising his slugging from .389 to .573. It was most notably the same story with Soler. He had a .192 average before the trade, and it rose to .269 after the deadline. And all three had huge impacts on the Postseason run. Rosario won the NLCS MVP, and Soler won the World Series MVP.

This is what Anthopoulos does, and Mahle is his latest edition. When October comes calling, Tyler Mahle could be the innings eater that Atlanta is looking for, and Alex Anthopoulos will have worked his magic again.

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