Trade target that Braves “long liked” dealt ahead of deadline in a major serious Blow…

Another prospective Braves trade target is off the board as we approach the trade deadline in just one more hour. The deadline of tomorrow at 6 PM is in less than a day, and Alex Anthopoulos is still waiting for a deal.

While time is running out, other teams are adding players, including Lane Thomas, which made sense for the Braves. Atlanta allegedly has “long liked” the outfielder, who was just moved from Washington to Cleveland.

The Braves are ready to acquire an outfield bat (they have always admired Washington’s Lane Thomas) in the hopes of winning the pennant again in 2021 despite a string of injuries. Recently, Jeff Passan wrote. Though his stat line isn’t the most attractive, veteran Thomas is a left-handed pitcher who would have been an excellent platoon partner for Eddie Rosario or Jarred Kelenic.

Good news for the Braves: Reynaldo Lopez is anticipated to return sooner rather than later, and Max Fried is expected to escape significant injury. This will free up Alex Anthoplous to concentrate on strengthening the offense. Even with All-Stars, the outfield and middle infield still need bodies. The Braves’ current roster is not good enough; even league-average players would be an upgrade.

Braves get best possible news on Reynaldo Lopez

This weekend’s Braves games, which resulted in two much-needed and convincing wins over the Mets, were largely overshadowed by the fact that Reynaldo Lopez left Sunday’s game after just three innings with forearm tightness. He headed back to Atlanta for an MRI, and today, Braves fans anxiously awaited the results.

Thankfully, Brian Snitker broke the good news prior to tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Reynaldo Lopez has not yet been placed on the injured list, the MRI results were unambiguous, and Snitker even hinted that he would be ready to start his next game without any problems.

This is a welcome change of pace given how the Braves’ injury situation has played out this season. The Braves pitching staff has carried the team through the first four months of play even with Spencer Strider out for the season.

The Braves will need to rely on this group of arms throughout the postseason if they are to have any chance of making a deep playoff run. They may be the best bunch of arms in baseball from top to bottom.

A big part of the staff’s success has been Reynaldo Lopez. His transition from the bullpen to the rotation has gone better than anybody could have imagined. He’s fresh off his first appearance in the All-Star Game and leads all starting pitchers with a 2.06 ERA. Losing Lopez would have been detrimental to the Braves chances. Now, Alex Anthopoulos can focus wholly on fixing the Braves offense as the trade deadline approaches tomorrow evening