As the trade deadline expired yesterday, it appeared that the Atlanta Braves would stand pat and not make any trades to try to improve their lineup, but right after the 4 PM eastern time deadline, the Braves made a trade with the Chicago Cubs.
Atlanta Braves get:
James Russell: 44 G, 0-2, 3.51 ERA, 33.1 IP
Emilio Bonifacio: 69 G, .279 AVG, 14 SB
Chicago Cubs get:
Victor Caratini: 87 G, .279 AVG, 5 HR, 42 RBI (Minor league class A)
The Braves had little to no financial flexibility, so they could not get a big-name player like David Price or Jon Lester, but they still had some holes to fill in their roster, and they did. Surprisingly, the Braves have had some bullpen struggles throughout the whole season, especially with their left-handed relievers. Luis Avilan recently got demoted to AAA, Alex Wood is now a starter, and Jonny Venters probably will not pitch at all this year after last year’s Tommy John surgery.
The Braves were very thin from the left side in the pen, so general manager Frank Wren acquired James Russell from the Cubs. Russell brings some veteran experience to the mix, and he is not the typical lefty specialist; he actually has better numbers against right-handed hitters (.103 BAA) than he does left-handed hitters (.295). Russell will improve the Braves bullpen, and manager Fredi Gonzalez could used him late in the game to hand the ball to closer Craig Kimbrel.
Emilio Bonifacio is a very versatile player who can play all around the diamond. He brings plenty of speed to the table, and he can pinch hit — a position in which the Braves have faltered. For now, it appears that Bonifacio will not start, but he can give Tommy La Stella, Chris Johnson, or Jason Heyward a day off when needed. An interesting thing to keep an eye on is if Bonifacio will hit leadoff when he plays. B.J. Upton has been the leadoff hitter in recent days for Atlanta, but the Braves did not have him slated there at the beginning of the season.
The Chicago Cubs acquired a very good catching prospect, Victor Caratini. The Cubs must have seen something good in this 20-year-old prospect for them to give up both Bonifacio and Russell. Caratini was drafted in the second round in 2013. The Braves currently have Evan Gattis as their starting catcher and have highly-touted rookie Christian Bethancourt coming up after Gattis, thus making Caratini expendable, knowing that he would probably not have a place to play any time soon.
Overall, both teams get what they wanted. The Braves get two big pieces that will help them throughout their chase for the postseason, and the Cubs add another solid prospect to their already loaded farm system in hopes of creating a wonderful team in the future.
Photo Credit: Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images, Justin K. Aller/Getty Images, Leslie Lambert MILB