The Atlanta Braves entered Monday with a 6 1/2 game lead in the National League East.

Despite the comfortable lead, Atlanta has area of needs, and it met one of those on Monday in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels.

Brent Suter is headed to Atlanta

According to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, Atlanta has acquired left-handed reliever Brent Suter from Los Angeles.

In return, the Braves are sending infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr. to the Angels.

After a rough start, Brent Suter has been excellent of late

Suter struggled in the early parts of the season but since the calendar turned to July, he's been much better.

He made eight appearances in July, pitching to a 2.92 ERA with 11 strikeouts across 12 1/3 innings pitched.

Suter has made one appearance in August, pitching two scoreless innings with a strikeout.

Nacho Alvarez Jr. didn't have much of a path in Atlanta

Alvarez appeared with the Braves in both 2024 and 2025 but was only called up as a replacement for injured players.

He collected 218 at-bats across the two stints and was well below average with a slash line of .216/.277/.298. 

Brent Suter will be used as a lefty specialist

In a National League that is loaded with left-handed hitters, Suter will likely be used as a lefty specialist to combat and shut down bats such as Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Luis Arraez and others.

If he is successful in doing so, Atlanta will enter the postseason with one of the best bullpens in the league.