ATLANTA — When the general managers’ meetings start Tuesday in San Antonio, plenty of attention will be paid to Atlanta Braves executive Alex Anthopoulos, because he’s earned a reputation for striking quickly if he sees a potential trade or free-agent signing he likes.
Not that Anthopoulos, Atlanta’s president of baseball operations and general manager, hasn’t let the market play out plenty of times in the past, too. But if he sees a deal he really wants to make happen, particularly something a bit outside the box, he will try to move fast and do it.
While the GM meetings serve more as an opportunity to lay the groundwork for trades, for teams to feel each other out and check the temperature of free-agent waters, Anthopoulos is someone who prefers to get deals done between now and the end of the Dec. 8-12 Winter Meetings, or soon thereafter.
The Braves’ run of six consecutive NL East titles ended in 2024. The Braves also lost their third straight postseason series since their 2021 World Series win, this time falling in the wild-card round after they dropped consecutive division series to the rival Philadelphia Phillies.
Atlanta was beset by injuries to key players and extended slumps by several stars, and the Braves have offseason needs to fill and decisions to make before they gear up again after seeing their division-title reign ended by Philadelphia.
Braves’ biggest needs (we think)
Back-of-the-rotation starter and a better offensive shortstop are the glaring needs.
But there’s a caveat because the Braves could decide to re-sign Charlie Morton for the back of the rotation if the 41-year-old isn’t ready to retire, and they might keep Orlando Arcia at shortstop, rather than upgrade the position and move him to a utility role.
Despite Arcia’s strong defense and reputation as a terrific teammate and dugout energizer, he had the second-lowest OBP (.271) and second-lowest OPS (.625) among all MLB qualifiers last season, as well as the second-worst wRC+ (72) for those into more advanced analytics.
And it wasn’t just last season. He’s been a poor hitter going back to the second half of the 2023 season, after making his first All-Star team with a career-best first half. The Braves are only paying Arcia $2 million in 2025 (with a $2 million option for 2026), which is a utility player’s salary anyway.
If Morton retires or the Braves don’t re-sign him, they’ll still have Ian Anderson, AJ Smith-Shawver, Bryce Elder and Hurston Waldrep to compete for the fifth spot behind Chris Sale, Reynaldo López, Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider, the 2022-2023 MLB strikeout leader.
Strider missed almost the entire 2024 season recovering from elbow surgery but is expected back early in 2025 and possibly by Opening Day. If he’s delayed, the Braves have two spots to fill until he’s back, assuming the Braves don’t re-sign free agent Max Fried.
Fried tops free-agent decisions
It’s widely assumed, particularly among Braves followers who’ve seen this play out with fan favorites Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson in recent years, that Atlanta will be outbid for the services of lefty Fried since the team didn’t re-sign him to an extension well before free agency as it has most other top players who’ve come up with them in recent years. (Freeman and Swanson were the major exceptions.)
Fried, who’ll be 31 in January, had stints on the injured list in the past two seasons for forearm injuries and other nagging issues in the past, including blisters. Still, he’s a perennial Cy Young contender and one of MLB’s best starters when healthy, and some project a contract of five to six years worth close to $30 million annually.
The Braves could afford to pay that, particularly if they don’t re-sign Morton and after shedding close to $20 million in salary last week by trading Jorge Soler, reworking López contract and signing reliever Aaron Bummer to a two-year deal with a 2024 salary less than half the $7.25 million they’d have paid him if they picked up a 2025 option from his previous contract.
But do they want to? They haven’t signed top free agents in some time because the Braves don’t like the extended commitments and the dead weight those players often become late in deals, particularly pitchers. If they’re going to add a big salary, they might be better off allocating it to a free-agent shortstop. Willy Adames, for example.
Fried is a lock to turn down the one-year qualifying offer ($21.05 million) that will be made Monday by Atlanta, which will assure the Braves at least receive a compensatory draft pick if he signs elsewhere.
Which Braves could get non-tendered?
The six Braves eligible for arbitration are outfielders Ramon Laureano, Jarred Kelenic and Eli White, right-handers Huascar Ynoa and Griffin Canning, and lefty Dylan Lee. The highest projected arbitration salaries are Laureano (about $6 million) and Canning (about $5 million), making them the most likely non-tenders. Canning is a mediocre starter who came from the Los Angeles Angels last week for Soler, a salary dump by the Braves and the first trade of the MLB offseason.
The Braves liked Laureano a lot after signing him off the scrap heap as an injury replacement early last season but $6 million might be too much to pay an outfielder who won’t get regular at-bats assuming the Braves keep Kelenic. They surely didn’t take on $17 million in bad contracts 11 months ago to acquire five years of contractual control of Kelenic, only to give up on him after one mediocre season.
Unless something unexpected happens with Kelenic, the only way Laureano might be re-signed would be on a reduced salary, not through arbitration.
Former Rule 5 pick added to the roster
In a move overshadowed by simultaneous announcements of new contracts for López and Bummer, the Braves also selected pitcher Domingo Gonzalez to their 40-man roster on Saturday.
The power-armed righty has pitched in parts of seven minor-league seasons and thus could have become a minor-league free agent, so the Braves moved him to their 40-man roster so they wouldn’t lose him.
Gonzalez, 25, was a Rule 5 pick from the Pirates in 2022 in the minor-league phase of the draft and has big strikeout totals (albeit with plenty of walks) while used primarily as a reliever for Braves affiliates. He had a 2.91 ERA in 45 appearances in 2024 in Double A and Triple A, with 83 strikeouts, 22 walks and two homers in 52 2/3 innings.
Filling out Braves’ coaching staff
After firing hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes and catching coach Sal Fasano on Oct. 10, the Braves hired former Texas Rangers hitting coach Tim Hyers two weeks later to replace Seitzer. They still are looking for a replacement for Magallanes, but won’t fill the catching coach position.
(Top photo of Orlando Arcia: Brett Davis / Imagn Images)
