The Atlanta Braves have been lucky to have the shortstop position well covered over the last few years between Dansby Swanson and Orlando Arcia.
Swanson exited after the 2021 season in free agency and that led to Arcia taking the reins full-time in 2022. He had been incredible defensively and showed some promise with the bat in 2023 where he posted a perfectly reasonable .741 OPS. Unfortunately, that changed in 2024 and he had a pretty awful season with an over 100 point OPS dip (oof).
Many baseball pundits believed Atlanta may try and upgrade at the shortstop position for 2025. However, Willy Adames was the only true big-name free agent shortstop available this offseason which made his price was expectedly high.
The Braves were reportedly in the mix to land the talented infielder, but he ultimately signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. With Adames off the board, it doesn’t leave very many appealing free agent shortstops worth spending money on.
It is more than likely that the Braves will feature Arcia as their primary shortstop for 2025. His salary is super affordable at just $2 million and he provides quality defense. Anything he gives you offensively is a just plus at this point.
Arcia has a cheap club option for the 2026 season and the team could still pick it up if he warrant it. However, there is a much better free agent option that will be available next offseason and his name is Bo Bichette.
Bo Bichette could provide Braves with a much needed infield boost next offseason
Bichette is the current shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays and his name has been loosely mentioned as a trade target this offseason. It would require a rather high price for the Blue Jays to cut him loose according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Rosenthal stated, “Executives from three rival clubs, granted anonymity for their candor, said the Jays are open to moving him, but only for a high price.”
He’s coming off a dismal 2024 that was marred by injury. He suffered from calf strains and a broken finger that required minor surgery. After all was said and done, Bichette had a .225/.277/.322 slash line over 81 games, including four homers, 16 doubles, 31 RBI, and a 71 wRC+.
However, that season is just an anomaly as Bichette has been one of the league’s best middle infielders since 2019. He is a two-time All-Star and, with the exception of last season, he has hit above .290 since 2021 with 20 homers in each season.
Nacho Alvarez Jr. joined the organization as a shortstop but questions about his range have him profiled as more of a second baseman. Ozzie Ablies has a club option after the 2025 season and the team could keep Nacho as a potential second base option should they part ways. He is one of the only viable internal shortstop options for the Braves so adding one externally seems very likely next year.
This would be an absolute no brainer for the Braves as Bichette would turn 28 before the 2026 season and provide them with an incredible upgrade at shortstop. This would depend on how well 2025 goes for Bichette and if Atlanta feels like there are no internal options suitable to fill the role.
