In need of innings, Braves swing deal for Giants RHP Mahle

ATLANTA -- Tyler Mahle isn’t the top-flight starter Braves fans are hoping to land before Monday’s Trade Deadline. But the veteran will be given a chance to bring some stability to Atlanta’s rotation.

Mahle was acquired from the Giants in exchange for Minor League reliever Anthony Molina on Sunday night, less than 24 hours before the Trade Deadline at 6 p.m. ET on Monday. The 31-year-old right-hander posted a 5.13 ERA over 18 starts for San Francisco this year. But he’s pitched better over the past month, and the Braves believe an adjustment to his pitch mix could make him more effective against right-handed hitters.

“I know on the surface, you look at the ERA and say, ‘well,’ but obviously we're trying to dig a little further into some of those things,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. “We like what he’s done of late and we think there’s still some room for improvement with some other tweaks.”

While Mahle could prove to be a good addition, the primary question for Anthopoulos was whether he will still attempt to add a legit frontline starting pitcher before Monday’s Deadline.

“We’ll see when we get to 6 [p.m.] tomorrow,” Anthopoulos said. “If you'd asked me last night, were we close to a deal for any starter, I would have said no. If you asked me earlier in the day, I would have said no. If you'd have asked me in the last hour and a half, I would have said yeah. That’s how quickly it moves.”

Mahle will join the Braves on Tuesday, and he’ll be slotted into the rotation during this weekend’s series at Yankee Stadium. His arrival could lead to Grant Holmes moving to the bullpen after Tuesday’s start. He could also replace JR Ritchie, who made an emergency start Sunday. But the Braves can option Ritchie to the Minors just one more time before they would have to subject him to the waiver wire if they had to send him back down at any other point later this season.

While the Braves seemingly need a playoff-caliber starter to pair with Chris Sale, Mahle has the potential to at least provide the length the Braves haven’t received from many of their starters this year.

Sale and Bryce Elder have both completed six or more innings 13 times this year. Holmes (five), Martín Pérez (three), Spencer Strider (two), Reynaldo López (one) and Ritchie (one) have combined to do so 12 times for the Braves this year.

Mahle has completed six innings just three times this year, but he has completed 5 2/3 innings seven times and he has worked into the sixth in 10 of his 18 starts.

Mahle missed a month with a strained left hamstring he sustained in late May. He returned from the injured list on June 24 and posted a 3.06 ERA over his next six starts. The righty’s strong run ended Saturday night, when the Padres tagged him for five earned runs over 5 2/3 innings. But he did register nine strikeouts in the outing.

So, how might the Braves help Mahle? He has had trouble against right-handed hitters much of his career, but he limited them to a .658 OPS while producing a 2.18 ERA in 16 starts for Texas last year. Right-handed hitters have a .849 OPS against him this year.

Righties hit .255 with a .255 slugging percentage against his cutter (12.5% usage) last year. They have hit .269 with a .403 SLG against the same pitch (17.4% usage) this year. They hit .195 with a .295 SLG against his splitter (27.7% usage) last year. They have hit .259 with a .384 SLG against it (25.1% usage) this year.

Mahle has a 4.19 ERA over 160 career appearances (159 starts). He has previously pitched for the Reds, Twins and Rangers. He has been injury-plagued since posting a 3.75 ERA over 33 starts for Cincinnati in 2021.

Molina made three relief appearances during his brief stints with Atlanta this year. His most recent came against the Giants on June 16, when he allowed two earned runs over two innings in a 7-2 loss.