Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos hints at potential aggressive plans for Atlanta's trade deadline

The Atlanta Braves are the best team in baseball at this point, and there is no denying that. They have already gone on the road and beaten the Los Angeles Dodgers in a series earlier in the season.

Now, they continue to roll and prove that they have one of the best offenses in the game. Over the weekend, Ronald Acuña Jr. caught fire, smacking five home runs.

“Yep, Ronald Acuña Jr. is fully back. He homered again on Sunday, his fourth consecutive game with a homer, and he had five homers and four stolen bases during that span. Everything has been going right for the Braves this year. Now the same can be said for their superstar,” MLB.com’s Will Leitch wrote.

Acuña getting going is huge. Over the weekend, the Braves were the first team to clinch 40 wins this season.

“Atlanta’s high-leverage bullpen quartet of Tyler Kinley, Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias combining for four scoreless innings with just one baserunner allowed between the four of them, the Braves ended up cruising to their 40th victory of the season. Folks, that’s 40 victories before June,” Battery Power’s Demetrius Bell wrote.

On Monday, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos appeared on 680 The Fan. He said that if the success continues for Atlanta, it is going to be a very active and exciting trade deadline.

“I fully expect and hope that we will be engaged in trades come July. I'm not trying to overly excite anybody or promise anything. But if we're playing the way we are right now, we're going to be in there,” Anthopoulos said.

It certainly seems like Anthopoulos knows Atlanta has a real chance to contend for a World Series this season, and he will look to bolster the roster as best as possible. The Braves are just a reliable reliever and another starter away from being truly elite.

Atlanta will have plenty of options to consider, as several big-time deadline names are on expiring contracts. Anthopoulos likely does not want to part with his top prospects, but if the right deal comes along, he will certainly act.