Over the weekend, Shohei Ohtani signed an unprecedented $700 million deal over 10 years with the Dodgers, leaving many clubs scrambling.
The Blue Jays, Rangers, Mariners, Giants, Cubs, Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox were considered landing spots. If they had significant interest, they’d have to pivot. For the Braves, who were also considered a potential suitor, their offseason approach won’t change much as The Athletic points out.
The very reason Ohtani was reportedly interested in the Braves — that they’re set up to win for many, many years to come — is the same reason they won’t be scrambling to fill holes now that he’s off the board. They can win with this roster. They have a 40-homer, 100-RBI DH (Marcell Ozuna) and four starting pitchers who have been All-Stars.
There’s no arguing the reasoning for Ohtani’s interest in Atlanta — winning. No club in baseball, including the Dodgers, is set up to compete for championships every year for the next decade.
Alex Anthopoulos has done an excellent job locking up the core of the roster to team-friendly, long-term contracts. Sean Murphy was the most recent, but in the last few offseasons, he’s inked Matt Olson, Michael Harris, Spencer Strider, and Austin Riley to deals. They joined the two original building blocks in Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies.
However, just because Atlanta isn’t in a position where they have to make a blockbuster move like signing Shohei Ohtani doesn’t mean they can’t make a significant acquisition. In fact, Anthopoulos already has.
Re-signing Pierce Johnson and Joe Jimenez bolstered the bullpen. He didn’t stop there, though, inking Reynaldo Lopez to a three-year deal. Then, as he has so often before, Anthopoulos took advantage as a situation arose, trading for Jarred Kelenic in a salary dump move by the Mariners.
Still, there is room for improvement, as The Athletic points out.
But that doesn’t mean they should stand pat. GM Alex Anthopoulos has a reputation for making some stunning moves, and he could go that direction again by trading for a front-line starting pitcher, like Dylan Cease and Tyler Glasnow. Or maybe Anthopoulos, seeing that Max Fried and Charlie Morton are only under contract through 2024 (and that Ohtani is no longer penciled into the Braves rotation for 2025 and beyond), would take a run at a longer deal with one of the available free-agent starters. Either way, now that the Braves have settled their left-field situation, if they land a top starter they’ll have accomplished their offseason checklist sans Ohtani.
It doesn’t have to be a frontline starter like Dyan Cease or Tyler Glasnow, but the Braves need to add one more arm to the rotation. Given Anthopoulos’ history, I’d expect a short-term deal for a guy with high upside. Even with Ohtani, the Dodgers lineup and rotation isn’t as potent as the Braves; however, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to upgrade.
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