The offseason for the Atlanta Braves has been rather uneventful as they’ve built roster depth and restructured a few contracts. However, spring training is a little under two months away and Atlanta still has some holes to fill.

There are still a decent amount of free agent options available for the Braves to choose from. The main thing we’ve learned about Alex Anthopoulos is that he won’t make a move unless he feels it benefits the team.

Contracts being handed out this winter have been more expensive than expected. However, it seems Atlanta’s patience may work in their favor. MLB insiders Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon recently stated some of the major free agents still available may be considering short-term deals.

The caveat is that they will want these short-term contracts to have high annual average value (AAV) and opt-outs built in. Rosenthal and Sammon specifically touched on two players that would be perfect fits for Atlanta’s current needs.

Braves should take advantage of Anthony Santander and/or Jack Flaherty’s softening free agent markets

Outfielder Anthony Santander and starter Jack Flaherty are reportedly open to considering a short-term contracts for at least the 2025 season depending, of course, on the exact terms. This comes on the coattails of the news that Pete Alonso not being able to land the long-term contract he desires from New York and pivoting to a three-year offer to the Mets with opt-outs.

Flaherty and Santander had allegedly been seeking high-value five-year contracts but it seems the terms may be steeper than most teams prefer.

The Blue Jays were rumored to have offered Santander a contract about a week ago, but the fact he hasn’t signed indicates it probably isn’t what he’s looking for or that he just doesn’t want to play for Toronto. The switch-hitting corner outfielder has a powerful bat, but his defensive range is underwhelming. In 2024, he put together arguably his best season at the plate with a .235/.308/.506 line with 25 doubles, 44 HR, 102 RBI, 58 BB, 129 K, and a 129 wRC+.

Santander would give Atlanta a nice power bat option with good arm strength to make up for the lack of defensive range. His strikeout rate was fairly decent last season at 19.4%, but his squared-up (22.3%) and chase (33.8%) rates were among the worst in baseball. If he can clean that up, there’s no reason AA shouldn’t offer him a short-term contract immediately.

Flaherty has received interest from multiple teams this offseason and some MLB insiders have tied him to the Braves as a good fit. It makes sense why he would garner a lot of interest as 2024 was a resurgent season for the 29-year-old with the Tigers and Dodgers. Flaherty posted a 3.17 ERA over 162 innings last season, including 38 walks and 194 strikeouts.

The only major concerns were the amount of barrels he allowed and a lack of ground ball outs. His knuckle curve really fooled hitters last season. Opponents batted just .164 against that pitch and he abandoned his cutter which helped as well. He makes a lot of sense for the Braves rotation but his health history and rumored desire for a nine-figure contract may get in the way.

Both players’ willingness to accept short-term, high-AAV contracts should expand their markets a bit. However, both sides are taking a risk as it could go wrong for either side. Atlanta has benefitted from short-term deals a few times (i.e. Josh Donaldson, Billy Wagner, Charlie Morton).

The likelihood of Atlanta signing both players is very low but one of them should absolutely be signed by the Braves. This gives the Braves a perfect scenario to add an impact player and silence the worries of some fans.

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