The Atlanta Braves contemplated trading away their star third baseman, Austin Riley, prior to the start of the 2021 MLB season.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Braves had discussions about moving Riley for a more veteran third baseman. Some of the names that were talked about were Josh Donaldson, Nolan Arenado and Eduardo Escobar. Hindsight as they say is 20/20, but clearly Atlanta ultimately made the right choice sticking with their young draft pick.

Donaldson continued his annual slide at the plate, hitting .247 for the Minnesota Twins. Arenado ended up being dealt by Colorado to St. Louis during the offseason. In his first season away from the friendly confines of Coors Field, Arenado only hit .255. That is the lowest mark of his career for a full season, by far.

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Escobar was moved by the Arizona Diamondbacks during the season to Milwaukee. He ended up with a less than stellar .253 batting average and a .314 on-base percentage.

Meanwhile, after a slow start to the season, the Braves were probably wishing they had pulled the trigger on a trade. However, from June through the rest of the season, Austin Riley went on a tear and finished the regular season hitting .303 with 33 home runs, 107 RBI's and 91 runs scored.

Riley garnered some MVP consideration with how dominant he was at the plate down the stretch. After losing Ronald Acuna Jr. to season-ending ACL injury, Atlanta needed someone to step up and help the depth of the lineup. Riley did just that. It's safe to say that the Braves might not be in the World Series without Riley's performance.