In case you missed it while celebrating Halloween, the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels made the first trade of the offseason on Thursday, roughly 14 hours after the completion of the World Series. The Braves sent veteran outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler out west in exchange for right-handed starter Griffin Canning.
On its face, this exchange makes for a lopsided challenge trade. Soler is coming off a significantly better season, one that saw him post a 121 OPS+ and launch 21 home runs despite spending half the year with the San Francisco Giants. Canning, for his part, performed at the replacement level, generating an 81 ERA+ in 171 innings.
Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos has earned a reputation for being baseball’s