The Atlanta Braves made a good move at the end of the trade deadline but they still made some mistakes.

Heading into the final minutes of the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline, the Atlanta Braves looked like they wouldn't have a good trade deadline. All they had done was trade for Nationals infielder Ehire Adrianza, Tigers outfielder Robbie Grossman, and trade for Astros starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi. Both of them have had below-average seasons but the Braves were able to trade reliever Will Smith (who has also struggled) to Houston in return for Odorizzi.

A few minutes before the deadline, they traded for Angels closer Raisel Iglesias. He has been a good reliever for the last seven seasons in the majors and he is locked down for the next three seasons after this year. They had to trade reliever Jesse Chavez and pitching prospect Tucker Davidson back to the Angels in return.

It wasn't an A+ or even an A deal but it was a decent deal.

Their best deal was actually extending their MVP candidate third baseman Austin Riley to a 10-year deal.

However, the Braves made three big mistakes at the trade deadline.

The Braves didn't get another outfield/DH bat

The Braves did get Robbie Grossman but he has had an awful season at the plate. Grossman was hitting .205/.313/.282 with an OPS+ of 73 in 83 games. He has been a high on-base guy in the past, as he had a .354 OBP from 2017 through 2021 but those numbers this year are a bit troubling.

Adam Duvall is done for the year, Eddie Rosario has struggled, and Marcell Ozuna has been awful in the outfield and as a DH. He's got a big contract. That's about the only reason why he's still playing.

Ideally, Rosario and Grossman would be on the bench, Ozuna would either be the left fielder or DH and the Braves would have traded for someone else to address the other position.

That could have been for Cubs All-Star outfielder Ian Happ, who wasn't traded and isn't a free agent until next offseason, Trey Mancini (who was traded to Houston), David Peralta (who was traded to the Rays), or others.

The Braves didn't trade for Brandon Drury

Brandon Drury would have been an extremely good fit for the Atlanta Braves for the rest of the season because of his versatility.

He has been with the Reds this year but he was traded to the Padres, a team that the Braves could run into in the playoffs. With the Reds, he hit .274/.335/.520 with 20 home runs, 59 RBI, 22 doubles, and an OPS+ of 128.

He would have been a perfect fit for the Braves because he could have filled in a lot of holes. While second baseman Ozzie Albies is on the injured list, he could play second base. When Albies returns, he could be the left fielder or DH that they need or even a great, late-inning bench bat/platoon partner.

This season, he has played third, second, first, shortstop, and right field but he has also played left. Having that kind of versatility while hitting very well was exactly what the Braves needed right now … but the Padres got him instead … for one prospect. That's it.

The Braves will regret not being in on more starting pitching

As they say, you can never have too much pitching and the Braves have learned that throughout recent years. They lost Mike Soroka in the 2020 season and it ended up costing them in the postseason.

Even with winning the World Series, the Braves had to scramble in the World Series after Charlie Morton suffered an injury in Game 1 of the World Series. When his turn in the rotation came up in Game 5, the Braves had to go with a bullpen game.

In fact, they used Tucker Davidson as the opener and he was one of the pieces traded to the Angels for Raisel Iglesias. The Braves ended up losing the game 9-7. They ended up winning in Game 6 but it was because they got a fantastic start from Max Fried.

In the postseason, nerves are high. It's not easy to ask six or seven relievers to not have nerves and to pitch well. It's much easier to ask for a good start out of a pitcher like Max Fried and two relievers.

Some of the biggest starting pitchers went to some of the Braves rivals in the NL East or in the Wild Card picture. Those starters include Noah Syndergaard to the Phillies and both José Quintana and Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals. Some went to AL teams and some, like Carlos Rodón and Chad Kuhl stayed with their teams.