Atlanta Goes Shopping In Bargain Bin To Re-Shape Outfield

Leading up to the end of the MLB trade deadline on Friday, tried and true over brand new was the shopping approach taken by the Atlanta Braves. What resulted from the trading frenzy was a better bargain that finding $20 Air Jordan 1's at the local Goodwill. Or somewhere in that ballpark …

Hours before the deadline, the Braves secured Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler and Richard Rodriguez to modestly upgrade Atlanta's roster.

ESPN's baseball analyst Jeff Passan tweeted the following: "In the last 10 minutes, Atlanta has completely remade its outfield. First it got Eddie Rosario from Cleveland and now it’s acquiring Adam Duvall from Miami for Alex Jackson. These aren’t splashes. The cost isn’t high. But the Braves are getting better. How will NL East respond?"

While Rosario bats a .254 average, the outfielder may see his worst moments on defense, missing speed from his greener days. Jorge Soler may prove to be the slugger to start ahead of the new pack of Braves, with plenty left for the outfielder to prove.

The loss of Alex Jackson may be a step in the wrong direction with fixing the Braves' defense. However, the return of LF Adam Duvall — since getting non-tendered by the Braves in 2020 — may also serve as a welcome sight for fans. Duvall is batting .229 and has hit 22 homers for the season.

The Atlanta Braves threw in a trade at the last second, sending Bryse Wilson and Ricky DeVito to Pittsburgh in exchange for Pirates reliever Richard Rodriguez. Rodriguez's 2021 season has told two stories: his pitching has an ERA of 2.82 and boasts 14 saves in 37 games, but Bucs fans began to notice a decline in production from the reliever once the crackdown on adhesives shook up the MLB.

The Braves' trades had a solid start early in July after Atlanta acquired Joc Pederson from the Chicago Cubs. Still looking to make up for the loss of Robert Acuña, Jr., and uncertainty surrounding Marcell Ozuna, the Braves hope that their refurbished ball club will ideally pull itself out of floating under .500.