Welp, that wasn’t fun. In the end, the Braves just didn’t have what it took to overcome the plethora of injuries sustained throughout the season. However, the 2025 team still looks as strong as ever, but with a few question marks at a few positions. Let’s take a look around the horn to see where this team stands going into the offseason. Let’s take a look at the Braves 2025 Depth Chart.
Starting Pitcher Candidates
- Spencer Strider
- Chris Sale
- Reynaldo Lopez
- Spencer Schwellenbach
- Ian Anderson
- Bryce Elder
- AJ Smith-Shawver
- Hurston Waldrep
- Grant Holmes
- Huascar Ynoa
Breakdown: Unless the Braves deem that Reynaldo is not a fit for the rotation due to injuries, I think the top 4 are shoo-ins for the rotation, 5 are trade bait and Grant Holmes gets the first shot in the rotation. When Spencer Schwellenbach was brought up from Double-A, it really surprised me as I thought he was maybe the 3rd-4th best option for the rotation. Boy, was I an idiot. Now that he’s established himself, I foresee a thinning of sorts where Braves utilize their biggest asset, their starting pitching depth, to fill holes in 2025.
Relief Pitching Candidates
- Raisel Iglesias
- Joe Jimenez
- Pierce Johnson
- Dylan Lee
- Luke Jackson
- Aaron Bummer
- Angel Perdomo
- Grant Holmes
- John Brebbia
- Daysbel Hernandez
- Huascar Ynoa
- Hurston Waldrep
Breakdown: If the Braves continue the pattern that has been the trend under AA, A.J. Minter will be wearing a new uniform next year. Angel Perdomo should be fully ready to contribute when May comes around and if 2023’s numbers are a true representation of what he can do, the org will be tickled pink to have him under control for quite awhile. On paper, this group looks to be as strong as 2023 with a great mix of LH and RH pitchers. The Braves have an option on Brebbia, but my guess is they’ll decline it.
Catchers
- Travis D’Arnaud
- Sean Murphy
- Drake Baldwin
- Chadwick Tromp
Breakdown: What seemed a top-tier backstop pair became a 1 man show as Sean Murphy fell off in every single Statcast category except for blocks above average. While D’Arnaud had some pretty memorable home runs in 2024, the tandem was well below average in defense and Murphy was atrocious at the plate.
Drake Baldwin is a name to remember this offseason, in both trade talks and as a candidate for an MLB promotion. Baldwin is more of the D’arnaud mold as he’s not as athletic as Murphy, but carries a high baseball IQ. I don’t think there’s reason to spill a lot of words on Tromp as we know who he is already.
Infield
- Matt Olson
- Ozzie Albies
- Orlando Arcia
- Austin Riley
- *Whit Merrifield (has an option)
Breakdown: If healthy, the Braves should have an above average infield offensively and a slightly below average defense. Ozzie Albies rated as one of the worst defensive 2B in the game, while Matt Olson rated as a top notch defender. Both Austin Riley and Orlando Arcia checked the defensive boxes, but Orlando became a huge liability at the plate. My guess is we see the Braves try to get creative at the SS position and pony up some pitching for a new shortstop, one that hasn’t rubbed so many the wrong way.
Outfield
Breakdown: This is a strong group, but honestly, it’ll likely be a weak defensive OF. Acuña will definitely be playing it a little safe, and outside of the arm, his defensive skillset isn’t great. Michael Harris II is a mini Andruw Jones out in CF, but he’s going to have a whole lot more ground to cover on a regular basis if Jorge Soler is playing one of the corners. Jarred Kelenic is in a bit of a pickle, as there’s no real place for him to go should the 3 stay healthy. Ramon Laureano is still arbitration eligible, but it remains to be seen if he’ll don a Braves uni in 2025.
What Will the Braves Add?
If everyone is healthy, there’s really not much to go get. Outside of a shortstop and a back end starting pitcher, the team feels set if everyone can get through spring training healthy. A dream scenario would be Willy Adames, but I wouldn’t ever expect it. If Ha-Seong Kim opts out of his deal with the Padres, he could be another option at SS, but I can’t foresee that happening considering the Braves haven’t ever been very active in the Asian baseball market.
If anything, the Braves could go the “Chris Sale” route and buy a player in hopes of said player bouncing back in exchange for a top end prospect.
Good look ahead, Ryan. My hope is the boys will rebound to something closer to 2023. Your cautiousness related to the offense is valid given how virtually everyone regressed significantly in 2024.
I’m looking forward to the Spencer’s at the top of the rotation for the foreseeable future, though!
Thanks for such a hospitable space for Braves to hang out, too! I love this blog!
I have not a lot to add to this, except to note that in the Braves’ treatment of Asian players, we might request a guest post from Kenshin Kawakami.
I’d love to see them find a way to trade Murphy, use the salary savings to resign Fried. Strider probably shouldn’t break with the team, it would be wise to ease him back around May/June to control innings. Anderson’s out of options, so if they sign Fried, I’d love to see him as the 5th starter out of camp, and when Strider comes back, we’ll see where we are. Elder, AJSS, and Waldrep all have options, so they should all open in AAA.
