Back on July 16 I posted a piece writing about the Braves just made the trade for Chicago Cubs outfielder Joc Peterson and how this trade might push the Braves to greatness and win the division. At that time the NL East was:
- New York Mets: 47-40
- Philadelphia Phillies: 44-44
- Atlanta Braves: 44-45
- Washington Nationals: 42-47
- Miami Marlins: 39-50
At that time I had no idea, no one did, that the Braves would end up grabbing three more trades from these teams:
- Miami Marlins OF Adam Duvall (played with Braves from 2018-2020)
- Kansas City Royals OF Jorge Soler
- Cleveland Indians Eddie Rosario

Joc Pederson/The Athletic 
Jorge Soler/Talking Chop 
Adam Duval/AP News 
Eddie Rosario/Bleacher Report
All four outfields have played a pivotal role for this team in helping the Braves win the NL East for a fourth straight year. These trades wouldn’t have happened if RF Ronald Acuna, Jr wouldn’t have torn his ACL. I hate to see any player get injured, but maybe it is a blessing in disguise, and some of these players may be back next year, if not all, plus Acuna will be back.
Since the Braves signed the players, they started putting the pieces together to compete, winning nine games in a row to boost them into first place. Up until today from their record of 44-45, the team has gone 42-27. After clinching last night, the Braves close out the regular season with three more games at Truist Park as the New York Mets, who was in first place for most of the season and has been eliminated from playoffs, come to town to play three meaningless games.
Catch you in the Milwaukee next week for Braves as Brewers.
Header photo/sports photos
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