Sitting in first place in your division at the Major League Baseball trading deadline is certainly a place most teams and their fans want to be. Clearly something is working for your team, and while other teams may need to make wholesale changes to catch you, all your team needs is perhaps a minor tweak here or there. The Atlanta Braves managed to upgrade the roster without giving up any major pieces, and now the strong bullpen looks even stronger and the outfield looks to have been solidified. Atlanta’s General Manager Frank Wren pulled off more magic last weekend when he acquired centerfield Rick Ankiel as well as reliever Kyle Farnsworth from Kansas City in exchange for Gregor Blanco and Jesse Chavez and minor league pitcher Tim Collins.
For Milton High School alum Kyle Farnsworth, this is his second stint with the team, after serving as the closer for the team the last time Atlanta made the playoffs back in 2005. That half season with Atlanta saw Farnsworth utterly dominate, throwing 27.1 innings while giving up just 6 earned runs for a 1.98 ERA. He registered ten saves in ten chances down the stretch as Atlanta clinched yet another division title. Farnsworth has since suited up in the Yankee pinstripes and for Detroit and Kansas City before returning to Atlanta. This season, Farnsworth has been hot of late, allowing just seven earned runs in the last 35.1 innings of work. Against New York Tuesday, Farnsworth allowed one run in his appearance.
Rick Ankiel meanwhile returns to the National League where he has spent most of his career. Ankiel first faced the Braves in the 2000 NLDS as a pitcher before becoming a full-time outfielder and returning to the Cardinals in 2007. He returned to the playoffs last season in St. Louis and he is right back in a pennant race now here in Atlanta, which Ankiel says is exciting. “You come to the field with that opportunity and that chance, knowing you can get into the playoffs and possibly the World Series, so it gives you a little bit more of a boost of energy and makes it more fun too.”
Ankiel made quite an impression on the new home fans after going 0-3 in his Braves debut in Cincinnati. At Turner Field Monday night, Ankiel drove in two runs in the first inning to ignite a 4-1 Braves win. He would also record a double on the night to finish 2-4. “Anytime you end up in a situation like this, you always want to come out and do something well and produce and (Monday) night was certainly a big clutch hit in the first inning,” said Ankiel. “It helps me out and gets the team going. It’s fun to do.”
Ankiel is just two seasons removed from 25 home runs, and the outfielder hit eleven in 2009 with St. Louis. This season, Ankiel played in just 27 games with the Royals due to a strained right hamstring but has still hit .261 with four homers and 15 RBI. The Braves are hoping that Ankiel can stay healthy and go out and play. “I’m going to come out and prepare everyday and be ready to play and whatever happens happens,” said Ankiel. “You go out there with a plan and you execute and you put it into play and results are results.” His production thus far with Atlanta at Turner Field has certainly been worth the trade. In Tuesday’s game against the Mets, Ankiel broke up a double-play with a hard slide, allowing a run to score and he scored on a double later in the game to temporarily give the Braves a 2-1 lead.
Teams that are leading their divisions don’t typically make major facelifts at the trading deadline and this season the Braves were not the exception to that rule. The upgrades the team did make though should have Atlanta fans thinking postseason, especially if Farnsworth and Ankiel take advantage of the opportunity to be in a pennant race once again.
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