SAN ANTONIO – Alex Anthopoulos smiled when asked a question about payroll flexibility and how he intends to use it.
Do the Braves have an appetite for a big free-agent signing or trade, or will they utilize those funds to build more depth in multiple spots?
Anthopoulos understood the question. But he is, after all, the man who never reveals much.
“It would be the standard, stock GM speak of, ‘We just want to get better. We just want to make the team better,’” Anthopoulos told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday.
This is where the Braves stand as their offseason begins. And at the General Managers Meetings at the J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, Anthopoulos provided other details on his club.
Here are the main points to know. There will be more coverage to come throughout the week.
Payroll flexibility and how it might be used
If you know Anthopoulos, you know this: He does not give much. He is extra careful when doing interviews because he does not want to divulge anything to anyone.
So for now, the stance is simply this: The Braves want to get better.
“That’s basically the view,” Anthopoulos said. “Because you just don’t know what opportunities are going to present themselves. Sometimes, there’s a trickle-down effect of, there’s a signing or a trade that opens up some other things, and all of the sudden, players you didn’t expect (to be available) are available in the offseason. I think you do want flexibility at the beginning because there’s just a lot of options, both in trade, free agents and so on.”
The Braves were intentional in trying to free up payroll to use this offseason. Their moves in recent days – trading Jorge Soler, reworking Reynaldo López’s deal, declining Travis d’Arnaud’s option and backloading Aaron Bummer’s new contract – were by design.
“As you’re planning for the offseason, you start looking at things, potential ideas, talking to clubs about potential trades and so on,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s a long offseason, it’s a long winter. But there is a reason we chose to go down this path, because we feel like there will be some opportunities there. Ultimately, what happens, how that goes, we’ll see. But it was well-thought out.”
The Braves freed up $20 million toward next season by dealing Soler, giving Bummer a backloaded two-year contract and adjusting López’s contract to decrease the 2025 salary. The savings will be less if the Braves tender a contract to right-hander Griffin Canning, whom they acquired from the Angels in the Soler trade.
On Monday, the Braves declined Travis d’Arnaud’s $8 million option and Luke Jackson’s $7 million option. Jackson received a $2 million buyout. The Braves created more payroll flexibility with these decisions.
And then there’s this: In 2025, Atlanta might not be paying either Charlie Morton or Max Fried. Morton made $20 million this season and Fried will likely earn over $20 million per year on whatever deal he signs.
How the rehab of these guys will impact the offseason
Anthopoulos said he doesn’t expect Ronald Acuña Jr. (ACL surgery) or Spencer Strider (elbow surgery) to be on the 2025 opening day roster.
“I think with both guys, I don’t think it’s significant time, but I think we’re confident that opening day is not realistic for them,” Anthopoulos said. “I think, look, once we get to spring, you get to the beginning of February, you’ll have a much better idea on timelines. We’re planning that they will not be part of the opening day roster, and how soon after that, we’ll know more as we get deeper into the offseason.”
And then there’s Joe Jiménez, who underwent an Oct. 29 procedure to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. Unlike Acuña and Strider, he’ll miss significant time in 2025.
Anthopoulos acknowledged that these situations will affect the Braves’ thinking this offseason.
“Those are things that we’re going through,” he said. “Knowing that he’s going to be out an extended period of time, at minimum, definitely has an impact. And then losing free agents right now has an impact as well. Those are things we’re looking at, right? We’re looking at all of it – the bullpen construction and depth, the rotation.
“You look at, even from a position player standpoint, we’ve got Ronald and Strider coming back, but right now the expectation is they’re not back opening day. How soon they are (back) after (opening day), we’ll know more as we get closer to spring training. But we have to prepare that those two will not be in the lineup for us opening day, won’t be in the rotation. So, those are all things we have to weigh and balance out, and that’s where depth comes into play.”
Let’s talk next about what that might mean.
Outfield and pitching
The outfield and pitching have to be among the Braves’ areas to address, right? They know Acuña and Strider won’t be with them when they take the field in San Diego for opening day next season.
First up, the outfield.
“Look, at the end of the day, the only locks, when everyone is healthy, for the outfield – just the way the year ended – are Ronald (Acuña) and (Michael) Harris (II).”
The outfield is intriguing because it comes with questions about whether Jarred Kelenic can be an everyday player. At this point, the Braves probably can’t bank on Kelenic being a regular for them. Given that and the Acuña injury, they have to add an outfielder.
Kelenic received everyday playing time for a certain part of 2024. Then as he struggled, Ramón Laureano took the job and held it through the end of the postseason.
The Braves, again, are keeping in mind that Acuña will miss the start of the season. That’ll impact their offseason because they know they need to temporarily replace him.
As for the rotation, Anthopoulos discussed how Max Fried made 29 starts and Charlie Morton logged 30.
“That’s 60 starts, pretty much, between the two of them,” Anthopoulos said. “We have a lot of young internal options for starters, but those are two veterans and guys that were big parts of our rotation that are currently free agents. That’s another thing that we’re going to have to talk through and work through.
There’s a lot of things to evaluate, from the bullpen to the free agents that we have in the ‘pen to the Jiménez injury to the Acuña injury to the Strider injury to the free agents we’ve lost. Those are all things that we are working through right now, beginning of the offseason, and that’s why the flexibility is so important for us early in the offseason, because there’s a lot of things for us to work through.”
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