The Braves have won exactly two games in their last three postseason appearances, and fans are wondering if the 2021 World Series run was just a fluke.
It’s overwhelmingly apparent that the championship was an exception, not the rule, for this Braves club. But what makes it a difficult pill to swallow is Alex Anthopoulos doesn’t have a ton of wiggle room to change his personnel.
Outside of a few positions, the Braves roster is pretty much set in stone for 2025. Some combination of Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Travis d’Arnaud, Sean Murphy, Michael Harris II, Jorge Soler, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Jarred Kelenic will be on the field for Opening Day in 2025.
Where there are some questions is at left field and shortstop. Is Anthopoulos going to roll with Kelenic, Harris, Soler, and Acuna in the outfield? Is he really going to live with Orlando Arica starting again? ESPN’s David Schoenfield had a couple of predictions that Braves Country won’t like to hear.
“Given the Braves’ payroll situation, they’ll probably just live with Arcia’s $2 million salary and hope his bat bounces back a bit,” Schoenfield writes.
The MLB pundit has a valid point. The Braves have a ton of payroll tied up in 2025. As I mentioned to begin this piece, Anthopoulos doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room this offseason. Atlanta already has money allocated to Olson, Albies, Murphy, Riley, Acuna, and Harris, but they also picked up Soler’s salary at the trade deadline.
That doesn’t include what the Braves GM decides to allocate to the pitching staff. It makes it seem like Atlanta won’t be in the market for a starting shortstop this offseason. Moreover, Schoenfield doesn’t believe Anthopoulos will allocate some of those funds to Max Fried.
“The Braves have a lot of payroll on the books in upcoming seasons, and even though those are at generally team-friendly rates, it might make re-signing Fried prohibitive, as important as he is to the team. I predict he signs elsewhere — whether it’s with the Dodgers or another team,” he continued.
Alex Anthopoulos has worked minor miracles in the past, but as Schoenfield finished, “Otherwise, the 2025 Braves are going to look a lot like the 2024 team — just with more Ronald Acuna Jr. and hopefully more Strider.”
—
Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire
You must log in to post a comment.