Done Deal: Braves complete 12 player deal with Rays

December 14th, 2023 - one day before General Manager Zac Berwick's 34th birthday, one day that will go down in Braves history as quite possibly the biggest transaction this organization has ever seen.

The aforementioned rumor that the Braves were close to acquiring Austin Meadows and Kyle Lewis from the Tampa Bay Rays is now complete. The deal is done and a blockbuster it is, indeed. Twelve players will change organizations, a straight six for six swap. Veterans and young talent alike, the Braves and Rays came to an agreement in the morning hours.

The Braves will acquire outfielders Austin Meadows and Kyle Lewis, starting pitcher Brent Honeywell Jr. and Bryce Jarvis, reliever Max Meyer and shortstop prospect Jelfry Marte. In exchange, Atlanta will send starting pitcher Bryse Wilson, first basemen Bryce Ball, outfielders Heston Kjerstad and Eddie Rosario, catching prospect Nick Guevara and third base prospect Alex Figueroa. If it seems like a lot for you to take in, just know you're not alone with that line of thinking.

Adding to the previous storyline of bringing Georgia's homegrown products back to the state, Berwick also acquired Brent Honeywell - the American League's win leader in 2023 and a Lavonia, GA native. Honeywell went 16-5 in 2023 with a 3.29 ERA over 30 starts and 186 innings pitched. He is signed for 8.1M this year and has one additional year of control.

Max Meyer and Bryce Jarvis are a pair of 2020 Tampa Bay drafted picks, selected respectively in the second and third rounds of that draft class. Meyer transitioned to the bullpen for the 2023 season, though it is unclear what the Braves intentions with him are. He sits in the upper 90's and can touch triple digits on a good day. Meyer will likely receive an invite to spring training, but I'd expect him to spend much of the 2024 season at Gwinnett. Jarvis, however, is a different story. Soon to be 26, Jarvis will likely get his first crack at the Major League level with the Braves in 2024. After missing all of 2022 due to a torn UCL, Jarvis bounced back to throw 117 innings in 2023 with a 3.44 ERA and a strikeout per nine north of 9.

The final piece, Jelfry Marte, is a 22 year old switch hitting, slick fielding shortstop out of the Dominican Republic. He spent 2023 at the AA level where he produced 6.7 WAR. Progressing through the Tampa Bay system over the past three seasons, he has amassed 15.3 WAR. Despite only weighing 145 pounds, Marte is growing into his body and shows league average power with an advanced hit tool and eye. His glove is plus and his speed is elite, both tools being Major League ready now. He was Tampa Bay's 8th ranked prospect and #146 overall.

The Braves paid a hefty price to acquire the names above, perhaps none bigger than starting pitcher Bryse Wilson. Wilson is coming off a 3.3 WAR season which saw him steady the middle of the Atlanta rotation. Heston Kjerstad was the reigning National League Rookie of the Year runner up and Bryce Ball possesses an elite power and eye tool but has yet to put it together at the Major League level.

Berwick had these quotes at his press availability after announcing the deal:

On the acquisition of Austin Meadows: "We had first reached out about Austin once we heard he was possibly available at the start of the offseason, about a month and a half ago now. Anytime you can acquire a player of his talent level, you would be stupid to not at least look into it. He's going to provide a much needed lefty bat to the middle of our order and we are excited to have him back in Atlanta."

On the trade talks with Tampa Bay: "They were ongoing. When I say ongoing, I'm talking a month and a half worth of talks. Back and forth, day by day, trying to piece together a deal. We finally decided last night that we were closer than ever and we stayed late in the office to make sure the deal was finalized by this morning. Bizzim and his front office were professional the whole way and I'm happy we were both able to come to terms."

On bringing the kids home to Georgia: "Well, look, before anything - these are talented ballplayers who could play on any club at the MLB level. All three of them. I'm happy to have them in Atlanta and the hometown kids add a cool storyline to our club."

On Jelfry Marte possibly being the future at shortstop: "We have to see. We have Marcus Semien right now and we are very happy with how he has handled things for us there over the past three seasons. Marte will go to Gwinnett and continue to season and we will go from there."

On how a blockbuster deal like this came about: "Initially, it was just Meadows. We had a base for a deal, but we had to get the sidepieces squared away. Look, it's no surprise in saying that Meadows was the main piece of this deal - it's what got talks started and is what took the most time to figure out. I won't get too into detail, but a couple of the names in the deal were last minute additions. When I say last minute, I mean bright and early this morning. We were squaring it away all night and morning."