The Atlanta Braves have made a plethora of cost-cutting moves to begin the offseason, headlined by trading Jorge Soler and declining their player option on Travis d’Arnaud. Those two moves alone saved the club north of $20 million for next season, but they also decided to non-tender several players while restructuring the contracts of Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer. In total, the Braves have saved around $45 million towards their 2025 payroll, putting them in a position to make some significant splashes with the Winter Meetings around the corner.
According to Alex Anthopoulos, payroll will rise again next year, as it has every season in recent memory under the leadership of Liberty Media.
Per Spotrac, the Atlanta Braves had the sixth-highest payroll in MLB last season at just north of $236 million, and the expectation is that figure will be even larger next year. However, the Braves already have a ton of money allocated to their 2025 roster, sitting around $200 million in projected salaries. That doesn’t give them a ton of wiggle room to work with this offseason, especially with so many holes to fill.
The Braves have to add to their starting rotation. Charlie Morton and Max Fried are both free agents, while Spencer Strider will not be ready for Opening Day after undergoing surgery on a torn UCL in April. The outfield is also a glaring concern. Left field was a black hole for the Braves in 2025, and the club just opted not to tender Ramon Laureano a contract. There’s uncertainty around Ronald Acuña Jr.‘s health as well, with his return date unknown after suffering a second torn ACL.
Those will be the Braves top priorities this winter, but shortstop also needs to be upgraded, and the bullpen could use some more bodies with A.J. Minter hitting free agency and Joe Jimenez out for the next 8-12 months following knee surgery.
That’s a ton to accomplish in one offseason with limited funds to spend. It’s reasonable to expect the Braves payroll to rise $10-15 million, but the funds are far from limitless. Alex Anthopoulos will have to get creative again to put the Braves in a position to win a competitive division featuring a couple of clubs with much deeper pockets.
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Photographer: Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire
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