We have a trade to talk about, folks — it’s not a big one but it’s a trade, nonetheless! In fact, the Braves have gone back to one of their most frequent trade partners (or at least it feels that way, as ComeBackTedTurner mentioned in the linked Feed post) for another deal: The Los Angeles Angels. The Braves have picked up another pitcher from the Angels, as they have acquired Victor Mederos in exchange for international bonus pool considerations.
Mederos is heading to Triple-A Gwinnett, where he’ll
likely serve as roster depth in case the current big league pitching gets exhausted to the point where they need to dip into those particular reserves. Mederos pitched 17 big league innings last season and recorded a 7.41 ERA (179 ERA-) and a 7.19 FIP (171 FIP-). He has a career 8.53 ERA (206 ERA-) and a 6.95 FIP (166 FIP-), so it’s safe to say that the Braves aren’t exactly getting an ace here. Again, if he shows up in the bigs this season then the Braves will have to be suffering an injury crisis similar to what happened last season. I know things have gotten bad already in terms of missing starters but for now, it’s still not nearly as bad as how it was last season, so there’s that.
Speaking of the injury situation, AJ Smith-Shawver is now on the 60-Day IL in order to make room for Mederos on the 40-man roster. As a reminder, AJSS underwent Tommy John surgery back in back in June 2025 so he’s still a few months away from even considering a serious comeback since that’s a 12-month turnaround to begin with. The Braves weren’t getting Smith-Shawver back any time soon so this just confirms the situation while making room for some more depth to take his place.
