Thus far, the story of the Braves' offseason could be written on a Post-it Note, and probably a small one.
The club has made no moves of consequence, and pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Feb. 10 to North Port, Florida. The countdown clock is draining away.
Without a notable acquisition, here’s a guess at two names that might be on that Post-it Note, and what they might mean — Ian Anderson and Grant Holmes.
Both Anderson and Holmes are candidates to join the starting rotation whom the Braves are eager to see in spring training. And they’re probably a big part of why the club hasn’t gone ahead and signed or traded for another starter and was willing to let veteran Charlie Morton sign with Baltimore for a one-year, $15 million deal.
Anderson is on the path back from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in April 2023. He debuted in 2020 with a 1.95 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP in six starts and followed it up in 2021 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 24 starts. He made a total of eight postseason starts with a 1.26 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP.
Pretty good stuff.
His performance fell off in 2022 (5.00 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 22 starts) leading to his surgery in 2023. A Braves optimist might say the elbow injury that ultimately required surgery was a factor in his 2022 results. Anderson did not overwhelm in his minor-league return last season, but now he’s had a regular offseason going into 2025.
Holmes mostly is known for being the heartwarming story who made his major league debut this past season 10 years after he was drafted out of high school, but he also became a dependable bullpen arm who earned seven starts in a division race. At 28, it’s not unreasonable to think he could fill a role at the end of the rotation.
The Braves have made attempts to add to the rotation. They came to an agreement in November with free-agent reliever Jeff Hoffman with plans to give him a shot in the starting rotation, hoping to replicate the success they had in doing the same in 2024 with Reynaldo López. However, they backed out of the deal after having concerns with his shoulder, as Hoffman told media in his introductory videoconference with Toronto, the team he ultimately signed with.
The Braves also pursued a trade with the White Sox for starting pitcher Garrett Crochet, who ultimately was traded to Boston in December.
But the inaction to this point — as well as not retaining Morton — may speak to a secondary plan if they aren’t able to make a significant upgrade to the rotation before the start of the season. And that would be to give Anderson and Holmes a shot at the last spot in the rotation, with the expectation that one of them will be able to effectively fill it.
The Braves have Spencer Strider (coming back from elbow surgery), Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and López, a highly capable foursome. Strider is not expected to be on the opening-day roster, and his return date is still uncertain, but the fact that he is expected to go through a normal spring training — as opposed to rehab — suggests that the wait shouldn’t be too long.
It’s well within the scope of reason that Anderson and/or Holmes can provide what Morton did last season — 4.19 ERA over 165-1/3 innings and 30 starts. Anderson is an obvious question mark, but the Braves have seen what he can do when healthy and are big believers in a player’s productivity returning to its former state after a healthy offseason.
And if either or both can do that, the Braves would receive that production at significant savings over Morton. Both Holmes and Anderson are scheduled to earn $800,000 each, per Spotrac.
And with that money saved, it can be used at the trade deadline or, as far away as it may seem, the 2025-26 offseason.
As aggravating as the lack of action has been, it’s worth remembering that Anthopoulos is content to play the long game and sees value in giving younger players a chance when warranted.
An example of his methodology is Josh Donaldson, whom Anthopoulos signed to a one-year, $23 million deal for 2019 after a down 2018 season. Donaldson responded with MVP-type numbers. However, despite strong fan sentiment to re-sign him, the Braves did not match the four-year, $92 million offer from Minnesota.
The post script: Donaldson’s departure opened a spot for Austin Riley, who in time has become one of the game’s top third basemen. Donaldson’s performance steadily declined with Minnesota and then the New York Yankees, not matching the contract.
And the backup plan if the Braves didn’t re-sign Donaldson?
Marcell Ozuna, who was signed the day before Donaldson signed with the Twins in January 2020 and then re-signed the following year to a four-year, $65 million deal.
Ozuna has had off-field problems and two dud seasons out of five. But he has put up three seasons in which he earned MVP votes and has been a clubhouse leader, all the while taking up less payroll space than Donaldson would have.
In hindsight, Riley/Ozuna proved the far better decision than a declining Donaldson with Riley in the outfield.
Signing a big-ticket free agent is an exciting development in a long offseason and could well be beneficial. But it often comes at the cost of limiting chances for younger (and cheaper) talent while also reducing the ability to make significant moves in the future. And it also carries the risk of not paying off and leaving the team with a contract that it doesn’t want. When there’s space in the payroll and the Dodgers are signing every talented player on Earth, no one wants to hear about opportunity cost. But it’s a guiding principle for Anthopoulos.
It can make for a dull offseason, this one especially. But the track record is difficult to argue with.
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