The Braves haven’t been the busiest team in free agency, but it isn’t for a lack of spending.
Alex Anthopoulos has been trading players like a madman, taking on a lot of money to put the Braves in the best position to win another World Series this year. This has allowed Atlanta to hang onto their best young players while also keeping their books extraordinarily clean past the 2024 campaign.
Most remarkable thing about Braves’ offseason is not how they’ve spent $ & prospects on improving 24 squad but how pristine they’ve left 25 balance sheet. Kelenic, Kerr, Murfee cheap in 25. Fried, Morton, Minter & maybe Sale gone, but they’ll have $70+m before 1st lux tax.
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) January 3, 2024
Following the trade for Chris Sale, the Braves luxury tax payroll is projected to be $275 million, easily the largest it’s ever been in franchise history and a full $30 million higher than it was a year ago.
However, when looking at 2025, that number is back down to $166 million. That’s a full $70 million below the first luxury tax threshold and over $100 million below where they currently sit for next year.
As Sarris also notes, the Braves might have spent a large chunk of change this year for a player like Kelenic, who the Mariners essentially salary dumped by attaching Marco Gonzales and Evan White. But that will be completely off the books soon, making Kelenic an incredibly cheap starting left field option, especially if the Braves can help him tap into his immense potential.
The Braves are going to have numerous gut-wrenching decisions to make next offseason surrounding Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Chris Sale, A.J. Minter, and others. But as you can see by the way Alex Anthopoulos has operated, he’s keeping his options open. The Braves are chock full of young players on team-friendly contracts, high upside guys that could bounce back in 2024, and a payroll as clean as a whistle past this year.
Some may be underwhelmed by how Alex Anthopoulos has approached this offseason, but it’s really been genius. He’s filled every single hole that was on the roster coming into the offseason — left field, the rotation, and the bullpen — without giving up any of his top prospects or handing out a lucrative mega-contract to a player who is likely in line to be overpaid. All while keeping the books clean past this year, and all it took was some cash and a savvy general manager.
Credit to Liberty Media for living up to their end of the bargain, and credit to Alex Anthopoulos for being one of the best GMs in all of sports.
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Photo: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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