Some people like to call me Nostradamus. Not even 24 hours after I predicted the Braves would make another addition before the start of the season, Evan Drellich of The Athletic dropped an article interviewing Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk, who said the Braves still have the flexibility to make more moves this offseason and very well could do so soon.
“We have always been, over the last three or four years, a top-10 salary organization,” McGuirk said, via Evan Drellich of The Athletic. “We expect that to be the same again this year. We have crossed the competitive balance tax each of the last two years. It’s possible we could do it again this year. … (President of baseball operations) Alex Anthopoulos has always had the resources to do what he needs to do to put a championship group on the field. I see no different situation this year. We have some dry powder.
“There are a tremendous number of free agents that still are out there in the marketplace. Just as an example, last year, we signed Adam Duvall on March 17. And so who knows exactly how this spring training shakes out from a salary standpoint.”
The Braves offense is set for the 2025 campaign. Once Ronald Acuña Jr. returns, there is not a deeper lineup in baseball; not even the Dodgers out in Los Angeles can hold a candle to what’s going on in Atlanta.
The pitching staff, however, could use a lot of improvement on the margins. It’s fairly shocking the Braves have neglected adding another proven high-leverage arm, considering they lost A.J. Minter in free agency and Joe Jimenez will miss most of the season following knee surgery this offseason. Those were the Braves top two set-up men from a year ago, and they’ve spent no money trying to find replacements.
The rotation also lacks depth, and I would keep an eye on the performance of Ian Anderson moving forward this spring training. The Braves came into camp hoping he could show enough to earn a spot on the roster, given he’s out of options. But if he doesn’t improve, there’s no chance they can stick with him for long, which even worsens the club’s depth of starting arms. In that case, adding another veteran innings-eater almost feels like a must, even if we are less than a month away from the start of the season.
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Photographer: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire
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