Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos told reporters in his end-of-the-year press conference that the team’s payroll would rise in 2025.

Initially, Anthopoulos’ comment on payroll led to pundits connecting the Braves to a variety of potential free agent and trade targets at the beginning of the offseason. However, that buzz may be wearing off.

It appeared to be completely gone for Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer on Dec. 2 when he ranked his top 25 free agents ahead of baseball’s winter meetings.

On the list, Rymer named four potential suitors for each of his top 10 free agents available. The Braves were not mentioned as one of the four possible fits for any of those 10 players.

That was the case even for left-hander Max Fried. Rymer named four AL East teams — the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles — as the potential fits for Fried.

Fried was the No. 3 free agent on Rymer’s list.

It’s worth noting that this is not really anything new for Rymer. In November, the Bleacher Report analyst made a list of 32 starting pitchers and predicted where they would each land this offseason. On that list, Rymer projected the Braves to only sign Charlie Morton.

The only other pitcher Rymer connected to the Braves was Fried. But apparently, he’s soured on that possibility.

It’s quite possible Rymer has underestimated how involved the Braves will be in free agency from the start. But rumors that the team desires to bring back Fried and/or sign a top starting pitcher this offseason seem to have cooled in recent weeks.

Perhaps there’s a reason for that. It could be that Anthopoulos has other plans for raising the team’s payroll than simply spending in free agency.