The Braves came into the offseason with three clear needs — starting rotation, bullpen, and left field. Through about three months, the club filled two of those.
Alex Anthopoulos brought back Joe Jimenez, Pierce Johnson, and Charlie Morton then traded for Aaron Bummer. In a move that could wind up helping both units, the Braves inked Reynaldo Lopez to a three-year deal. Soon after, Atlanta traded for Jarred Kelenic in a salary dump by the Mariners.
That was about all the worthwhile moves from the Braves… until over the weekend. SportsTalkATL was actually the first to break the news that Chris Sale would be coming to Atlanta, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan would report later that Boston would receive Vaughn Grissom in exchange for the lefty veteran.
It might not be the frontline starter that many Braves Country had hoped for, but the deal makes a lot of sense for Atlanta.
Firstly, the Sox will be covering $17 million of Sale’s $27.5 million salary for the 2024 campaign, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. Moreover, due to the deferrals in his contract, Sale will only cost the Braves $500K this season.
Though Vaughn Grissom was a valuable piece, Alex Anthopoulos made the deal for a reason. Sale’s injury history since Tommy John surgery hasn’t been arm-related; he’s got plenty of postseason experience, and it only cost a prospect that didn’t have an obvious role on the major league roster.
No, it wasn’t a frontline starter, but the Braves hung onto A.J. Smith-Shawver, Bryce Elder, and Hurston Waldrep while acquiring a potential back-of-the-rotation starter with two years of control at an extremely palatable price of $20.5 million over the 2024 and 2025 (club option) seasons.
It was clear the asking price for the Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease’s of the world were too high for Anthopoulos’ liking. In an interview on 92.9 The Game, Atlanta’s GM confirmed that the Braves haven’t acquired a frontline starter because they don’t want to trade a handful of projectable players.
"The cost is multiple players. We don't want to have to trade 3, 4 players we think have a chance to be really good" Alex Anthopoulos to @DukesandBell929 on why the Braves haven't signed a frontline starter as of right now
— 92.9 The Game (@929TheGame) January 2, 2024
This is strictly an opinion, but I think he’s referring to Smith-Shawver and Waldrep. The Braves have done well in the past of hanging on to certain prospects — Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna Jr., Spencer Strider, and Michael Harris — so it’s safe to just trust the organization to hold onto the good ones.
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What do you think of the Braves trade for Chris Sale and the reluctance to acquire a frontline starter?
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Photo: David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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