Anthopoulos lays out Braves' Trade Deadline approach with key IL returns on horizon

Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has been through enough Trade Deadlines to know not to build your whole plan around players returning from the injured list.

Atlanta has potential reinforcements coming, both for its lineup (Ronald Acuña Jr.) and its rotation (Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver). But Anthopoulos understands that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to injuries.

So, as he explained in an appearance Sunday on MLB Network Radio, he’s been working the phones for upgrades. While Anthopoulos mentioned the team’s pitching needs in particular, he made it clear adding a bat is a possibility, too. It’s going to depend on the market.

“As much as we all like to say, ‘I need to get this, I need to get that,’ sometimes you just have to take what might be available to you,” Anthopoulos said. “I think it’s been pretty obvious, if there’s a playoff-caliber starter out there, we would jump at that. If there’s a reliever [out there], we would jump at that.”

Anthopoulos acknowledged that the seller’s market has been slow to take shape with so many clubs still within shouting distance of a playoff spot.

Further complicating matters has been the resurgence of both the Tigers and Red Sox, two teams that looked like surefire sellers not long ago. Detroit and Boston both have intriguing arms to move -- Detroit with two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, and Boston with Sonny Gray and Aroldis Chapman -- but it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that either team will be selling.

“I think timing and being able to close on a deal, it’s challenging,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s challenging in the offseason, but at least the stats stay permanent. They don’t move. As the train is on the move and performances are changing, things move. So I think timing is very important, in my experiences at least. We’re just going to stay engaged with the other 29 clubs.”

In the meantime, the Braves will continue to hope for the best with their injured stars. Strider’s status is still up in the air, but Acuña (left hamstring strain) could be back before the end of the Braves’ current homestand, and Schwellenbach and Smith-Shawver are both making progress.

According to Anthopoulos, Schwellenbach has begun throwing bullpen sessions down in Florida as he eyes a return from February surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. These are essentially Schwellenbach’s Spring Training preparations, so it may still take some time for him to make it back to Atlanta.

Smith-Shawver is much closer to his return from the UCL repair surgery he had in June 2025. He’s made four rehab starts, the latest coming Saturday when he threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for Triple-A Gwinnett, getting his pitch count up to 72.

With the Phillies hot on their heels in the National League East after once trailing by as many as 10 1/2 games, the Braves’ rotation could use some help, be it from the IL or a timely trade. While Atlanta’s starters entered Sunday with the ninth-best ERA (3.96) in MLB, the club’s rotation has posted a 5.53 ERA in 31 games dating back to June 9.