Late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, Alex Anthopoulos had dialogue with a team about a potential trade. The sides went back and forth.
“What they presented to us, we weren’t doing,” Anthopoulos, the Braves’ president of baseball operations, said ahead of this week’s Winter Meetings in Nashville.
So at the time he spoke to local media on Sunday, Anthopoulos said nothing was imminent for Atlanta. But things change quickly. And at the very least, you know this: The Braves are active. They aren’t simply sitting and waiting for spring training to begin.
Asked how many needs the Braves must still fill, Anthopoulos began with this: “I’ll say this, so cue the eye rolls here.”
He knows we – media and fans – want substantial information. But he’s trying to keep things quiet.
So he then added: “I think as we sit right now, we have a very good team. That doesn’t mean we can’t get better, that doesn’t mean we’re (not) going to try to get better. So I know everything I say today, people are going to parse and infer and everything. If I could skip this, I would, and we could fast-forward to the end of the offseason.”
That wouldn’t be any fun, right?
So here’s where the Braves seem to stand at the start of the Winter Meetings.
The Braves likely need at least one more starting pitcher
Anthopoulos was active in October and November. He re-signed Pierce Johnson and Joe Jiménez. He signed Reynaldo Lopez. He traded Kyle Wright, Michael Soroka and others.
The Braves still have holes. Yes, they look great. But they have a couple of needs.
One of them is in the rotation.
If the season started right now, the Braves’ rotation would be Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, Bryce Elder and Lopez. In this scenario, Lopez, whom the Braves will stretch out this spring, would help them in the rotation.
That is, of course, barring future additions.
“The fact that we’ve got flexibility with a guy like Lopez doesn’t – we still could go get a starter,” Anthopoulos said. “And candidly, we’ve had conversations, whether that’s free agency or trades.”
It seems the Braves need another viable rotation option. They have depth (more soon), but adding one more proven starter – whether it be in free agency or via trade – would considerably strengthen their rotation.
Remember this: Fried and Morton weren’t fully healthy at the end of this season, and Elder struggled.
Anything can happen, so the Braves need to fortify their rotation to withstand any unpredictable circumstances.
There’s a vacancy in left field
Of the left field opening, Anthopoulos said: “If we find there’s a trade or an opportunity to get an established, bonafide guy that we think makes sense, whether that’s a trade or a signing, we’ll do it. But if not, we’re gonna give Vaughn (Grissom) a shot to come in and compete. Obviously, Forrest Wall did a nice job. He could certainly get into the mix. We’re not locked into anything. But in terms of internal options, those would be two options that we certainly explore.”
Here’s a not-so-bold prediction: The Braves won’t go into 2024 relying solely on Grissom and Wall to play left field.
This isn’t to say Grissom isn’t a great option. He’s athletic. He’s playing winter ball – and will play some outfield – in Puerto Rico. The Braves see him as a versatile player and they’d like to keep getting him reps in the infield.
But imagine what an established left fielder could provide this lineup.
The Braves have room in the budget for a significant addition. They already tried to add one, though it didn’t work out. (Of course, Anthopoulos didn’t name names.)
Perhaps that money could be used in left field.
Could the Braves add another reliever?
Atlanta will trot out power arm after power arm out of its bullpen in 2024.
Could the Braves add another? Or any reliever, for that matter?
It’s an interesting question, simply because of Lopez’s situation. The Braves are having him prepare as a starter this winter. They’ll stretch him out in the spring.
They could sign another reliever as potential insurance for Lopez helping in the rotation. But even if they don’t bring in another bullpen arm, this bullpen should be really good.
Looking at the rotation depth
Anthopoulos said that, at this point, the Braves want to be able to name at least 10 or 11 guys who can make starts for them during the season.
“So, we’re certainly there,” he said.
Fried. Strider. Morton. Lopez. Elder.
That’s five.
Then you go to depth starters.
AJ Smith-Shawver. Allan Winans. Dylan Dodd. Darius Vines. Hurston Waldrep (if and when he debuts). Ian Anderson. Huascar Ynoa.
That makes 12.
“We feel pretty excited about the group of guys that we have,” Anthopoulos said.
Ynoa, who underwent Tommy John surgery last season, is expected to come into spring training healthy. Anderson, who had the procedure earlier this year, is expected to be ready for a return to the majors at some time in June.
“When they’re totally healthy and so on, those guys are, for us, real impact guys,” Anthopoulos said of Anderson and Ynoa. “Now, I don’t want to put pressure or expectations on them. We’re not counting on them right now. But if they’re one of 10 or 11 or 12, we’re in pretty good shape.”
Two Anthopoulos quotes to keep in mind
When thinking about Anthopoulos’ philosophy on the offseason and building a team, remember these two quotes, said separately on Sunday:
“I know everyone’s clamoring for moves and action and activity. Obviously, everybody wants to make their team better. But I think one thing we’ve just learned is we have to do what we think makes sense for the team. Winning the offseason and things like that – I’ve been down that path in the past, years ago. There’s a nice halo effect for a few months, but once the bell rings and the games start, that’s all that matters.”
“I think the one thing that we will not do is force a deal. We would really like to do certain things, there’s no doubt about it. We’d like to add certain players. It’s not just a position. If we feel like we can upgrade but the player isn’t out there, either in trade or in free agency, or the player that is out there, we don’t think it makes sense – that’s the hardest thing to do in the offseason, is to basically stick to your plan, stay disciplined to your plan. It’s hard.”
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