Braves All-Stars honored with offseason signings

The All-Star reserves for each league were announced Sunday afternoon. The Braves didn’t have a single player selected to play in the starting lineup, and I’m not sure anyone would have believed you at the beginning of the season if you had said that Atlanta’s only three All-Stars would be Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, and Marcell Ozuna. But those are the guys who will be representing the Braves in Texas next week.

As for the omissions, I’m not sure the Braves had any. Max Fried had reason to include him, but there are just so many damn good pitchers in the league and not enough spots. The same could be said for a couple of the Braves’ relievers, namely Jesse Chavez and Raisel Iglesias. But then again, the number of talented bullpen pitchers around the league who deserve an All-Star nomination reads like a CVS receipt.

Offensively, the only Braves player who should have been considered was Marcell Ozuna, who is headed to his third All-Star Game. But the real story is Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez, who Alex Anthopoulos acquired for next to nothing this offseason.

Sale was acquired via trade, and the Braves only had to give up Vaughn Grissom, who had nowhere to play in Atlanta. On top of that, the Red Sox are paying almost his entire salary this season.

Lopez, who hadn’t been used as a starting pitcher in five years, signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Braves, and almost everyone expected him to be used as a reliever. But Alex Anthopoulos, as he often does, saw something in him that no one else had even considered. It started as a fun experiment with some potential; now Reynaldo Lopez is the MLB ERA leader and headed to his first All-Star Game.

Alex Anthopoulos is far from infallible. He’s certainly made some mistakes during his tenure with the Braves. Still, he’s done infinitely more good than harm for the organization, and this past offseason is just the latest example of his brilliance.