Alex Anthopoulos’ cryptic answer on another pitcher trade after Braves get Tyler Mahle

The Atlanta Braves further strengthened their pitching unit after trading for Tyler Mahle on Sunday. In exchange, the Braves sent Anthony Molina to the San Francisco Giants.

Mahle signed a one-year contract worth $10 million with the Giants in the offseason. In 18 starts, he posted a 3-9 record with a 5.13 ERA and 89 strikeouts.

The 31-year-old Mahle was the second pitcher acquired by the Braves before the trade deadline after adding Bailey Falter on Saturday. In return, Atlanta, which also received Lane Thomas, shipped Lucas Braun and Carter Holton to the Kansas City Royals.

In a report from The Athletic’s Jesus Cano, it appears Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves’ president of baseball operations, is not yet done finding pieces for their pitching crew.

“I don’t know because, look, here’s the thing: You don’t know how guys perform and so on. So, we’ll see what’s going to come. Everyone’s engaged at this time of year, right? So we’ll see when we get to six o’clock tomorrow,” said Anthopoulos.

“If you’d asked me last night, were we close to a deal for any starter? I would have said, ‘No.’ If you asked me earlier in the day, I would have said, ‘No.’ If you’d asked me in the last hour and a half, I would have said, ‘Yeah.’ So that’s how quickly it moves.”

With Kevin Gausman and Freddy Peralta going to the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays, respectively, Cano noted that the “field is thinning” for the Braves. He added that Casey Mize of the Detroit Tigers could be the best option for Atlanta.

Mahle and Falter will join the pitching rotation of Chris Sale, Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, Martin Perez, and Reynaldo Lopez.

The Braves are atop the NL East with a 67-45 record, and adding another weapon on the mound could get them over the hump as they try to return to the World Series for the first time since winning the championship in 2021.

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