They should decline Luke Jackson’s option, and see if he’ll sign to a non-guarantee deal, try to make the team out of Spring Training. Daysbel belongs in this pen for the full year.
Kelenic still has an option I believe, so I’d love to see him battle with Laureano in ST for the LF job. Perhaps platoon if they both fare well, but if Kelenic doesn’t grab it, send him to AAA and open with Wall or someone else as the 4th OF. Soler should start in RF, and Acuna (like Strider) should ease back gracefully … no need to rush him back. May/June.
Where do you see Ozuna in all this?
Ozuna will be 34 next year. We either pay him $16M to stay or $1M to send him off.
I know that Soler complicates things, but after this season’s success, why not re-sign Ozuna?
Ozuna is complicated. I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let him play out his contract and see where it is at the end of the year. But, if you do resign him, I would do it the way we have done it with Charlie, tack on one year at a time. Better not to get locked in to a long term contract (like we already have) with him.
What if Acuna has to DH a bunch? I agree on keeping him, but him and Soler and Acuna might create a logjam and/or really bad corner OF defense. I’d trade Albies if we could get anything, but I don’t think he’d bring back much and he’s still cheap. We really need a healthy and productive year from him.
I’d rather the Braves take their time and not bring Acuna back until he’s truly ready. If that’s June, then it’s June. I’d rather that than rush him back, and then have to rest him every other game like we did in 2022, or have him swinging on a paper leg.
Kelenic will get a lot of playing time spelling Acuña and Soler. Hopefully he can take a step forward.
I unintentionally left Ozuna off. My bad. He will definitely be back.
RE: Luke Jackson
I’m almost certain Luke Jackson’s 2025 $7M salary is a club option, and I would assume they won’t exercise it. He looks cooked.
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/16598/luke-jackson
RE: Ozuna and Soler
I don’t see Ozuna and Soler being on the same roster with Acuna’s injury issues. If Soler’s 2025 contract was only an option, I would assume he’d be let go, but since it’s Ozuna’s, I can see Ozuna’s being declined. Ozuna had an incredible year, but I just wouldn’t bet on it happening again at age 34.
RE: Arcia
Shortstop seems to be the best opportunity to upgrade. I wonder what it would take to get Oneil Cruz from Pittsburgh or Zach Neto from LAA. Both cost-controlled, both guys with 4 tools. Arcia + ASS + Drake Baldwin would be the deal I would do for a cost-controlled shortstop unless you think Baldwin is a can’t miss catcher. In a subsequent deal, I’d look to trade Nacho if SS is indeed locked up.
RE: Rotation
I really don’t feel bad about the rotation. Strider/Sale/Lopez/Schwellenbach is a hell of a top 4, and there are more than enough 5th starter options. I would put Daysbel in that conversation as well.
RE: Overall currency to work with
I feel really good about what Atlanta could offer to improve the roster.
-(Morton – Fried – Minter – Ozuna) + Soler is $35M or so freed up
-ASS looks expendable
-Nacho looks expendable if you get a SS
-Baldwin is expendable with d’Arnaud under contract for 2025 and Murphy committed to long-term
That upgrades the team a lot.
https://x.com/GabeBurnsAJC/status/1842227159588372733
Great news!
https://x.com/GabeBurnsAJC/status/1842222172208533606
Bad news.
They lost a few key assistants before last season, so I’m sure there isn’t much of an appetite for a new hitting coach, but I do think someone has to be responsible for the overall decline in plate discipline.
https://x.com/enosarris/status/1841525264360341745
https://x.com/enosarris/status/1841525690367459723
I tend to agree with Enos here — the league is going to adjust if we’re hunting for sliders — but this feels like something we should have made our own adjustment to throughout the season, injuries or not.
Isn’t Solar also 34? Braves should pick up Ozuna
I said it in the last thread, but I think the 2 biggest needs are shortstop and starter. If they want to go with a 6 man rotation on a regular basis, then I think they need to bring in at least 1 more starter. All 4 of our top guys are injury risks also.
AJSS’s value is not at its highest. Even if you shrug off his last start, he’s coming off an injury, needs another pitch, and just doesn’t have much of a track record of success above the low minors. I’d rather not sell low on the guy.
I’d also rather not sell low on Nacho, as he seems near ready to take over the position. I (correctly) thought he wasn’t ready in mid-2024, but he had a great year at Triple-A and won’t turn 22 till April. I’m not ready to hand the position to him yet but I’d like to keep him in the organization as our lack of positional depth killed us this year.
Ozuna clearly seems like the odd man out as there’s really no way to keep both him and Soler.
For Max, I’d really love it if we tried something like three years, $90 million. That wouldn’t prevent him from getting another free agent contract in a few years, and it would capitalize on the fact that our window is now.
