Around The Big Leagues

The Trade Deadline approaches and the Atlanta Braves have several needs to fill before Monday's cutoff. Can Alex Anthopoulos find the pieces the roster needs to complete a championship contender? Grant McAuley delves into the trade deadline rumors in the wake of the Detroit Tigers dealing ace Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers. With many more starters on the block, it leaves the Braves and other contenders with considerable options to weigh. These deals would also come at a good time for Atlanta, which has been playing a much better brand of baseball since the All-Star break and extended its lead in the NL East to 8 games. Also on deck for this episode: Ronald Acuña Jr.'s impact, the one-run victories, the stress on the bullpen, an injury to Reynaldo Lopez, an update on Spencer Schwellenbach, and the Braves roster crunch with Ha-Seong Kim back and Sean Murphy closing in on a return as Lane Thomas arrives in a trade with Kansas City. You'll also hear from Braves legend John Smoltz, who relives the tra