Just because the Atlanta Braves are done for the year here in 2026, that doesn't mean that the rumor mill needs to stop. In fact, apparently we're still learning new details about trades that didn't happen all the way back in August around the Trade Deadline.
We learned a while back that the Braves were reportedly willing to send Spencer Strider out to Texas in exchange for Jacob deGrom and now we're learning about a player who they were willing to keep when trying to swing a deal for the biggest name of the deadline, Tarik Skubal.
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According to
Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, the Braves refused to include Didier Fuentes in any trade talks with the Tigers for Skubal. The words that Abraham used is that the Braves "wouldn't part" with Fuentes. I'd imagine that if Alex Anthopoulos is unwilling to move the 21-year-old hurler for a pitcher the caliber of Skubal then that means that Fuentes is likely set to be here for the long haul and could be an important part of the team going forward.
The good news for the Braves is that it's not like pitching was the issue for them – especially during their Postseason run. Sure, Fuentes had an up-and-down experience in October, himself, but that's to be expected from someone as young as he was. Plus, the "up" was a massive flash of brilliance in Game 2 of the NLDS which is when Fuentes retired 11 batters in a row during a crucial part of the contest. Walt Weiss repeatedly contended that Fuentes was his "best" reliever and the faith that was placed in him during the playoffs was proof of that belief.
It also seems to indicate that the Braves have bigger plans for Fuentes. After all, he did initially start life as a big leaguer in 2025 as a starter and this appears to be an indication that Fuentes could return to that role in some point. I don't think they'd be willing to hold on to him if they figured that he was simply going to be a high-leverage reliever going forward.
There's also no telling as to who all else was involved in the trade talks – though MLB Trade Rumors did name
JR Ritchie and AJ Smith-Shawver as prospects who were deemed to be available. We're likely not going to hear Anthopoulos lay out the whole trade discussion between the Braves and the Tigers unless he decides to randomly drop a bombshell during some random appearance on the radio (similarly to how he sort of randomly revealed earlier this Summer that the Braves were close to acquiring Kyle Schwarber a few years ago) so we likely won't get to know whether or not Fuentes was the difference between Skubal wearing navy blue-and-red instead of Dodger blue any time soon.
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Either way, it seems like everyone involved got their way. The Braves held on to a very talented hurler with a bright future, the Dodgers added to their constellation of stars and the Tigers got a return that they're happy with. It's a very interesting story and all we can do is wait to see how the long-term situation plays out.
