I would believe you if you said that Alex Anthopoulos hasn’t slept since the 2023 season concluded. The general manager of the Braves has made numerous transactions, both significant and small, in an effort to assemble the strongest 40-man roster possible. The bullpen and rotation have both been improved, and he even acquired Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners to close the lone hole in the lineup. The Braves are ready to compete with any club in baseball as they stand right now, but will they make any further additions this offseason?
The Braves have work to do this offseason, according to Chad Jennings and Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic. After going through all 30 MLB teams, the two recently divided them into six groups: priorities met, progress being made, spinning tires, still salvable, from postseason to paralysis, and where are they going? The Braves belonged in the group of teams making progress.
It’s a little difficult to determine the Braves’ priorities going into the summer, but they may fit into the Priorities Achieved category. Eight transactions have been conducted, most involving players who were shortly flipped to another team (Marco Gonzalez, Evan White, Max Stassi), immediately released (Matt Carpenter), or openly traded (David Fletcher). Despite the bewildering turn of events, a high-upside starter in Chris Sale, an experienced reliever in Aaron Bummer, and a new left fielder in Jarred Kalenic have all emerged from it. Strange, but perhaps successful for a club that was already favored to win the World Series. If the Braves had ended up with a front-line starter instead of Sale, who carries such a high risk, it would have been simpler to accept this offseason strategy.
The word “risk” is frequently used to describe the Braves offseason following their acquisition of Chris Sale, who hasn’t been healthy since 2019 and hasn’t been selected to an All-Star team since 2018. Although there is a noticeable chance of injury, the Braves have chosen their rotation.
Alex Anthopoulos has never been one to offer free agents lucrative long-term contracts; he felt that the asking price for the best starters available on the trade market was too high.
He therefore switched to a buy-low contender in Sale. Although his history of injuries is worrisome, he is healthy heading into the summer for the first time in four years, and last season while pitching for the Red Sox, he still showed himself to be a master of strikeouts. Along with a bullpen that has seen major upgrades this offseason and an offense that was among the best in baseball history a year ago, Atlanta boasts one of the finest rotations in the league when Chris Sale is healthy.