Following the Jurickson Profar signing, what’s next for the Atlanta Braves? Many fans would point to the pitching staff, which makes sense.
The club has watched three staples of their staff walk in free agency. Max Fried signed a record-breaking deal to join the Yankees. Charlie Morton inked a one-year contract with the Orioles, and A.J. Minter followed Fried to New York but signed with the Mets.
Those are three gaping holes, but Alex Anthopoulos isn’t done this offseason. Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported that the Braves are among the teams interested in right-handed reliever Ryne Stanek. Moreover, Anthopoulos even assured fans that Spring Training wouldn’t be a hard deadline.
“There’s plenty of really good players that we like, a lot of them, through trade or free agency,” Alex Anthopoulos said. “But you’re trying to get the right fit. It won’t surprise me if we’re still talking to people into Spring Training. It’s the way things are going. We’re almost into the month of February. So we’ll continue to see if something comes up that makes sense.”
What about a future Hall of Famer? ESPN’s David Schoenfield predicts the Braves will ink Max Scherzer to a free agent deal, which makes sense after the club was in attendance for his open workout.
Even though he struggled to stay on the field, the 40-year-old posted a 3.95 ERA, which followed a 3.77 ERA effort in 2023. On a one-year deal worth around $15 million, Scherzer could be worth the gamble.
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Photographer: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
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