The Daily Chop: Another win slips away, Joc Pederson’s role, Ian Anderson and more

The Atlanta Braves homered three times Friday night but the bullpen was unable to protect a late lead in a 7-6 loss in 10 innings to the Tampa Bay Rays. The loss drops Atlanta to 44-46 on the season, but they remain four games back in the NL East standings thanks to a Mets loss to the Pirates. The Braves may not be throwing in the towel yet, but they simply can’t afford to let opportunities like Friday slip away.

More Braves News

Shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday morning, the Braves announced the acquisition of veteran catcher Stephen Vogt from the Arizona Diamondbacks

• Joc Pederson made his Braves debut Friday grounding out to end the game in the 10th inning. When Pederson moves into the starting lineup Saturday, he will likely be in the leadoff spot for at least the time being.
• A closer examination of Braves starter Ian Anderson’s shoulder revealed no structural damage. The team placed him on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation Friday. He will be reevaluated in 7-10 days. The reinstated Touki Toussaint from the 60-day injured list and he is currently penciled in to make Tuesday’s start against the Padres.
• Analysis from FanGraphs’ Jake Mailhot on how the Joc Pederson trade will impact the Braves going forward.
• The Braves are among nine teams spotlighted by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that are on the bubble between buying and selling.

Even after trading for Joc Pederson on Thursday, does Atlanta try to acquire another big bat such as Gallo to help replace Acuña? Or do the Braves play out the next couple weeks, see where they stand in the NL East and Wild Card races, then make the decision whether to buy or sell? Free-agents-to-be Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly would surely draw plenty of interest, though don’t look for Freddie Freeman to be moved, as the Braves are surely hoping to bring him back on a multi-year deal.

• Wayne Cavadi takes a closer look at Braves right-handed pitching prospect Freddy Tarnok.
• Our own Matt Powers hands out grades for each of the Braves’ 20 draft picks from the 2021 MLB Draft.

MLB News

• The Minnesota Twins are trying to lock up center fielder Byron Buxton to a long term deal per a report by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The report states that the Twins latest offer to Buxton was in excess of $70 million. If they can’t reach a longterm deal, then Buxton could be traded at some point this offseason.
• The Toronto Blue Jays have received approval from the Canadian government Friday for a exemption on border restrictions that will allow them to play in Canado later this month. They will return to the Rogers Center on July 30 after nearly two years away.
• After trading Joc Pederson to Atlanta, the Cubs will reportedly try again to lock up shortstop Javier Baez and first baseman Anthony Rizzo before exploring potential deals in advance of the trade deadline.
• Major League Baseball continues to have COVID issues coming out of the All-Star break. The Colorado Rockies placed four players, including starter Antonio Senzatela, on the COVID injured list prior to Friday’s game.
• Major League Baseball also announced Friday that Washington Nationals infielder Starlin Castro was placed on Administrative Leave under the league’s Domestic Violence policy.
• The Seattle Mariners claimed Ryan Weber off waivers from the Brewers. Weber was designated for assignment earlier this week.