I think at this point, Kelenic should move to right and Acuña should move to left. (And he should probably spell Michael Harris in center every so often, as I am a huge believer in resting the regulars.) Kelenic’s biggest asset to the team is his defensive range, just as range is Acuña’s biggest liability. We should probably treat Jarred as something of a utility outfielder.
The thing about Baldwin is, as I was explaining to a colleague of mine, the Braves have basically traded every single major catching prospect they’ve had since Brian McCann: Saltalamacchia, Flowers, Max Ramirez, Langeliers, Contreras, and probably more I’m forgetting. (Just looked at more drafts. Victor Caratini! Brett Cumberland! I’m sure they would’ve traded Lucas Herbert, Drew Lugbauer, and Braeden Schlehuber if they could hit!)
Outside of cup-of-coffee backups like Chadwick Tromp and Clint Sammons, the only other guy they kept for even a little while was Evan Gattis. And he hit so well that they tried to make him a left fielder.
Catchers have almost exclusively been treated as trade fodder. It’s a strategy, but I think it’s one that bears reconsidering in the coming years. We’re clearly stuck with Murphy for a while, but again, the process that led us to him is the same process that led us to trade all of our other catching prospects.
The key questions for the offseason, really, are to look at the guys we already have penciled in to each position, and figure out how we can get them back to their 50th-percentile outcome, since the entire lineup outside of Ozuna had injury-riddled off years.
Can Acuña, Albies, Arcia, Harris, Murphy, Olson, and Riley all return to their historic norms? I think it’s worth hiring all the specialized hitting coaches, sports psychologists, personal trainers, and whatever else it takes to get them there. No current hole in the lineup matters more than getting our existing core back to their established level of performance.
I always thought Max had the greatest chance of staying just because the market for starting pitching can be so weird.
Jordan Montgomery was 30 entering free agency, had a great postseason, didn’t have a ton of recent arm-related injuries and apparently still didn’t get huge offers.
https://x.com/tylermilliken_/status/1834667664188260607
I still don’t think the chances are high, however, just because of the team’s overall philosophy.
It’s more likely they target someone like Nick Pivetta and offer something similar to the Seth Lugo contract.
Since winning game six in Houston, Max Fried’s last three postseason starts he is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA… 22 hits allowed in 9.1 innings
I wouldn’t overpay for him. And someone else will. So if the money matters most – and no shame if it does – he’s gone. And I’m totally ok with that.
I agree. Max is going to want to be paid as a #1 starter but he hasn’t been a consistent #1 in a couple of years. There have certainly been outings of his that were ace level but that level of performance hasn’t always been there over the last 2 years. I love the guy and hope we keep him, but not at that upper echelon level of salary.
That’s why I’m saying 3 years, $90M. That’s substantially lower than #1 starter money. Compare, for example, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s contract, which is $325 million over 12 years, or Aaron Nola’s extension, which is 7 years, $172 million.
I don’t think Max would necessarily take the offer I’m proposing, but I also don’t think it’s entirely crazy.
From today’s AJC/Braves post-mortem:
The Braves have club options on designated hitter Marcell Ozuna ($16 million), catcher Travis d’Arnaud ($8 million) and reliever Aaron Bummer ($7.25 million) that must be decided upon in the five-day window following the World Series. Anthopoulos indicated the team will pick up the options, saying each player “put himself in a good spot.”
Ozuna’s return means the Braves’ DH spot is covered. So what becomes of Jorge Soler? Would they continue playing him in the outfield? They tried it after reacquiring him in the second half, and he was a consistently poor defender. He has two years and $32 million left on his deal, so there’s been outside speculation perhaps the Braves could try flipping him to another team seeking power.
“You get to the winter, you don’t know what presents itself or what opportunities are there,” Anthopoulos said. “As a general rule of thumb, I’ll say: We’ve had injuries every year. Having too many good players is not a bad thing. I view these guys as assets across the board. As we get closer to spring training, seeing where we’re at, that’s where it’s, ‘OK, what’s the plan for playing time?’
Well, I think they will try to trade one of Soler/Ozuna. They will sit and listen. They will try to hold on to Ozuna and move Soler. But if a real offer comes for Ozuna (decent proven cost controlled reliever with option(s)?), then they will trade Ozuna and keep Soler. They would probably trade Soler for a bag of bats, even up.
I could see them offering Luke Jackson a low guarantee for next year to keep possibles for the pen.
To me, Baldwin looks a lot right now like the catcher version of Jayson Heyward. GREAT walk / strikeout numbers for an incredible hard hitter. Baldwin has a known hole up and in. He can fight it off to left, but then that keeps his power out of play. He is one that very high quality evals are needed. The .891 at AAA is beast mode. Part of the eval is “really how good IS his catching.”
I will keep saying it, we need a horse on the staff, too many old guys and a rookie who also had a career year in innings, otherwise we will be in the same spot with a broken down rotation at seasons end.
No one wants Jackson. He has negative trading value. Dude is done
I expanded my extremely long blog comment into a post: