Associated PressAtlanta Braves' Dansby Swanson celebrates his two-run home run as he rounds the bases during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Sunday in Washington.

It took long enough, but the inevitable finally occurred last week. The three-time National League East Division champions regained their rightly place atop the division standings for the first time this season. 

The Atlanta Braves’ ascension up the division standings was challenging but not unthinkable.

When you are in the same division with the New York Mets, you can count on the Metropolitans to fall on their face at any point in the season. I think they hit a downward spiral as soon as ace pitcher Jacob DeGrom was injured. The team that can’t swing a bat now struggles to shut teams down on the mound. Their recent struggles combined with the Braves’ recent feasting on some of the lower teams in the National League equates to a new team at the top.

But I do think a lot of the team’s recent success has to be attributed to general manager Alex Anthopoulos and the wheelin’ and dealin’ he pulled off before the trade deadline.

Lets face it, after the first half of the season that saw Ronald Acuna Jr. tear his Achilles; Marcell Ozuna get injured and then arrested; Mike Soroka re-injured his ACL; surprising pitcher Huascar Ynoa injure his hand punching a dugout bench following a rough outing; it would not have surprised this columnist if the Braves threw in the towel, called it a season and regrouped for next year.

But Anthopoulos saw the potential in a core of reigning league MVP first baseman Freddie Freeman, second baseman Ozzie Albies, the emergence of Austin Riley at third base and the calm veteran presence of Charlie Morton atop the team’s rotation. He made the acquisitions that have filled those holes and provide a boost for a team needing a spark.

A new-look outfield that features Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler and Adam Duvall provides different strengths that have been on display this second half of the season. Pederson is batting .283 with the Braves in 28 games but has a career-high .371 on-base percentage. While Duvall’s .204 average with the Braves isn’t anything to write home about, he provides another home run threat in the lineup. He has four in 15 games this year with Atlanta. Soler has added pop as well with three homers and 12 hits with his new team.

The Braves may not have swung for the fences with these shrewd deadline deals, but they did at least step up to the plate. Not all was lost with this season, even amid the slow start, injury bug and bad misfortune. This team eyes another division crown. For that, the Braves do have to be commended.

Clint Thompson is a special contributor to the Valdosta Daily Times.