Braves News: Austin Riley is the hero again, new trade rumors, plus more

Does July have to end?

According to the calendar, the answer is unfortunately yes. However, just because August is now here, hopefully that does not mean Austin Riley’s bat will cool off anytime soon. Riley once again was the hero with a walk-off double against the Diamondbacks on Sunday. In the process, Riley set a new franchise record for most extra base hits by a Braves player in a calendar month:

This coincided with an end to one of the best offensive months by a Braves player in franchise history, and one of the more impressive months by an MLB player in recent memory.

Riley will likely win Player of the Month for July. And if he can continue his production in the second half of this year in a similar fashion that he produced in the second half of last year, he will be a true challenger for the NL MVP.

Riley’s at-bats are quickly becoming one of the more must see moments of Braves games. It is a lot of fun to witness his performances as of late.

Braves News

• Riley’s heroics truly were one of the few notable offensive moments in a 1-0 game in which Max Fried was excellent as he matched Merrill Kelly pitch for pitch.
• Mark Bowman of mlb.com breaks down what Riley’s July truly means for his MVP chances.
• There are nearly 36 hours left before MLB Trade Deadline arrives. The Braves continue to check in on many fronts, including showing interest in Brandon Drury of the Reds.

MLB News

• Though the Braves swept Arizona over the weekend, they were unable to make up ground on the Mets, who swept Miami. Furthermore, it was announced Jacob deGrom would officially return to an MLB mound for the Mets on Tuesday for the first time in over a year.
• Carlos Rodon was spectacular in what could be his final start for the Giants.
• Salvador Perez delivered heroics of his own with a long home run to win the game for the Royals against the Yankees.
• The Guardians and Athletics have discussed a trade for catcher Sean Murphy in recent days.
• The Phillies remain in playoff contention after a weekend sweep of the Pirates and are looking for starting pitching additions of their own.
• After trading for Luis Castillo over the weekend, the Mariners have unfortunately experiences quite a bit of injuries. Julio Rodriguez landed on the IL but appears to have avoided a serious injury, while Ty France is awaiting news on his left wrist.