GOOD NEWS: For the six years, A manege of braves has not lost a trade.

GOOD NEWS: For the six years, A manege of braves has not lost a trade.

One of the greatest in the business is the Atlanta Braves’ president of baseball operations.

And can you really hold the organisation responsible for that when you consider the lineup that Anthopoulos has assembled? With Orlando Arcia, a shortstop, set to become a free agent in 2027, and Jarred Kelenic’s 2025 arbitration-eligible offseason acquisition the only uncertain future salary of any consequence, Atlanta has long-term control and financial certainty at almost every position on the field.

President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos has been locked up by the Atlanta Braves through the 2031 season thanks to an extraordinary contract extension. (He also received a “here to stay” tweet.)

And Anthopoulos has proven his mastery in trade this offseason, acquiring multiple players with long-term control, such as reliever Ray Kerr and veteran starter Chris Sale, for the single player, infielder Vaughn Grissom, through a variety of “salary dump” deals from other teams.

However, there’s another aspect of Alex Anthopoulos that we’re not discussing, one that merits more recognition than he appears to receive: the man never loses a trade.

As far as we can tell, Atlanta hasn’t “lost” a deal under Anthopoulos since November of 2017.

11/30/17: The Atlanta Braves acquired LHP Justin Kelly from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for RHP Jim Johnson and international bonus slot money.

At the age of 34, Johnson pitched for the Angels in 2018 for his final season on a $5 million paycheck before retiring the next year. It wasn’t exactly a spectacular performance, going 5-3 with a 3.84 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 63.1 innings, and it was presumably disappointing for the compensation.

But Kelly’s experience is the only reason it can be regarded as a loss. After finishing 2018 with a 3.44 ERA in just 19 games, the prospect—a 33rd pick by the Angels in 2016 out of UC-Santa Barbara—did not advance past AA with the Braves and was released in 2019. After then, he stopped playing affiliated ball.

Here is a rundown of every deal that Alex Anthopoulos has made since that time, as provided by the transaction tracker on MLB.com. Which of these would you wish to see returned?

(Yes, it’s lengthy, but you specifically requested it.)

12/16/17: In exchange for Adrian Gonzalez, LHP Scott Kazmir, RHP Brandon McCarthy, LF Charlie Culberson, and cash, the Atlanta Braves dealt LF Matt Kemp to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

WIN: Charlie Clutch was acquired by Atlanta thanks to Brandon McCarthy’s 15 starts. Simple phone call

December 20, 2017 In exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the Houston Astros traded LF Preston Tucker to the Atlanta Braves.

WIN: Tucker batted.256/.307/.444 in his 62 games (25 starts) to begin 2018. And in my opinion, a deal for a major league player that only receives monetary considerations back is a success.

01/17/18 Atlanta Braves acquired RHP Shane Carle from Pittsburgh Pirates

01/17/18: Atlanta Braves acquired RHP Shane Carle from Pittsburgh Pirates.

WIN: I am unable to lose a trade for monetary reasons. Additionally, in 63.0 innings in 2018, Carle had a 2.86 ERA and finished 4-1.

Los Angeles Angels traded C on March 31, 2018. For 3B Ryan Schimpf, the Atlanta Braves acquired Carlos Perez.

DRAW: Tyler Flowers was placed on the injured list the day before Perez was acquired. Flowers spent eight games with the team, going 3–21, before Flowers was cleared to play again in late April. Schimpf, on the other hand, went 1-5 for the Angels, largely filling in on defence, before being cut loose and never returning to the major leagues. If you would, you could claim that this was a victory, but I’ll settle for a tie.

04/03/18 In exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the Atlanta Braves traded RHP Akeel Morris to the Los Angeles Angels.

WIN: Morris signed a minor-league contract with the Giants in the summer of 2021 after posting a 5.79 ERA in 14 innings with LA before being released. Before being released that winter, he had a 5.57 ERA in his minor league career, going 7-3.